About
Why travel with us?
We provide tours for serious snorkelers wanting to enjoy luxury accommodations, plenty of water time, all-inclusive packages, and with groups of fun-loving, like-minded travelers.
In the end, if you are going to spend a lot of money and time to snorkel in a unique and remarkable part of the world, why wouldn’t you want the very best snorkeling trip you can imagine?
With over forty years of combined experience pioneering snorkeling itineraries throughout the coral triangle, we just do it better than anyone else.
Three reasons that (further) set us apart:
Focus
We focus on each tour, putting 100% into making sure the one you are on is the best snorkeling trip of a lifetime we can provide!
Each trip is a special journey into an amazing underwater realm, not an opportunity to sell you on a future trip and merchandise.
We are snorkeling, not SCUBA diving!
We base our daily schedules on snorkeling that maximizes our time in the water rather than on traditional schedules used by SCUBA divers. SCUBA divers have shorter time in the water and make up for that with the number of dives per day as a measure of exposure to the activity.
We are snorkelers, not SCUBA divers! The number of snorkel sessions per day does not impress us (nor does the limited in-water time) and it sounds exhausting in terms of suiting up, getting in, getting out, suiting up, getting in, getting out...We provide hours on each site to make sure we get the best chances to experience the entire habitat.
Experience
We base our itineraries on snorkeling sites, not on itineraries that visit sites for SCUBA divers.
Each destination is special because of marine habitat diversity, many of them shallow and ‘unsuitable’ for SCUBA diving. This might be the most important point for us; we are snorkelers, not SCUBA divers!
A bit about us? Snorkeling is what we do. It’s what we have done throughout most of the Indo-Pacific for over two decades, or the better part of our adult lives. It has been an important part of our careers in science, our success at work, and our personal pleasure. Early in our careers as guides in the Rock Islands of Palau, we dreamed of spending the rest of our days exploring the world’s best reefs with like-minded snorkelers. We began Coral Triangle Adventures with the focus on being able to organize and lead luxurious snorkeling trips for dedicated marine enthusiasts to visit some of the world’s most magnificent reefs.
We are the owners, design the itineraries, arrange the programs, lead the tours, answer emails / phone calls, and wrote the words you just read on this website :-). You won't get an office employee, you'll get direct responses from us and interact with us from the moment you send your first email until you finish the tour.
Lee Goldman
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Education: Western Washington University (BSc marine biology); University of Guam Marine Lab (MS marine biology), coral reproduction and competition
Publications: Snorkelers Guide to Marine Life of the Philippines (2007), Marine Life and Natural History of the Coral Triangle (2015)
Experience: I have been guiding as a marine naturalist since 1998 and have designed and led snorkeling tours for Wilderness Travel, Sea for Yourself, and World Wildlife Fund for Nature for many years prior to starting Coral Triangle Adventures in 2014. I have led well over 100 snorkeling tours throughout the world, with most of my tours taking place in Indonesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, and the Philippines. As a marine biologist, I pioneered new techniques for coral reproduction in the lab, helped to develop sea turtle monitoring programs on Guam, and both supported and contributed to whale shark research in the Philippines.
Why I love doing this: I’ve always loved the marine environment and that has led me to some of the most remarkable places on the planet. From my early days as an intern at The Whale Museum at Friday Harbor, WA to living the island life as a biologist and guide in Palau, Philippines, and Guam. My dream was to spend my life immersed in the underwater world, and I have been lucky enough to also be able to share that with fellow marine life enthusiasts.
Favorite destination: I love Komodo National Park for its rugged, dry islands contrasted with incredibly lush and diverse marine seascapes that begin right from shore.
Favorite snorkel site: There is nothing in the world that compares to Aljui Bay, Raja Ampat, in terms of shallow habitat diversity and insane levels of marine biodiversity!
Favorite photo subject: Fish! I love the challenge of free diving to take a photo of something that doesn’t necessarily want to cooperate for a photo ☺!
Favorite marine animal: Killer whales (Orcinus orca)
Ethan Daniels
Birthplace: Delaware, USA
Hometown: West Linn, OR, USA
Education: Bucknell University (BS marine biology); University of Guam Marine Lab (MS marine biology), chemical imprinting in anemonefish
Publications: Palau Dive Sites, History & Culture (2001), Under Cape Cod Waters (2010), Marine Life and Natural History of the Coral Triangle (2015)
Experience: I have been a naturalist and guide since 1995 and have designed and led tours for Wilderness Travel and Sea for Yourself since 2002. In 2014 I started Coral Triangle Adventures to follow my passion for exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations within the coral triangle. I have led over 100 tours, the majority taking place in Indonesia, Palau, the Solomon Islands, and Dominican Republic. As a marine biologist, I researched chemical imprinting in marine fish and worked as marine resource liaison to the president of Palau.
Why I love doing this: There is nothing more interesting and exciting then exploring various seascapes and observing their associated aquatic communities.
Favorite destination: Alor, Indonesia for the robust reefs and incredible diversity of both marine habitats and life.
Favorite snorkel site: West Pantar, Indonesia.
Favorite photo subject: Shallow water seascapes. There are few places on the planet where healthy reefs come within inches of the ocean's surface, and I find the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to be uniquely beautiful.
Favorite marine animal: Ornate eagle ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)
The Raja Ampat trip was even more wonderful than I expected!! What a magical place!! And I could not have been happier with the entire operation.
Caroline Rogers
(Raja Ampat, Nov 2022)
We’re still dreaming about our wonderful trip. We can’t say enough about the spectacular snorkeling! The care and attention made us feel safe and confident. Your presentations were interesting and informative. We’re already thinking about another trip next year…
Dick and Marilyn Robertson
(Banda Islands, Nov 2023)
Thank you again for a fantastic trip to Palau! We had the best time and were amazed at all we saw and did.
Beth Caldwell
(Palau, April 2024)
About our Tours
What makes our snorkeling tours so successful is our knowledge of the areas, combined with a bit of flexibility, an important element in adventure travel. The flexibility of our itinerary allows us to incorporate local weather, tides, and currents into our design so that we can visit these sites at the best possible times.
We often budget in time to explore a new site or visit areas we have recently discovered. This approach results in a solid, proven itinerary that not only delivers fantastic snorkeling opportunities, but also promotes a sense of adventure and uniqueness.
We usually budget up to six hours of snorkeling per day! We appreciate relaxing on the sundeck with a cool drink surrounded by incredible beauty, but we never lose sight that it’s really all about the snorkeling!
Daily schedule
Our schedule generally includes two snorkel sessions, one in the morning and again in the mid-afternoon, each budgeting for nearly three hours of water time.
Opportunities for beach walks, dinghy tours, or bird watching can happen either in the early morning (before breakfast) or in the late afternoon to take advantage of the cooler air temperatures and less intense sun (plus the birds are more active!).
We complement our daily activities with insightful presentations on marine ecology, coral reef biology, and underwater photography.
Schedules may change if we have special activities planned, such as the visits to villages or to take advantage of a special snorkeling or hiking opportunity.
All our snorkel tours are 100% boat supported
In almost all cases, there are two dinghies, each with easy-to-use ladders. Our programs are designed so that you to spend as much or as little time in the water based on your own preference. When you are ready to return to the expedition boat, simply signal the dinghy drivers to pick you up and take you back. Easy!
Books
Our decades of experience as naturalists, marine biologists, and guides in the Indo-Pacific are featured in each of our books on marine life and natural history. For more information, including where to obtain copies, please contact us.
