What kind of dive traveler are you?

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I dive the same places at home all the time, holidays are a chance to dive something different. Never the same place twice unless it has something I want to photograph and haven't got a pic yet

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You are right when you say that it will be painful when I have to hang-up my fins. But that is my decision. My wife does not have to relent because she never asked me to quit diving in 2016 - in fact, when I told her that I was going to, her surprised reaction was "why?". But she understood when I explained. I think that it is only fair that I am prepared to give in 2016 when she was willing back in 2006.

Secondly, we may not be able to afford to continue taking exotic holidays - diving or otherwise - for more than a few years after we retire from work. Therefore, I have to plan in such a way so as to allow us to take those land based holidays before we start thinking about tightening our belts a little.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, those land based holidays that we want to do together are of personal interest to me as well as my wife. It is not as though I'll be tagging along behind her and so in a sense, by sticking to my plans, I'll be getting almost the best of both worlds. The places we have in mind include Peru (Machu Picchu & The Inca Trail), Madagascar, Patagonia, the central Asian Silk Route, Hawaii etc. I know some of them have their own diving but once I quit diving, I'll stay quit. I have always planned my life that way - never looking back and wondering "what if........"

My wife isn't into diving as much as I am. I posted that we take one island vacation a year that's more of a sightseeing/beach vacation with a couple days of diving sprinkled in. Sounds like after 2016 you could do something similar. The land based destinations also have diving opportunities that you may not be aware of. Keep the gear and schedule a day or two to dive during those trips. We also travel to Cozumel a few times a year. She might do a dive or two while there because I'm off in a cave with small restrictions and she doesn't do small. She spends most of her days at one of the day resorts relaxing on the beach while I'm off diving. There's always compromise... :D
 
We are a bit of both so that makes us a type 1.5 (not sure how you other people came up with a type 3).

When we first started diving we went on 1 trip per year to a different place each time. After my dive buddy hurt her knee skiing we then went on2 dive trips a year and started to return to a few spots. After a while we stopped going to new spots as the diving was limited in some way compared to our favs.

As another poster indicated, I can can (and do) dive the same site multiple times and not get bored. We look for macro stuff and I have never covered more than 10% of a site in a single dive.

We now rotate between our top 3 destinations and every few years may do something different. These are all Caribbean. We have done a few exotic trips (png, Hawaii) but they require compressing 2 trips into 1 due to time limitations.
 
I may have missed it if anyone brought this up, but what percent of your vacations are diving vacations? I love diving but I love visiting new places and cultures, too - and, although most of the earth is water, not all the great places to visit are on the water. I've been taking 1-2 non diving vacations to each diving vacation the past few years. I definitely want to increase my diving but it's tough to ignore all the other amazing places around the world.
 
Captain sinbad . . . :p
 
I may have missed it if anyone brought this up, but what percent of your vacations are diving vacations? I love diving but I love visiting new places and cultures, too - and, although most of the earth is water, not all the great places to visit are on the water. I've been taking 1-2 non diving vacations to each diving vacation the past few years. I definitely want to increase my diving but it's tough to ignore all the other amazing places around the world.

I figure if it isn't underwater it isn't a place I want to go yet. Eventually I may have to stop diving then I will go to those dry places:) Till then for me it isn't a real vacation unless it involves getting wet at some point:diver:
 
My husband and I have been diving for twenty years now, and we are mostly the type that seeks out new places (its a big planet and there is so much to see and do!). However, we have made some repeat trips - Bonaire, Florida Keys, Cozumel/Playa. We've repeated these destinations because we have had consistent quality dive experiences there and because of the ease arranging and traveling to the destination. For instance, we are very shortly going to Bonaire for the fourth time. It is a last minute trip (we were supposed to go skiing out in Colorado, but after the winter we've had this year, we need sun and sand and warm water!). I looked at other destinations, but the accommodations I wanted were booked. Rather than compromise, we decided to hold off on those places until we could stay where we wanted to, and go back to Bonaire instead.
 
This is something I call the Traveler's Dilemma, which is: Do you want to go someplace new, or go back to someplace you've been and loved? So often when I go to a new place, I find myself saying "If I were to come here again I'd stay at that place, dive with those folks, eat at this place more often, go on that tour." Then I say "Wow, I bet Bill and Sue (or Joshua and Emily, for you young folks) would love to come along next time, and I could put into use all the stuff I have learned this trip." I have dived in Maui, Thailand, Fiji, US & British Virgin Islands, Roatan, Bonaire, Cozumel, Baja, the Keys, Belize, the Caymans, Costa Rica, Grenada. So far the VI, Maui, Roatan, and Bonaire have rated return trips, with a return to Belize coming up next Feb. My wife and I mix it up as to whether to go to an old or new place, and sometimes it's an old place with a new twist - for instance, on the Belize trip next year, we're going to places we hadn't previously been.

---------- Post added July 31st, 2014 at 10:03 AM ----------



---------- Post added July 31st, 2014 at 10:04 AM ----------

(we were supposed to go skiing out in Colorado, but after the winter we've had this year, we need sun and sand and warm water!).

I know it's now summer, and I do love Bonaire, been there twice, but the skiing in Colorado was pretty good last winter! As we like to say here, "Keep Colorado green - bring money!"
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We are a bit of both so that makes us a type 1.5 (not sure how you other people came up with a type 3).

When we first started diving we went on 1 trip per year to a different place each time. After my dive buddy hurt her knee skiing we then went on2 dive trips a year and started to return to a few spots. After a while we stopped going to new spots as the diving was limited in some way compared to our favs.

As another poster indicated, I can can (and do) dive the same site multiple times and not get bored. We look for macro stuff and I have never covered more than 10% of a site in a single dive.

We now rotate between our top 3 destinations and every few years may do something different. These are all Caribbean. We have done a few exotic trips (png, Hawaii) but they require compressing 2 trips into 1 due to time limitations.

Type 1 + Type 2= Type 3. But type 1.5 works to.

I was very much Type 1 back when I was younger. More a function of money since Cozumel and the Keys can be had pretty cheap. Now that I make a better living I'm more 2 than 1. But never opposed to a quick Coz trip when the salt level gets a little low.
 
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