Diver-made guides · launching Aug 1
Real depth.
Real travel.
Real conservation.
Dive · Explore · Protect
scubawithben makes honest dive-trip guides — the liveaboard, what the travel really costs, the best sites, and where to stay and eat once you're back on land. We cover it all. First up: the Cayman Islands, dropping August 1.
Vol. 01: Cayman Islands
We cover it all — Liveaboard · Hotels · Flights · Total cost · Best dives · Pro tips.
An honest review of the liveaboard, what the week really costs to pull off, the best of 25+ dives, and where to stay and eat when you're back on land. I'm diving it over a 7-day liveaboard this July, and the full guide drops August 1. Drop your email and you'll be first through the door, with launch-week pricing.
- Liveaboard review — cabins, food, crew, and what a week aboard is really like
- Real travel costs — flights, the boat, gear, tips, and what to budget
- The best dives of the week, ranked, with what makes each one worth it
- Where to stay and eat — hotels, restaurants, and local spots on land
- Diving it right — reef-safe operators, marine-park rules, and how to leave no trace
No spam. One note when the guide goes live, and that's it.
Dive · Explore · Protect isn't decoration. Every guide gives back with a reef donation, lays out the marine-park rules to know before you drop in, and steers you to the operators I pick for putting the reef first. We only get to experience the magic while these sites stay protected — so we dive them like we want them to outlast us.
Because this is the first guide, I'm committing 50% of the profits to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute on Little Cayman — funding the coral restoration work that's rebuilding threatened reefs across the Cayman Islands. I'm setting up the partnership now.
Hey, I'm Ben.
I'm Ben, and scubawithben is my invitation to dive the world together.
I travel to the best dive sites I can find and bring you with me — the planning, the descents, the marine life, the honest verdict on whether a place is worth your trip. Every destination I cover becomes a guide built from a dive I've actually done, no recycled tips.
And because the ocean is the whole reason any of this exists, profits go back into protecting it.
Go beyond the guide.
Guides get you ready. Sometimes you want me in on the trip itself — planning it, or filming it.
Advice & planning
Your expert in the corner. You tell me what you're after in a quick survey, then we map it out on a 45-minute call — and you walk away with a written summary to book from.
- 45-minute planning call
- Pre-call survey on what you want
- Recommended dive shops & locations
- 1 hotel, 1 Airbnb & 1 flight to start
- Gear & packing guide
- Best time of year to dive & visit
- Written summary of recommendations
Planning & coordination
I take the wheel on coordination — lining you up with the right dive shop and pulling booking-ready options around your dates into a day-by-day plan.
- Everything in DIVE
- Coordination with a tailored dive shop
- Multiple hotel & Airbnb options for your dates
- Day-by-day itinerary around your goals
- Tailored to your dates & availability
- Customization
- Priority support before the trip
Full-service, done for you
White-glove and handled. I book it all — flights, stays, operators, logistics — and back you up right down to pre-dive gear. You just show up and dive.
- Everything in EXPLORE
- I book flights, stays & operators
- Pre-dive gear purchase support
- Operations & logistics covered
- Full support throughout
Compare the tiers.
| DIVE · 01Advice & planning$99 / call | EXPLORE · 02Planning & coordination$299 | PROTECT · 03Full-serviceCustom — $999+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-trip survey | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 45-min planning call | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recommendations | Info | Options | Booked for you |
| Stays & flights | 1 each, to start | Multiple, your dates | Booked for you |
| Dive shop | Recommended | Tailored | Booked & run |
| Day-by-day itinerary | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customization | — | ✓ | Full |
| Who books | You book | You book | I book for you |
| My partner discounts | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gear & packing guide | ✓ | ✓ | + purchase support |
| Best time of year | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Written summary | ✓ | ✓ | Full plan |
| Operations & logistics | — | — | ✓ |
| Support | The call | Priority, before | Full, throughout |
Book me as your videographer
Independent of the tiers above — I dive alongside you and capture it: the reef, the wildlife, and you in the water. You get back edited footage you'll actually want to share.
Thanks — I'll email you when filming opens up.
The sites that earned it.
The dives worth building a week around — plus every dive I've logged, straight from my Suunto.
Standouts
Personal dive log
Every dive, logged on Suunto
Depths, times, temperatures and full profiles for every dive I make, tracked on my Suunto dive computer. Browse the latest dives over on Instagram.
Bull Shark Dive
Winter on the Playa del Carmen coast brings the bull sharks in close — big, calm females cruising the sand flats at around 25 metres. Warm water, 30-metre visibility, and a front-row seat as they pass within arm's reach. One of the most jaw-dropping encounters in the Caribbean.
Lately, on Instagram.
The dives, the gear, and all the sharks, octopus, and healthy reefs we can find.
Got guides of your own?
scubawithben is becoming a home for diver-made guides — a place where any diver can publish and sell the sites they know best. Want in early as a contributor?
You're on the contributor list — I'll reach out when it opens up.