Why are scuba holiday packages so expensive?

[Lorenzoid]

hey guys I’ve only scuba dived locally.

I’ve noticed travel packages for popular scuba locations e.g. Truk Lagoon, Bali, Great Barrier Reef all seem to cost around $2000 for approximately 5 days not including plane flight costs.

Here’s an offer recently pitched to me. Keep in mind Bali is a third world country so how a dive holiday costs $200 per day which doesn’t include gear hire is beyond me.

I put together a Bali trip for my wife and me with an itinerary much like the one you posted above: starting in Pemuteran, then on to Tulamben, etc. But we stayed in guesthouses rather than resorts. We ate at local warungs rather than resort restaurants. We hired a driver to get us from A to B, then another from B to C. You get the picture. We saved some money over having someone else put a trip together. If you have the time to do the research and put together a customized trip that fits your goals and budget, that's great. Some people would rather pay for a packaged trip that they don't have to think about. Putting an economical trip together was easy for Bali because there is so much to choose from in the way of dive operators, transportation, lodging, and food, but in more remote places your options may be more limited, and you may have little choice but to go with a package.

 

[Lucifer911]

I put together a Bali trip for my wife and me with an itinerary much like the one you posted above: starting in Pemuteran, then on to Tulamben, etc. But we stayed in guesthouses rather than resorts. We ate at local warungs rather than resort restaurants. We hired a driver to get us from A to B, then another from B to C. You get the picture. We saved some money over having someone else put a trip together. If you have the time to do the research and put together a customized trip that fits your goals and budget, that's great. Some people would rather pay for a packaged trip that they don't have to think about. Putting an economical trip together was easy for Bali because there is so much to choose from in the way of dive operators, transportation, lodging, and food, but in more remote places your options may be more limited, and you may have little choice but to go with a package.

in this instance the dive package is 8 nights / 9 days at $1950 AUD pp. How much money would you save if you organised the trip yourself?

 

[KathyV]

...so how a dive holiday costs $200 per day which doesn’t include gear hire is beyond me.

You can save a lot of money by buying your own gear, you can probably find good used gear that fits you well for reduced prices, and you will have the added benefit of becoming familiar and comfortable with your gear instead of always dealing with rental gear.

 

[Lucifer911]

You can save a lot of money by buying your own gear, you can probably find good used gear that fits you will for reduced prices, and you will have the added benefit of becoming familiar and comfortable with your gear instead of always dealing with rental gear.

this dive package requires you to bring your own gear... it doesn't justify the high cost per day which doesn't include evening meals and beverages.

for a good setup including quality regulator and air integrated dive computer plus 2 air tanks is about $4000.. (DIN is better than yoke).

To rent scuba equipment - regs, bcd, and 2 air tanks its about $100 so I would have to do more than 40 dives in a year with my own purchased gear setup to get value for money. I'm sure there are additional benefits for using my own gear including comfort, reliability and better buoyancy control.

Regs need yearly maintenance cost which is about $120 for the regs I want.

 

[KathyV]

this dive package requires you to bring your own gear... it doesn't justify the high cost per day which doesn't include evening meals and beverages.

for a good setup including quality regulator and air integrated dive computer plus 2 air tanks is about $4000.. (DIN is better than yoke).

To rent scuba equipment - regs, bcd, and 2 air tanks its about $100 so I would have to do more than 40 dives in a year with my own purchased gear setup to get value for money. I'm sure there are additional benefits for using my own gear including comfort, reliability and better buoyancy control. Regs need yearly maintenance cost which is about $120 for the regs I want.

We rent our tanks and weights and bring everything else. When you say $100 to rent gear is that per day or per a 2-tank trip? If you go on a 1-week dive vacation you can usually get around 15 - 25 dives per week, depending on the trip - so as the number of days/dives adds up then the value of purchasing your own gear increases IMO. I was suggesting buying a decent but average set of used gear until you can afford the gear you want - but if you would rather wait and save for what you want, of course that's your decision.

If you have your gear checked and serviced every year it does add some expense, but at least you will know that the gear you are diving has been regularly maintained - and that has some value, in my opinion.

Have you looked at the Philippines? I have never been there so I cannot comment on the diving, but I remember seeing some advertisements for rather economical all-inclusive dive vacations. I don't know how expensive it would be for you to fly there, but it may be similar to Bali or Truk.

Just a couple of general comments, if you can find a land-based vacation that offers boat dives along with tanks for shore dives, then you can usually get a lot of dives much more cheaply than if you are only doing boat dives.

And if you can find a reasonably-priced and reliable liveaboard, although it may seem expensive, when you work out the cost per dive it can be a bargain. You get your lodgings, food, and a lot of dives along with the chance to dive the more distant and pristine dive locations.

Hope you find a great but economical dive trip!

 

[Lorenzoid]

in this instance the dive package is 8 nights / 9 days at $1950 AUD pp. How much money would you save if you organised the trip yourself?

I can't answer that specifically, but by putting together your own itinerary, you can save money on things that don't matter as much to you and splurge on things that do. For example, we splurged on one leg of our trip where we stayed at Liberty Dive Resort in Tulamben, where we (two persons) paid USD 850 for a 5-night stay including diving and breakfast (no lunch or dinner, but you know how cheap food can be in Bali). It's a beautiful resort, and the dive guides (a private guide just for you!) are top notch. But cheaper diving and lodging can be had in Tulamben if that's what one wants. We do own our own dive equipment, so we don't have that cost. Anyway, Bali is great value.

 

[kelemvor]

The travel agent or shop offering the deal should be able to break down exactly what you're paying for. For example, I'm signed up for a trip to Cozumel, MX. The details of that are here: ScubaBoard Invasion 2018 Cozumel Package Deal

I'm paying $960 for 6 nights/7 days). That includes 3 boat dives a day, unlimited shore diving (tanks included). It also includes all the food I can eat, all the drinks I can drink (even alcohol) and a few "extras" like a private party. That's $160/night. Less than I typically pay for a hotel room alone at home. But it's not just a hotel room, it's a whole vacation.

Truk might be a more expensive place to go than Cozumel.. that could account for some of the difference. You're not getting lunch/dinner or booze. So you're definitely paying more to go to Truk. Personally, I wouldn't sign up for that trip because I really like All Inclusive trips and that particular truk trip doesn't include meals or alcohol.

You're doing a 9 night trip instead of 6, too (The ad you posted has conflicting information so it's hard to be sure). However you're only spending $217/night. The price overall is a lot, but it's a 9 night dive trip. Compare it to other trips offered in Truk (if that's the destination you want specifically). If you're not married to Truk as a destination, flexibility in destinations should be able to save you a lot of money.

Keep in mind, the person organizing the trip usually gets significant incentives. That means the organizer has some flexibility to reduce the cost if they want to. I've heard that for every x number of divers they sign up they get a "free" spot or the cash "back". If it's a free spot for every 10 divers, and they got 20 then maybe the organizer and his girlfriend are going for free. Alternatively, he could only use one of the free spots and then pass the $1950 for the other spot on to the others. If he'd done that, the cost would be down to $1852.50 per person. The incentives probably vary with each destination, and maybe it's negotiated every time. I've never organized a trip myself, so I am speaking about this stuff as a third party. I've been told similar information from multiple sources so I'm pretty confident it's a real thing.

 

[Wookie]

I'm not trying to be a butthead, although it's going to sound like it. It's just me, take it for what it is.

Scuba diving is expensive. For many people who participate, it's worth it. Some are perfectly happy diving in their local quarry/mudhole/backyard reef/ledge/sandy area, others want to see unique things in places hard to get to. For those who participate on a regular basis, and who have the means, buying your own gear and jumping on a plane to Timbuktu (can you dive there?) is no big deal. Others like me save up and buy our own boats, in my case, big enough to be happy diving for the rest of my life. Others scrimp and save to be able to afford to go on a big trip every few years, like what you are looking at. Still others, mostly the younger crowd looking for an experience and a selfie with a squid, put on their pack and trek around Thailand stopping to dive with a shop with Junkie in the name. There is something out there for everyone.

It seems to me that you don't want to pony up for the experience of taking a package trip to Bali, but you want the experience. A "dive vacation" is a more expensive proposition than heading to Bali on a plane and experiencing Bali and going diving. Diving vacations or holidays are expensive because they are worth it. You worry about $200 a day, I think that's cheap. The dedicated dive resort has to hire staff, not lower paid maids, but trained professionals to drive your boat, fill your cylinders, and hold your hand if needed or wanted. They have to have a supervisor with even more training and at a commensurate level of pay. None of that is cheap.

I stay at True Blue Bay Resort in Grenada and arrange my diving through the house dive op there. The resort is comfortable, but not a dedicated dive resort. The dive op is well managed, with safe boats, rental gear, and air fills, and they let me dive my own profiles, for instance, if the boat is going to a site I've been to many times, they will drop me off out in the williwhacks with an SMB and a "be up in an hour and we'll come back to get you". Nirvana.

I could stay in a guest house, and take a cab to the boat or have them pick me up on the beach, but it's worth it to me to be able to walk down the hill to the shop where my gear is hanging and put it together and get on the boat.

I pay more for the convenience. If that isn't worth it to you, go backpacking and enjoy yourself.

 

[KathyV]

...Scuba diving is expensive. For many people who participate, it's worth it...

Of course that is true, but a lot depends on what you can afford to spend and/or how far you are willing to go into debt for a vacation and dive experience.

When we were young and new divers we were broke and saving for a down payment on a house, but we had tried diving and liked it. We started with the local options but didn't much care for the lakes and quarries so we would pack up our old, secondhand car and drive from Chicago all the way down to Florida. We would travel during the off-season when things are cheaper and less crowded and we would stay in modest accommodations and eat as cheaply as possible. We would shore dive when we could and arrange boat dives with ops in southern Florida and the Keys.

We gave each other items of dive gear for Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries and our first liveaboard trip was on Blackbeards, primarily because of the price. I also remember dragging our gear around on crowded jitney buses in Jamaica on the way to meet the dive boat because we couldn't afford to rent a car, and the dive boat was just an open skiff with a big motor and a couple of local guys acting as divemaster and boat driver.

We had some great trips, but as we got older the ease and convenience of the trip and the quality of the experience became more important - and we were financially able and willing to spend more; but I still look for a bargain and try and find the best pricing. We could use our trip budget for a fabulous 1-week vacation, but usually we would rather stretch it to 2 weeks and live a little more cheaply - everyone has to decide what's most important to them.

And now that we are thinking about retirement, and will finally have plenty of time to travel, I am worrying about expense again because we will be living on a fixed income, our health expenses are likely to increase, and I also wonder if we will be healthy enough to do what we want as we get older. So I am even more glad that we have so many wonderful memories and that we've taken some great trips over many years, even if we had a skimp a bit at times - do the best you can to have a great vacation, it's worth it!

So the OP needs to decide what he can afford and is willing to spend, shop around for the best pricing, then book a trip that is within his budget - good luck to him - it can be a wonderful experience!

 

[Lucifer911]

Of course that is true, but a lot depends on what you can afford to spend and/or how far you are willing to go into debt for a vacation and dive experience.

When we were young and new divers we were broke and saving for a down payment on a house, but we had tried diving and liked it. We started with the local options but didn't much care for the lakes and quarries so we would pack up our old, secondhand car and drive from Chicago all the way down to Florida. We would travel during the off-season when things are cheaper and less crowded and we would stay in modest accommodations and eat as cheaply as possible. We would shore dive when we could and arrange boat dives with ops in southern Florida and the Keys.

We gave each other items of dive gear for Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries and our first liveaboard trip was on Blackbeards, primarily because of the price. I also remember dragging our gear around on crowded jitney buses in Jamaica on the way to meet the dive boat because we couldn't afford to rent a car, and the dive boat was just an open skiff with a big motor and a couple of local guys acting as divemaster and boat driver.

We had some great trips but as we got older, the ease and convenience of the trip and the quality of the experience became more important - and we were financially able and willing to spend more; but I still look for a bargain and try and find the best pricing. We could use our trip budget for a fabulous 1-week vacation, but usually we would rather stretch it to 2 weeks and live a little more cheaply - everyone has to decide what's most important to them.

And now that we are thinking about retirement, and will finally have plenty of time to travel, I am worrying about expense again because we will be living on a fixed income, our health expenses are likely to increase, and I also wonder if we will be healthy enough to do what we want as we get older. So I am even more glad that we have so many wonderful memories and that we've taken some great trips over many years, even if we had a skimp a bit at times - do the best you can to have a great vacation, it's worth it!

So the OP needs to decide what he can afford and is willing to spend, shop around for the best pricing, then book a trip that is within his budget - good luck to him - it can be a wonderful experience!

good points... the other issue I want to point out is it seems a regular holiday to Bali is cheap... but when you add the word scuba to it the price seems to increase by 2-3 times of what it should cost. I have been told by seasoned travellers to stay away from flight consultants because they frequently pray on gullible travellers with excessive commissions included in with the flight package. I am weary of operators trying to make a financial killing and if a package is going to cost several thousand dollars within a week I want to know why because frankly that amount of money gives me flexibility to stay in 5 star resorts on a non diving holiday. I get the impression when I walk into flight centres they assume I'm rich the moment I start asking questions about overseas holidays.

So if a dive operator decides to pitch a package towards me which costs around $4000 AUD within a week they have to keep in mind my options for a great overseas holiday extends to almost any tropical island in the pacific, carribean, and atlantic ocean. I do wonder how much money the owners are profiting from operating liveaboards on the Great Barrier Reef. I know these boats would be very very expensive to own and build... plus the licensing that goes along with it.

I do not think scuba diving is an exclusive hobby of the privileged elite wealthy group of people. It just costs several thousand dollars initially in equipment + training.