What is the coolest thing you have ever seen snorkeling, SCUBA diving, or freediving

[skinsncanes]

Great whites, tiger sharks, raggies, 7 gill sharks, white tips, black tips, whale sharks, etc sharks.

Manta rays in hawaii was AMAZING

huge groupers in australia

schools of baracoda

diving is definitely one of the best hobbies ive ever started!

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Trying to take a picture of a Queen Trigger. Everytime I pulled the camera from behind my back, he charged it.

Once while snorkeling in the FL Keys, I found a very large hermit crab without a shell. He was using a glass mayo jar for a shell!

Fishing out in the Gulf with my uncles family. Fish weren't biting and a large single dolphin came up and hung out with the boat. So, put on my mask and swam with him for a while.

 

[babyduke]

1) mantis ray which was a size of my kitchen that swam right under me in Maui
2) nurse shark in Turks & Caicos
3) green sea turtles in Big Island, HI

 

[mayjong]

-Great whites-
wish i could see one of these. my "be all, end all"

 

[Tvarr]

During a night dive in Bonaire I look over and a huge tarpon is hovering over my dive buddy. All the sudden his flashlight lights up a bait fish and the tarpon dives over him and grabs it.

Hearing the whales off Molikini crater in Hawaii and seeing one go cruising by was pretty awesome.

 

[rssjsb]

I haven't been diving very long, but a few things that stick out are bandit angels (including a mom with a juvie), big pods of dolphins, and 19 huge mantas (night dive) off Kona; and titan triggers (that was mostly a HEARING experience, listening to them crunching rock) and a huge schools of tangs and rabbitfish in Australia.

 

[G_Sanab922]

I haven't been diving very long, but a few things that stick out are bandit angels (including a mom with a juvie), big pods of dolphins, and 19 huge mantas (night dive) off Kona; and titan triggers (that was mostly a HEARING experience, listening to them crunching rock) and a huge schools of tangs and rabbitfish in Australia.

That sounds awesome! Now that you mentioned dolphins it reminded me..

In Cabo San Lucas , when on a charter boat , hundreds of dolphins popped out of nowhere and were jumping and flipping all over. Super cool experiences

 

[jamiepm]

As mentioned above the night dive on the big island for manta rays is amazing. They get within a foot of you and some are as big as the boat you rode in on.
I also got attacked by a huma trigger during breeding season. He came from around a boulder and bit my mask. Scared me to death so I turned and swam away. Kicked a coral, still have the scar on my leg, and bumped a big sea turtle...I mean I never touched a sea turtle because that is not allowed.
I got to the shore bleeding a lot, scared and out of breath. I told my wife a shark bit me.

 

[burnah]

nice stories!

for me too, the mantas and molas around bali.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpPqsc74_AA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3jojz1K4rc
i can only recommend world diving, they have a manta guarantee for snorkelling trips, you pay half if you dont see any

 

[Booboobear259]

So jealous I want to see a mola mola so badly

 

[G_Sanab922]

So jealous I want to see a mola mola so badly

Same here!!

 

[Deinonych]

Hawaiian longfin anthias (P. hawaiiensis) at Molokini crater.

 

[Booboobear259]

I am getting SCUBA certified soon and I am really excited for it

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Standouts are probably:

Palau - A manta brushing up against me as it swam by at a cleaning station.
Palau - Snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake (done this numerous times now but it never gets old)
Philippines - Snorkeling with Whale Sharks

 

[FlyfisherDan]

Hearing my wife scream underwater..........we were snorkeling some blue holes on Andros Island in the Bahamas and were side by side floating on the surface. There was a cut in the coral to my side that was a bout 7' wide and acted as an entrance into the hole and saw a huge southern stingray swim into the hole from the opening. As I watched it swim in, I knew that it had to swim right in front of our faces on it's way out and held my ground, apparently my wife knew this also, screamed into her snorkel and did the porpoise "backpedal". Just wish she held on for some better photos!
On a side note regarding the lionfish.......true, we've seen them in several places in the Caribbean, but recently in Aruba, we ate at a place called Reef and Beef which serves lionfish on the menu and often sells out. A bit more expensive than the grouper, but heard it is very good.

 

[Balletomane]

My favorite dive memory was from my last trip to Cozumel. We did a really cool swim-through that was quite extensive. Not the kind of thing for a claustrophobic. No pix, unfortunately. And my dive buddy's camera flooded. Extant in memory, though.

 

[Deinonych]

My favorite dive memory was from my last trip to Cozumel. We did a really cool swim-through that was quite extensive. Not the kind of thing for a claustrophobic. No pix, unfortunately. And my dive buddy's camera flooded. Extant in memory, though.

There's a site on the west side of Grand Cayman called Trinity Caves that is similar. It has multiple swimthroughs at varying depths. Very cool dive.

 

[phillrodrigo]

We snorkeled St kitts. Very nice place I wanted to go across and go to Nevis but didn't have the time since we were on a cruise. I went on a clear bottom boat ride to go see turtles and a ship wreck I believe it was in Barbados. This guy that we went along was scared of the water can't swim but they gave him a life jacket. A turtle was coming close to him and he freaked out and punched the turtle in its face. That one cruise I snorkeled Barbados St kitts St Thomas and St Lucia. Also went to St marten San Juan but didn't snorkel them. Snorkeling is kinda dangerous for me I'm a big guy when you go out you take your time float around which takes awhile. The way back it's just a very far swim back it was kinda hard but I made it. I didn't have flippers on that time

 

[Booboobear259]

Hearing my wife scream underwater..........we were snorkeling some blue holes on Andros Island in the Bahamas and were side by side floating on the surface. There was a cut in the coral to my side that was a bout 7' wide and acted as an entrance into the hole and saw a huge southern stingray swim into the hole from the opening. As I watched it swim in, I knew that it had to swim right in front of our faces on it's way out and held my ground, apparently my wife knew this also, screamed into her snorkel and did the porpoise "backpedal". Just wish she held on for some better photos!
On a side note regarding the lionfish.......true, we've seen them in several places in the Caribbean, but recently in Aruba, we ate at a place called Reef and Beef which serves lionfish on the menu and often sells out. A bit more expensive than the grouper, but heard it is very good.

They dont have ciguatera down there

 

[enchelycore808]

Diving in 30ft of water when I see a shadow getting bigger and bigger in the wall of blue water off shore. Turned out to be a pair of mantas swimming by! Tried to get closer for a better shot with the gopro but they were to fast. I dont know what was more memorable, the mantas or seeing my friends face when I pointed them out to him! He had the look of terror before he saw what they were!