Scuba diving anywhere is wonderful, since it's the nearest humans can come to experiencing the freedom of flight. Imagine having the ability to soar or hover upside down or 'right-ways' up with almost no effort! But both diving and snorkelling in the Caribbean let you see some of the most beautiful reefs in the world - fascinating scenery studded with hundreds of varied and brilliantly-coloured fish.

Much of the Caribbean is near the world's second largest barrier reef, outclassed only by the Great Barrier Reef.

The fantastic visibility afforded by the clear waters makes the Caribbean a great place to learn to dive or snorkel. Most dive shops are only too happy to offer courses to newbies or upgrade course to the already certified. If you're new, you can rent all your gear, although most experienced divers begin to acquire their own. Snorkellers are accommodated by dive shops too.

Several Caribbean islands are known as some of the best places to dive in the world. One of these is Bonaire, which offers incredibly easy shore diving. A marine park encompasses the island and boasts over 100 diving opportunities. Designating the waters as a "park" means the wonders within are protected, leaving divers with an unspoiled look at the underwater ecosystem. Bonaire is good for both snorkeling and diving right off shore. You can also sign up for boat dives where you can explore the reef further out and search for sea turtles and nurse sharks.

Grand Cayman is a very popular diving destination. The weather is pretty much beautiful year round, with just a little rain during the summer months. The water is warm and clear, ideal for exploring reefs and watching stingrays and angelfish. Access more untouched scuba areas by doing a little research to find operators who will take you to the most secluded spots. At peak times (mid-December to mid-April) Grand Cayman can be a little too crowded… most divers hate to be kicking other divers with their flippers! The summer months are quieter, if you don't let rain and hurricane threats scare you away. Sting Ray City offers both divers and snorkellers hand feedings of friendly stingrays in a sheltered bay; they literally vacuum food up from your hands.

The islands of Turks and Caicos are a great choice, especially Grand Turk. Thanks to the government's goal of protecting the natural environment by preventing large-scale development of the Grand Turk bays, divers get to swim around untouched reefs, dunes and drop-offs.

A 15-minute boat ride by one of three operators brings you to the best areas, where batfish, dolphins and eels abound. Peak tourist season (mid-December to mid-April) increases costs, so consider visiting between April and July, just before the weather becomes unbearably hot. French Cay in Turks and Caicos is a small inhabited reef island with 6000 foot vertical wall drop-offs all around that offers a dramatic combination of reef and wall diving, with many reverse angle undercuts in the wall. You may see eagle rays by the pod, schools of friendly reef sharks, sea turtles, nurse sharks and moray eels. Occasionally there have been manta rays, hammerhead sharks and humpback whales in winter.

Belize is an underrated vacation spot in Central America, just south of Mexico. On Ambergris Cay, divers can enjoy the depths in peace before resting on the beach. The dry season is November to May, just when we Canadians want to get away!

Several prime diving sites are near San Pedro, the busiest tourist spot. Swim alongside nurse sharks and stingrays in Shark Ray Alley, glide through the coral of the Barrier Reef, and take underwater photos of eye-catching marine life. A guide takes you through these attractions, all encompassed by the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Snorkellers can enjoy parts of the Reserve too.

If you'd rather explore on your own, take a boat to a neighboring key, some of which have caverns and wrecks. Famous dives include the Great Blue Hole at the Lighthouse Reef Atoll; at 1,000 feet in diameter it's the largest blue hole in the world, descending down 440 feet into blackness. You must do this as a guided dive with deco stops. You'll see stalactites hanging from the indented caverns along the wall, but not many fish. And if you're at Lighthouse Reef, also try Half Moon Caye Wall, a reef and wall configuration dressed with corals, including staghorn coral, and sponges of every color. You'll see a good blend of small tropical fish and some larger pelagics such as eagle rays, sea turtles, and groupers, plus sand chutes exposing colonies of garden eels that seem to move in slow motion. Other top diving destinations include Cozumel, Mexico, which has suffered hurricane damage but is very affordable and has a lot of drift dives. You'll enjoy Cozumel's Santa Rosa Wall, which has sponge-covered coral heads, gorgonians, azure vase sponges, orange elephant ear sponges, swim-throughs in the formations and more. Occasionally you may come face to face with a 20 to 30 pound grouper.

Roatan, Honduras, is still relatively unspoiled. Don't miss Green Outhouse Wall, a canyon with lots of brain coral, colourful sponges, sea fans and gorgonians. Plenty of angel fish, big scrawled filefish, schools of tangs, durgeons, barracuda and stingrays cruising throughout your dive, plus other small to midsize tropical fish. Occasionally a sea turtle or spotted eagle ray appears.

Curacao rivals Bonaire in quality of coral, ease of shore diving and variety of fish. Curacao has sea horses, frog fish and beautiful yellow cup corals to brighten up your night dives.

If you really want to impress your non-diving friends, consider Walker's Cay, in Nassua Bahamas, where you can do an organized feeding of reef sharks. The group kneels on the sandy bottom while a divemaster wearing protection chums Caribbean reef shark. And if after all this beauty and excitement, you get really "hooked" on diving? There are a number of "live-aboard" dive boats stationed in the Caribbean for those who want to dive, dive, dive their way through their vacations.