Adventure Travel - Scuba Dive, Snorkel, Water Sports

At this UNESCO World Heritage Site near Cancun, Mexico, you can float down ancient Mayan waterways, see crocodiles in the lagoons, and discover a birder's paradise.

"I've been kissed by a dolphin!" True, it was more like a peck on my cheek but the dolphin was gentle during this encounter.

This extreme kayaker was named National Geographic's Adventure Hero of the Year in 2007. See what he has to say about first ascents worldwide and advice for other kayakers.

Top beach vacation destinations for adventurous travelers stretch around the world. I culled this list from suggestions offered by beach lovers who travel, adventure travel companies and beach destinations around the globe.

Coasteering is an adventurous sport that involves climbing up rocky cliffsides then leaping into the ocean. Watch this video.

Do you know what lies beneath your feet? At Xplore in Mexico's Riviera Maya, there's an entire world of underground adventures including swimming and rafting in underground rivers. Above the earth's crust, there's a network of zipines that looks like freeways in the sky, and a three-mile track where you can drive an amphibious buggy through the...

In Cancun, Mexico, or neighboring Riviera Maya, scuba diving or snorkeling in cenotes - water-filled underground caves is increasingly popular with vacationers. We swam in Dos Ojos, where the fresh water was crystal clear, and with powerful spotlights it was akin to a night dive through a magical garden of thousands of stalactites, stalagmites...

WaterplayUSA.com is a free Web directory where you can find water sports and water-related activities around the country.

You float quietly, until the whale senses you are there and swims toward you. Or, you're snorkeling and suddenly a whale shark, one of the world's biggest fishes, rises from below to eye you. Either way, it's an experience to cherish and remember. Several companies around the world offer these special experiences. In Mexico, you can swim with the whale sharks (massive but not aggressive as ot…

Cruises to the Antarctica on an icebreaker to see penguins and icebergs are incredible experiences. But, before you book a cruise think about if this is really the type of adventure you are seeking.

Kayaking on the Huron River through countryside nature preserves and then right through the middle of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an adventure in rural-urban kayaking.

The annual World Bog Snorkeling Championships in Wales draws more competitors than the Bike Bog Snorkeling Championship. But, in either of these bog snorkeling contests you must submerge your body into filthy, dank-smelling trenches dug out a peat bog near Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales. This style of snorkeling definitely qualifies as an extreme...

Cliff Diving: Diving into the water from a steep cliff. This is a risky sport that should only be done by divers trained to soar from extreme heights.

Cliff diving - soaring off cliffs up to 80-feet high into lakes and oceans is an extreme sport, for sure. Here's where to learn more about cliff diving and see some great images of cliff divers soaring into lakes and oceans.

A one-stop source for whitewater rafting trips. Rafting America is a gateway Web site to 20 popular companies that offer river rafting trips in the United States, Canad and South America.

Would you like the chance to go home with up to $2,500 of treasure from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank off Key West, Florida, during a hurricane in 1622? Mel Fisher’s Treasures is offering a limited number of scuba diving treasure hunters the opportunity to spend a week learning about treasure hunting and diving for treasure at the site of the Atocha.

Looking for a surf school in Costa Rica? Pura Vida Adventures offers surf camps and yoga retreats primarily for women. The week-long surf schools offers individually designed surfing instruction. Surfers stay in beachfront villas.

Nose-to-nose with a 250-pound grouper, the scuba diver waves at the crowd on the far side of the glass in the aquarium. Did you know aquarium scuba diving - and snorkeling with fish - is offered at more than 10 aquariums in the U.S., as well as in other countries? At some aquariums scuba diving programs require that you be a certified diver...

River rafting is a lot of fun. Whitewater river rafting offers thrills, chills, and even an occasional spill. You'll find great river rafting rides in water from Alaska and Colorado to Peru and Fiji. While the wildest rides on many rivers are in the springtime, you can find float trips throughout the summer and early fall, and trips through stronger rapids on rivers that have dam-release water. T…

These images will show you what awaits adventure travelers on Molokai, Hawaii, where there's lots of terrain for hiking, biking, and swimming in waterfall-fed pools. Take a mule ride or hike down the steep almost 1,800-foot hight cliffside to Kalaupapa National Historic Park, for a tour of the former leper colony.

Surfing through class 4 or 5 rapids lying face down on a riverboard makes rafting look tame. Riverboarding is definately an extreme whitewater experience.

If you love to go scuba diving, but are happiest walking off the shore and sinking into the water instead of jumping off a dive boat, you'll find these islands appealing. Each one has a variety of shore dives opening up underwater coral gardens and clouds of fish.

Just walk off the shore of Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay at the southern end of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and you can scuba dive among schools of fish, look into the mouth of giant clams and join the parade of fish in the coral canyons.

The Cayman Islands are one of the premier dive locations in the Caribbean because the seabed falls away in a series of walls close to the shore.

Bonaire, one of the ABC islands in the southwestern Caribbean, is the tip of a submerged mountain whose flanks are lined with coral reefs. There are 86 marked sites where you can just walk offshore and start your dive.

On Curacao, one of the ABC islands that are surrounded by reefs, you just have to walk offshore and swim a few minutes to see colorful coral. There are more than 60 marked sites on this island in the southwestern Caribbean.

Scuba diving through gardens of colorful coral surrounded by a cloud of fish is like touring an underwater art museum. But before you start scuba diving past coral walls 90-feet deep, or with dolphins or sharks, there's a lot you need to learn.

Seacology’s island expeditions are “win-win” for travelers and local communities. Scuba divers, especially, are vying to join the island expeditions, but armchair travelers can go there too via travel dispatches and photos on the Seacology website.

Cruises around the Antarctica to see penguins and icebergs are incredible experiences. But, before you book a cruise think about if this is really the type of adventure you are seeking.

The new movie, "Happy Feet," danced its way to box-office records. And, did you see the "March of the Penguins" movie that focuses on how Emperor penguins survive in their hostile environment? Take a Quark Expeditions' Snow Hill Island Safari and you can watch Emperor penguins care for their fluffy chicks.

Sea kayaking in Scotland can mean paddling along the mainland's coastline or in inlets surrounding Scotland's islands, such as Arran and Skye (where they make wonderful whisky). As you paddle, you may see otters or seals splashing in the water, listen to the chatter of marine birds overhead, and even pass the ruins of abbeys and castles. Here's where to find trips.

Adventure travel takes on a new meaning when travelers go adventure cruising with this company. You'll have the ability to get off the ship, exploring nature and wildlife in the company of expert naturalist guides, away from ports and tourist crowds. Trips go to many off-the-beaten-path destinations including Alaska, Baja, Costa Rica, Belize,...

Taking a Galapagos Islands Cruise on a solar- and wind powered boat.

River tubing on the White River in Jamaica is popular with vacationers. This company icks you up at your hotel and takes you into Jamaica's high country for a day.

Best all-inclusive resort in Jamaica if you like to scuba dive and play golf. Unlimited amounts of both activities are included.

Sharks are scary to many, amazing to see while you're scuba diving, and truly creatures that fascinate millions. Last year, for example, the Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week drew almost 31 million viewers.

Vacationing in Riviera Maya or Cancun on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, you can dive or snorkel in cenotes, swim or raft in underground rivers, steer ATVs or amphibious buggies in the jungles and ride lots of zip lines.