Diving with Seals

Masters at Play

The round, sweet eyes of a seal don’t only make these acrobatic mammals one of the cutest creatures in the sea but have a highly functional purpose as well. Seals have excellent underwater vision, especially in dark and murky waters. Being deep divers, sometimes reaching depths of up to 100 meters, having this increased ability to see in low light conditions is not only beneficial, but necessary to survive. Their bodies have also adapted to allow for these deeper, longer dives better than other marine mammals. Seal’s blood contains special properties allowing them to absorb more oxygen than other marine mammals, therefore allowing them to do these deep, long dives with ease.

Seals live and sleep both on land and in the water. Their whiskers play an essential role in helping them search for food. A seals’ whiskers can feel the slightest movement underwater and locate their prey’s size and distance up to 100 meters away! Being good acrobats and very playful underwater makes diving with seals a lot of fun. Click here to find the best places in the world to dive with these fun, curious animals.

Dive Sites with this Animal View more on map

★★★★☆ The Gazzle

The Gazzle lies within the Newquay Bay & Gannel Marine Conservation Zone. It is shallow shore dive, max depth - 10m on a high tide. Gradually deepening sandy slope with kelpy reef and an abundance of marine life. Gazzle (North) - Kelp/rocky reef, caverns. Gazzle (South) - Kelp/rocky reef, caverns, old slipway.

★★★★☆ Lundy Island

The main diving area of Lundy Island is a protected marine nature reserve. The island lies at the mouth of the Bristol Channel and is washed by the Gulf Stream, providing a haven for some of the richest marine life to be found outside the tropics.

★★★★☆ Partridge Point

Also known as Seal Rock. This site is at the southern edge of the Castle Rocks restricted zone, within the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area, where no fishing has been permitted for many years, and the result can be seen in the numbers of fish.

★★★★☆ Casino Point Dive Park

Casino Point Dive Park, also known as the Avalon Underwater Dive Park, is the most popular dive site on Catalina Island and one of the most popular dive sites in all of Southern California. Catalina Island is only accessible via private boat or ferry from the mainland so check ferry schedules.

★★★★★ Garden Eel Cove

This is THE place to night dive with manta rays. One of the most famous dives in Kona allows you to kneel on the bottom in about 35 feet of water in the dark of night while a huge light is set in the middle of all the divers that attract phytoplankton and krill so the mantas swoop in right over you to feed.

★★★★☆ San Carlos Beach

San Carlos offers an easy entry beach dive along with all the amenities including two dive shops within walking distance, plenty of parking, bathrooms, and showers.