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This Is Why Good Editors Take Time to Edit Your Work

May 6, 2025
Ever wanted to know why some editors take so much time to do their job? Think it's simple? Think again. Here's what they're doing.
Dive Sites·Dive Travel

The Myth of the Best Scuba Diving in the World

April 30, 2025
There's no such thing as an unbiased list of the best scuba diving in the world. Every diver's list is biased. Take it with a pinch of salt.
5 mins read
Read More
Content Creation

What No One Tells You About Becoming a Scuba Diving Journalist

3 mins read
Destinations·Dive Sites·U.S.A.

Diving USS Oriskany, the Largest Artificial Reef in the World

7 mins read

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The Ultimate Cold Water Diving Packing List

Hi, I’m Candice!

In 2016, I learned to scuba dive because I wanted to try something new and because I’ve always loved the water. It changed my life.

A few years later, I joined Scuba Diving magazine and began traveling on story assignments. I flew to places I’d never have imagined visiting before becoming a diver—Chuuk Lagoon, Palau, the Orkney Isles, Galapagos, the Red Sea, Sri Lanka.

Diving gave me unparalleled access to adventure and exploration but it also gave me a deep sense of meaning and community. It turned me into an ambassador for our ocean planet and it made me want to share the transformational power of scuba.

I’m a PADI scuba instructor, a learner, a writer, a photographer, an animal lover, a gear junkie, and a maker. I’m also an insatiably-curious South African expat currently cutting my teeth on semi-nomadic living in the U.S.A.

I hope my content will inspire you to try new things. Life is short. Feel the fear and then go out and do it anyway.

Recent Articles

U.S.A.

Ultimate Guide to Diving the Florida Panhandle

March 10, 2025
13 mins read
The Florida Panhandle is quickly becoming America’s top wreck diving destination, with well over 40 wrecks and counting.
Read More
Dive Gear·Fitness, Health & Safety

Could This Be the Dive Gear Trend of the Future?

March 10, 2025
3 mins read
Two is better than one when it comes to this key safety item. Are you packing the right gear?
Read More
U.S.A.

First Impressions of Wilmington, North Carolina

February 7, 2025
9 mins read
2
Outside of Florida-esque beaches, Wilmington has a hot brewery scene, great vegan options and no sidewalks! Here's the lowdown after 3 months
Read More
Candice Landau Dive Gear
Dive Gear

My Current Dive Gear (And Why I Dive It)

January 23, 2025
14 mins read
After years of testing different dive gear I've finally settled on the options that work for rec, tech, cold and warm water.
Read More
Scuba diving books from different agencies
Dive Training·Tech Diving

How to Calculate SAC Rate: A Step-by-Step Guide by a Scuba Instructor

January 20, 2025
7 mins read
2
This is the how-to article I wish I had when I was learning to dive. Simply explained and clear.
Read More
Content Creation

Why You Should Keep a Travel Journal

December 29, 2024
4 mins read
I won’t sugarcoat it: keeping track of what you do when you travel is hard. You’ve got places to see, maps to
Read More
Game Reviews

Tranquility: A Restful Co-op Game of Island Travel

December 10, 2024
4 mins read
A note from Candice: In general we only recommend games that are ocean or travel-themed and EASY to travel with, as in,
Read More
Animal Insights·Marine Life

Wolf Eels—The Much-Loved, Little-Researched Fish of the Pacific

November 28, 2024
6 mins read
These gentle giants deserve our curiosity and protection, especially given their nearshore habitat.
Read More
Content Creation

Break Into Travel Writing: Detailed Advice on Getting Started Now

November 28, 2024
30 mins read
Become a travel writer in no time with these hard-earned tips from years of dive travel assignments.
Read More
Semi Nomad Life·Travel Tips

Escaping Asheville: A Rough Start to the Nomad Journey

October 28, 2024
2 mins read
Existing in Asheville after Hurricane Helene's hit was a depressing start to the nomad journey.
Read More
Content Creation

How the Adorable Sea Bunny Became an SEO Goldmine

October 27, 2024
5 mins read
Why is everyone and their grandmother writing about the sea bunny?
Read More
Content Creation

Dived or Dove? That Is the Question

October 26, 2024
2 mins read
Ah, the English language—a glorious mishmash of borrowed words, baffling idioms, and grammar rules that seem to have been drafted during a
Read More
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Instagram

I guess every weekend could look like this for a b I guess every weekend could look like this for a bit… 
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#okaloosaislandlife @destinfwb #bookstagram #yafantasybooks @mountainwarehouse
Packing for a dive trip begin like… #scubadivi Packing for a dive trip begin like… 

#scubadiving #packing #itbeginswithwine #cats_of_instagram #catinstagram #divelife
For those of you who want a breather and some posi For those of you who want a breather and some positive things to think about, @scubadivingmag ‘s 2025 Dive Travel Guide is a list of 38 unique experiences (not just places) you can have on your travels. I’ve got four recommendations of my own listed in it:

1. Cuttlefish spawning in South Australia 
2. Hydrothermal chimney event diving in Iceland 
3. Shark school in Egypt
4. Deep history immersion in Chuuk Lagoon 

When we designed this guide we thought about how we booked trips. For those of us not just seeking a pretty place to dive, it’s experiences we think on. 

The first two on this list are dream experiences for me. The latter two, experiences I’ve done, well in some form or fashion. Though I’ve dived the Red Sea on the boat I recommend, I’ve never done it with Elka, the renowned shark expert. There’s a next time for everything!

@divingadelaide.onlinedivegear @strytandivecenter Odyssey Adventures, and @allstarliveaboards Scuba Scene 

#scubadiving #travel #dive #bucketlist #sharkdiving #sharkweek #chuuklagoon #redseadiving #icelanddiving #cuttlefish
Couldn’t have asked for a better birthday weeken Couldn’t have asked for a better birthday weekend. Four days on St. Eustatius at what is possibly one of the most beautiful resorts I’ve ever stayed at - @goldenrockresort_ an eco luxury dive resort that actually walks its talk. Think solar panels, greenhouses, desalination and so much more. 

Though this video only covers day 1, it should give you a taste of what’s to come on day two and three. 

Honestly one of the most interesting islands I’ve been to in the Caribbean with so much history, culture and healthy diving. More on that in the next videos!!

Also loved exploring with new friends! ❤️

Thanks to

@ajgoinplaces @arunas.jpg @kmagyarics @kaylaaar @fabio.zignego @erikamcdonnell @visit_statia @mishaspanner @statiadivers 

#steustatius #statia #tropicalvibes #tropicalparadise #luxurylifestyle #ecofriendly #luxurytravel #ecotravel
What does it take to get ready for diving in Galap What does it take to get ready for diving in Galapagos, a destination not quite like any other out there? 

Get the low down in my latest article for @scubadivingmag - Ready, Steady, Galapagos! 

Huge thank you to @galaxy_diver_liveaboard for making this trip possible as well as to all my amazing sources in it: @claudiobrandileone @julioc_salvatori @noemivisuals @barefoot.wandering @andriana_marine @andresmits_ @maxwelhohn @gonzalo_california @timodersch @alex_garrido_v @alpha_expeditions and everyone else on the boat with me! 

Also worth calling out Timo Dersch here who provided half the photos (the other half are mine) when my hard drive crapped out on me 😭

Also want to call out some essentials I mention in the article: @nautiluslifeline @scubapro boat coat, @lensrentals for the telephoto lens rental.
If you know me you know I love traveling with a LO If you know me you know I love traveling with a LOT of gadgets. I’m the gal with the big underwater housing, the drone, the 360 camera, the action camera AND now…the @sealifecameras Sport Diver. 

Frankly I’m terrified to travel without this product. It’s so easy to use and it takes phenomenal photos. On days when I don’t want to haul the big rig around this is what I use. The best part is everything ends up directly on my phone.

I was very lucky to finally get to take photos of my Sport Diver on my recent trip to Fiji with @interconfiji . And even more lucky that my friend @sierarose13 was willing to learn to be an underwater model. She looks good right?! By the end of the trip, I think she too was a convert. 

My luggage won’t be getting any lighter…alas! 

#sealife #sportdiver #underwater #underwaterphotography #fiji #modellife
Found a cool site to dive this week…a quarry nea Found a cool site to dive this week…a quarry near Raleigh. Fantasy Lake! Saw a helicopter, a bus, an enormous rock crusher, a plane and the biggest koi/goldfish I’ve ever seen in my life.

Learned that I hate diving cold water in a wetsuit (wasn’t cold in a 7mm but it’s so much less comfortable than a drysuit). Also learned I have no idea how to weight myself in a 7mm. Was heavy as efff…

Gross. Now I have incentive to get my drysuit fixed. @fantasylakeadventurepark 

Rented tanks at nearby @carolinadivecenter and the owner was great. Put me in touch with some people to dive with out of Wilmington.
Had an incredible encounter with this octopus in F Had an incredible encounter with this octopus in Fiji (also would you believe it’s the same octo in both pics?!) This little fellow showed up on a night dive at @interconfiji in Fiji. Though it wasn’t thrilled by my video lights, it didn’t move too far and ultimately returned to its potato coral to relax once it had determined we were no threat. Frankly I’ll never understand how people can eat these creatures. They are so incredibly intelligent. 

@reefsafari @aquaticadigital @backscattervideophoto @canonusa @ratuviliamemawi @sierarose13
@scubascribbles
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© 2025 - Candice Landau // Scuba Scribbles.

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