SCUBA

Hawaii's Kona Village Resort: Unplugged, Unpretentious, Unmatched

Kona Village Resort, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is a nominee for a Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Luxury Family Summer Vacation. The pristine resort features serene lagoons surrounded by lush, tropical landscaping as well as dramatic, surreal, black lava cliffs that plunge to meet the ocean.

Guests stay in thatched roof hales (Polynesian-inspired bungalows) on 82 oceanfront acres. No televisions, telephones, radios, air conditioners are there to distract. Coconuts supplant traditional "no disturb" signs,

Included in the guest rate are all daily meals, an award-winning, traditional Hawaiian luau and activities from snorkeling and tennis, to lei-making, stargazing and fishing the traditional way with bamboo poles.

Water-based activities include an Outrigger Canoe Program in which guests learn to paddle a canoe, Hawaiian-style. A Wiwo'ole Ribcraft Adventure is available for seasonal whale watching as well as cruises to hidden snorkeling sites with Scooters (dive propulsion vehicles). There's also standup paddleboarding, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, and SCUBA diving (scuba dive instruction and certification programs are available as Kona Village is a PADI certified resort).

Gallery: Kona Village Resort, Hawaii

Tags: awards-main, canoe, Hawaii, Hualalai Golf Course, kayaking, Kona, Kona Village Resort, luxist-awards, SCUBA, scuba diving, stand-up paddle boarding, whale watching, windsurfing

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$3.5 Million Hyper-Sub: Powerboat Meets Submarine

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Yachts & Sailing, Sports

After several years in the making, you may soon be able to finally get your hands on the world's first powerboat-submarine hybrid – if you've got $3.5 million to spare, that is. The James Bond-worthy Hyper-Sub from Marion HSPD (Hyper-Submersible Powerboat Design) is finally gearing up for production in time to capture the growing market for luxury submersibles that can be launched from one's superyacht. The latest oligarch's plaything is the first small craft built with the horsepower, sea-worthiness, and range to allow operation on the open ocean, which also functions as a self-charging, autonomous submarine. On the powerboat side, it's a heavy-duty, 31-ft. surface-cruiser with an enclosed cabin. Powered by twin 440 hp inboard diesels for a total output of 880 hp, the Hyper-Sub has a maximum surface speed of 40 knots and a maximum surface range of 500 miles. In dive mode the Hyper-Sub can plunge up to 250 feet, and offers umbilical SCUBA support. With seating for up to four passengers plus a pilot, the craft's 180-degree acrylic canopy provides panoramic undersea views. With an elegant woodgrain interior, leather seating, onboard GPS, auto-pilot and a satellite phone, it's also a pretty luxurious ride.

[via JamesList]

Tags: diving, Hyper-Sub, James Bond, leather, powerboat, SCUBA, submarine, Submersible, superyacht, underwater

Visit Kosterhavet, Sweden's First Marine National Park

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing

If you're in the been-there, done-that traveler club, here's something to add to your next itinerary: Kosterhavet, Sweden's first national marine park, has just opened. It's about 175 square miles, most of it open ocean, home to some 600 marine species. The park's northern water boundary is shared with Norway, and in fact Kosterhavet National Park runs right into Norway's new marine national park, Ytre Hvaler, which opened at the same time. Together, both parks encompass about 300 square miles.

Kosterhavet gets its name for the land that it surrounds, the Koster Islands, which are themselves a nature reserve. North Koster and South Koster are so close together that they really feel like one island, and together they're the westernmost settled area in Sweden. They're also ridiculously charming -- near the water, they're just what you'd picture a small Scandinavian fishing village to look like, and towards the center, it's all rolling countryside ripe for hiking and cycling, dotted with red-roofed houses.

But of course, the main event is what's below the surface. The water separating Koster Islands from Sweden's main land is actually a fjord, which achieves such a depth that it's home to deep sea species. Kosterhavet also includes Sweden's only cold-water coral reef, which makes for excellent cold-water scuba diving -- the rocky coast also means that there are also a number of shipwrecks to check out beneath the waves. Above the water, a sea kayak is the way to go --- take a look at Sweden's largest population of seals, and from a respectful distance, admire nesting areas for Arctic terns.

Gallery: Sweden's Kosterhavet Park and the Koster Islands

View of Koster Island from Valfjäll, a scenic view point on South Koster

Small scale and managed fishing are still permitted in Kosterhavets

Distance view of two restored lighthouses

View from North Koster to South Koster Island

Tags: animals, norway, parks, scandinavia, scuba, scubadiving, snorkeling, sweden

3 Ways to Do Park City in Summer: In the Air, Through the Woods, and Under Water

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

Photo of freestyle skiing at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah

There's something about being at a former Olympic venue that makes me want to don performance fabrics and start to push my limits. (With the admiring crowds humming the tune from Chariots of Fire in unison, as slow, grudging clapping builds into a thunderous applause.) This is mere fantasy , as my lack of coordination at most activities is near legendary, or at least, known by people who know me.

But should you have the desire to transform your surely-more coordinated self into something of a athlete, or just learn a new activity, the summer season in Park City, Utah, site of the 2002 Winter Games, is a great place to make it happen.

1 - Into the Air: Freestyle Skiing
It's a little strange to watch a person in skis shoot up into the air, execute mind-boggling flips and tricks and then land in a swimming pool, but that's the set-up at the Utah Olympic Park. And because anyone who's belly-flopped knows that landing in water can hurt, the pool is set up with special air jets that break up the surface tension and make for a softer landing. First, make sure you take in the Flying Aces Aerial show to see how the pros do it. Then, you can sign up to learn to perform these tricks yourself. There are organized camps for kids, but adult lessons can also be arranged.

You can also take a tour of the Nordic ski jump venue -- this is the tallest of its kind in the world -- and peer down from the top and just imagine yourself careening down that thing on skis. You can get some of the sensation by taking a zipline down the K120 ski jump hill. This is billed as the steepest zipline in the world, and you reach speeds of up to 50 m.p.h., which filled me with adrenaline for at least a couple of hours.

2- Through the Woods: Mountain Biking
Deer Valley has 55 miles of mountain biking trails, ranked from "easier" to "expert only", which you access via a chair lift ride. But even the "easier" trails are challenging, so the best bet here is to sign up for a private lesson or a clinic.

Another option for the ~~more nerdy~~ intellectual types is to ride the same chair lift and go for a three-hour guided history hike, which focuses on the mining history of the area. When Park City first became a ski destination, skiers were brought to the top of the slope via an underground mining trolley, and often came out covered with soot.

3- Under the Water: Scuba Diving
It's true, one doesn't often think of the mountains as a great place to learn to scuba dive. But the Homestead Resort has the Homestead Crater, a limestone rock hollowed out by melting snow and filled by water bubbling up from below. The water is warm -- 90 to 96 degrees -- and it's 55 feet deep, making Midway, Utah, the only warm-water diving destination in the continental United States.

None of these activities lighting your torch? Check out the gallery for a few more ideas.

Gallery: Park City Utah - Summer Sports

Froth Pool = Softer Landing for Freestyle Jumps at Utah Olympic Park

Tags: freestyle, mountainbiking, park city, ParkCity, scuba, scubadiving, skiing

Dive In Style Podcast

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Our underwater loving sibling, Divester has a great podcast interview with Tim Simond, the author of Dive In Style, a coffee table book that focuses on diving in some of the world's most beautiful resorts. Willy Volk interviews Tim about his book and the arduous task of exploring such scenic locales (the book contains 743 photographs). The book covers 26 destinations around the world. If you are interested in knowing more about diving in luxury play the podcast.

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Tags: dive in style, DiveInStyle, diving, luxury, ocean, resorts, scuba, water

Atlantis Reef Project

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

Not quite sure what to file this under, but I find it terribly interesting nonetheless. If you are looking for that special place that you would like to spend the rest of eternity, why not try the Atlantis Reef Project. Built off the coast of Key Biscayne, Florida, this development is designed as an underwater sanctuary and coral garden in the image of the lost civilization of Atlantis. Eventually, the project will be the largest man-made reef in the world and be a great place to dive and experience the underwater world. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that you can chose to have your cremated remains deposited in an underwater mausoleum. I'm not sure if the family would come to an underwater wake...Hmmm.

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Tags: atlantis, atlantis reef, AtlantisReef, mausoleum, reef, scuba