As scuba divers, we’re privileged to explore, enjoy and play beneath the surface—something the vast majority of people on the planet will never experience. While it’s hard to pick a favorite, each of us certainly has a dive we’ll never forget. Whether it’s crossing something off of our scuba diving bucket list, making eye contact with a humpback whale or simply enjoying a perfect day underwater with our favorite dive buddies, we love to share dive stories with other aquaholics.

To celebrate the beauty, variety and joy that this sport brings, we’re sharing some truly unforgettable dives from around the world, as told by the divers who lived them first-hand. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do!

Name: Kitrina Godding

Certification: 2006 in Florida

Current: Seafloor mapper and expedition guide

Follow: @diver_kitrina

My ‘Must Have’ On Any Dive Trip I like bringing a lot of things.

A lot! You have to bring gummies because you need a little sugar, chocolate to keep your dive buddies happy, and heated gloves to warm your hands after the dive. You also need DripDrops or any type of electrolytes because you don’t realize how dry Antarctica is.

My latest “must-have” is a Merino wool. I have a Merino wool bra and underlayers under my drysuit and Merino wool fleece-lined gloves under my drysuit gloves. Merino wool has been game-changing! It’s about having the right stuff. I was in Antarctica for five weeks, and there were no issues!

Related Reading: Penguins 101: Nature's Fanciest Seabirds

My Unforgettable Dive: Deception Island, Antarctica

I started cold water diving in 2016 in Nova Scotia, Canada. My favorite dive is Deception Island in Antarctica.

Deception Island is part of the South Shetland Islands, close to the Antarctic Peninsula. The island is one of only two active volcanoes in Antarctica. The last eruption was in 1970. It steams three times every one hundred years. Because of the heat, the harbor on Deception Island remains ice-free, making it one of the continent’s safest and most sheltered natural harbors.

Deception Island is just fantastic because you can dive in an active caldera! Calderas are large, bowl-shaped craters created by collapsing volcanoes. These depressions form when volcanoes erupt, partially empty their magma chambers and then collapse into themselves.

Thanks to the nutrient cycling from the past eruptions and the continued volcanic activity, there is a vast amount of life on the seafloor. The brittle stars are countless! There are also whale bones, anemones and color everywhere.

On shore, fur seals are lounging. Look around, and there are old whaling stations. It’s just mind-blowing. It’s just awesome.

Though not much lives on Deception Island, one can still find 18 species of moss or lichen that haven’t been found anywhere else in Antarctica.

Related Reading: 6 Bucket-List Dive Sites You Should Train For