List of dive destinations to not go to...

[chillyinCanada]

ronscuba - Oh my gosh!! I must know why you didn't, please.

 

[Wingy]

You're just flatly missing the point. Is PNG worth two trips to the Galapagos? Maybe, if you've already done the Galapagos twice. There are so many variables that add value to a trip that you're leaving out. For instance: not being surrounded by nickel rockets on vacation?

Who knows i will know in a few months. Its a subjective thing that cant be black and white, what you find worth diving may be vastly different than what you are willing to pay - another analytical tool to use.
Whats your favourite dive destination and how much would you be willing to pay to dive it?

 

[mathauck0814]

Whats your favourite dive destination and how much would you be willing to pay to dive it?

It changes from time to time. We did the LOB thing in the Sea of Cortez a couple of months ago but lately I've been enamored with the deep WWII wrecks at San Clemente Island and have been going there nearly monthly. We're spending a few weeks in the Philippines in November and out to the Coral Sea in February. So my interests have a pretty wide range.

So far as what I'm willing to pay, generally speaking I have a budget for diving each year and I'm willing to spend that money. However it gets split up across trips is largely subjective to the whimsy of where we want to dive, but in general you have to be willing to pay what it costs if the location is the important aspect of the trip.

 

[ronscuba]

Oh my gosh!! I must know why you didn't, please.

Bonaire is a great dive destination as a whole. Diving freedom, qty of dive sites, not crowded, short drives between sites, reef close to shore.

But for me, once I was underwater, what I saw was disappointing. Lack of variety. All the sites looked the same. Tons of lionfish. Fish and coral size on the small side. Reef health noticeably lower compared to other places in the Caribbean I have dove. Saw several eels on different sites that looked sick, lying upside down or on there sides.

Maybe it was just a bad week or maybe a storm had recently passed through. I know most divers love Bonaire, but for me, there are other places in the Caribbean I prefer. Just goes to show, everyone has there own opinion.

 

[TSandM]

I guess the best way to decide what my favorite dive destination is is how many times I've gone BACK to that place -- in which case, the Yucatan caves win, hands down. How much would I be willing to pay to dive there? I don't know -- I do certainly work to try to keep the costs down. Twice what we pay now? I'd still go, but less often. Three times? I'd start thinking about diving closer to home, I'm afraid.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

The original posting, and subsequent post by the OP, is missing the important element of VALUE... several have pointed that out and although it is highly subjective, it's vital in any evaluation. Since the OP has pulled numbers from the net and seems to have zero experience with international dive travel, he cannot add that element into his assessments. This renders them valueless but valid for debate.

My own international-dive-travel is limited to only two continents that are situated extremely far apart. My very purpose of making this post is that people who have been to the destinations on this list (second list that I posted) could add the VALUE element to each place. From previous threads however, there seems to be a general consensus on Scubaboard that Asia Pacific is superior to the Caribbean. Thus if Belize is costing the same as Thailand then Belize is to be dropped for Thailand which is superior diving. Do I need to go to Belize and Thailand to make that conclusion? Perhaps, but if I did, then my post here would EXCLUDE both Belize and Thailand because any information people give me on Belize and Thailand would really not be of use to me.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've been diving in Thailand and based on my ever so small sampling of what Thailand offered me on the diving perspective, well, suffice to say I've been to Belize so many times I can no longer count them. Koh Tao, once was enough.

 

[ronscuba]

....Thus if Belize is costing the same as Thailand then Belize is to be dropped for Thailand which is superior diving. Do I need to go to Belize and Thailand to make that conclusion? Perhaps, but if I did, then my post here would EXCLUDE both Belize and Thailand because any information people give me on Belize and Thailand would really not be of use to me.

I see your point of view on pricing and agree with the theory. I just question your pricing.

Like you, I am from the east cost too. How does Belize cost the same as Thailand ?

I like to read about and research new destinations. Opinions from people with 1st hand experience hold more value. If I am comparing 2 different destinations, the opinion of someone who has been to both is very valuable.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I've been diving in Thailand and based on my ever so small sampling of what Thailand offered me on the diving perspective, well, suffice to say I've been to Belize so many times I can no longer count them. Koh Tao, once was enough.

And that is because Koh Tao was not as good as Belize underwater or is it because the flight was too long?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Both. Flight was more too.

If you want to talk about the experience beyond the diving, well, that's another matter.