Snorkeling and diving blog: honest and firsthand

At first there is only a shadow, somewhere at the edge of my field of view. Then it grows wings. A manta ray, bigger than me, glides beneath us — without a single hasty beat, as if it had all the time in the world. We hang at the surface, snorkels in our mouths, and for a moment forget to breathe. Somewhere near Rasdhoo, Maldives.

Moments like that are the reason this site now exists.

We have been snorkeling and diving for years — the Maldives, Egypt on the Red Sea, Mauritius, and the list keeps getting longer. Every time, we come back with stories: of a Napoleon wrasse that accompanied us in the Red Sea. Of reefs that were better than any brochure. And, to be honest, also of days when the water was murky and the expectation bigger than the experience. Until now these stories stayed with us. From now on we’re writing them down.

Colorful coral garden in the Red Sea — A reef in the Red Sea — these are exactly the kind of days we tell about here.

What you can expect here: reports from the spots where we really were in the water. With what thrilled us — and what we would do differently next time. All photos and videos are our own, taken exactly where we describe them. No stock footage, no AI images — if a turtle turns up here, it’s because it actually swam in front of our lens. And because a trip doesn’t end at the water’s edge, we also tell about what happens around it: the islands, the people, the food, the little mishaps along the way.

Sea turtle glides over a reef in the Maldives — Exactly that kind of encounter: a turtle in the Maldives — photographed ourselves.

An honest word to start: Riffnah is starting small. The first reports are being written right now, and the site grows whenever there is really something to tell. It matters more to us that every report is right than that one appears every week.

Where to start reading

If you’ve just landed here: these are the reports I would start with myself.

The first moment that set everything off: My first manta off Rasdhoo — and, a few days earlier at the same reef, my first shark.
A whole trip in one go: Rasdhoo and Fulidhoo in the Maldives, two very different islands in two weeks.
If you want to see turtles: around ten of them in one morning at Turtle Reef, where, by the way, the sharks make their rounds too.
The uncomfortable report: Fifty snorkelers behind one whale shark — and why I was one of the fifty. It goes together with what happens when nurse sharks are fed.
For beginners in the Red Sea: Which reefs are worth it, which hotel in Sharm El Sheikh has a house reef and my first dive in Ras Mohammed.
When it’s not so great: Snorkeling from the beach on Mauritius — lots of sand, little reef, but a turtle that came on its own. And what is behind murky water in the Maldives.
Before you pack: my gear, including what I would buy differently today, and why I switched from the GoPro to the Insta360.
When to go where: the destination guides for the Maldives, Mauritius, the Red Sea and the Andaman Sea in Thailand — month by month, with water temperature, visibility and animals.

Do you know that — that one moment in the water that never lets go of you? That’s exactly what Riffnah is about. Glad you’re here.

See you soon underwater. 🐠