How You Picked Your Upcoming Trips?

[drrich2]

Hardly anyone gets to dive every place they'd like to; many of us get one or two 'scuba trips' per year, if that, so we have to discriminate between destinations. You don't just decide 'I want to go to Cozumel.' You decide 'I want to go to Cozumel instead of Bonaire, Belize, the Caymans, the Florida Keys, Turks & Caicos, St. Lucia,' etc...

There are different angles to approach that from. One may ask someone who posted a trip report, or ask which of 2 or 3 options others would pick. The answer is individual, and not always about the 'best' option (e.g.: I didn't quit going to Bonaire because I stopped loving it); sometimes it's about trying new places, or seeing something specific (e.g.: sharks or wrecks).

So here's my angle this time; what are the next couple of new places you plan to dive, and what led you to pick them over alternatives?

I'll go 1st. I've had 8 Bonaire trips; loved shore diving. When our toddler was smaller, wanted to stay close to U.S. health care, so tried the Florida Keys for the shallow reef diving (quite fishy, & some deep wrecks) and Jupiter, Fl for the goliath grouper aggregation & to see sharks. Morehead City, N.C., to spend time with sand tiger sharks up close, & try some off-shore Atlantic Ocean diving. The Sun Dancer 2 live-aboard out of Belize made a great 1st live-aboard, fine 'all around general' Caribbean diving.

I want to try new places/things, but in the U.S./Caribbean region (cost, 7 day limit on gone time, intolerance for plane rides over 4 hours)...). Needed to go cheaper this year, so considered a Blackbeard's cruise, but then Aggressor Fleet had a 32% off sale... Lord willing and providing, I hope these 2016 choices work out:

1.) Cayman Aggressor - should weather cooperate, hope to hit all 3 Cayman Islands. All I want is lots of diving (visited the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman on a cruise ship stop), and live-aboards are a turn key trip. Food, housing, transport, diving...if it were much easier, a crash test dummy could do it. I've repeatedly read of Little Cayman described as the best diving in the Caribbean, with Cayman Brac perhaps a fairly close 2nd. Since this is my dive region, seems I ought to try 'the best.' Main alternative would've been LCBR, but more dives, the chance to hit all 3 islands & that sweet 32% off sale clinched it.

2.) Truth Aquatics Limited Load 5-day Trip to the Southern Channel Islands - it's cold, viz. ain't up there with the better Caribbean areas, you don't have lush coral reef, a lot of the tropical life I like to see isn't there, that nagging fear a great white will mistake me for a seal (extremely low risk, but I'll be thinking it), and they don't provide free dive guides leading reef tours. Just having to wear a thick full wetsuit, hood & gloves sounds like a downer. But California offers 'American' diving, kelp forest, seals & sea lions, a different species mix than I'm used to and a new ocean to dive, a diverse experience vs. my prior diving. I'm told the Channel Islands are some of the best California diving, I'm not likely to get blown out by weather, the southern islands water is a bit warmer, and considering the long boat rides of mainland-based day boats + cost of mainland hotels, the # of potential dives & overall trip cost of this trip looked good.

Cayman Trip Alternatives: I read Turks & Caicos might also be amongst the best Caribbean diving, but best done by live-aboard, & site walls often start deep. Good place to see sharks. Looks like both Explorer Ventures & Aggressor live-aboard options are very reputable.

California Trip Alternatives: Truth Aquatics had a strong reputation, plenty of online reviews & their website was good (except the hassle of nailing down the equipment rental pages). There's another boat, the Peace, I hear high praise about, but not as many reviews and the website wasn't as informative. I like reputable, easy and informative. Pacific diving south of California offers warmer water; the logistics of a trip to Cabo whatever (seems like everything's 'Cabo' something or other) were confusing, & trip reports varied. Sounds like Cabo Pulmo is the place to aim for. Better yet, the Socorros via live-aboard, but that's expensive, and a different kind of diving than I'm used to. And I've a mild bias towards U.S. destinations. You could make a strong argument for a Socorros live-aboard for big animal diving.

So what drives your upcoming choices?

Richard.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I'll be returning to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island in August for the third consecutive year. I've dived a few warm water places such as Hawaii, Cozumel and the Philippines but they each left me thinking there must be more to see somewhere. I had seen films and photos from Browning Pass and couldn't believe so much life existed in one place. After diving there in 2014 I have no desire to travel anywhere else. The walls are covered by such diversity of marine life that you would be hard pressed to find any bare rock.

There are places in the South Pacific that have that much life but it would take most of my available vacation time just for the travel time. I can get to Port Hardy in a single day.

I'm fortunate to have such great diving (except for this year) right here in Southern California. It's enough to keep me satisfied between trips to B.C.

 

[Jax]

Since I am rather frugal, I budget a certain amount for diving and then see what I can make fit.

The categories are cave trip, SE Florida trip, Mexico trip, and one expensive trip. That may be a training trip, for example.

Then, I stay flexible to see what comes up. Right now, I am jonesing for a Cuba trip with the Spree, but timelines have to match up, too.

 

[The Chairman]

I follow @cardzard. He beats the crap out of the vendors for our invasions and surges. That keeps the prices low and he won't let them cattle boat us. What's even better, is the way he handles all the problems. The best part? Traveling and diving with a group of like minded individuals. The newbies get mentored pretty quick and we have some awesome experiences under water and get to meet some new lifelong friends. Our non diving spouses entertain each other too. I love it.

 

[jonhall]

I am termed a "vacation diver" here on SB. Since retiring in 2012, I have been to Cozumel twice, St. Croix, Kona, Hawaii, Nuevo Vallarta, St. Maarten twice, Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, and Antigua. My next trip is to the Riviera Maya, just north of Playa del Carmen. A driving factor for this trip is that my buddy has not done any diving from the mainland coast in this area and it will give us a chance to dive a cenote. (I would like a new term, since we don't call them vacations anymore - we're just taking another trip!)

We have another couple that generally travels with us. This is great for me because I have an automatic dive buddy, since my wife gave up diving due to ear issues and my buddy's wife is not a diver (guess it's great for him also.)

I think it's fair to say that our "dive trips" as "vacation divers" are somewhat dictated by our respective vacation exchange networks (in fairness to ourselves, we do have places in mind before we look) and what we are willing to pay for airfare and sometimes through a super special deal (the Antigua trip was a gift for sitting through a 1 hour presentation at my dive buddy's house for Global Vacations; he got a week also and we turned it into 2 weeks together in the same resort and unit for a total $150 upgrade for a 2 bedroom unit - dive boat 5 minute walk away!) Through mine, RCI, and his we now book 2 weeks at a time either in same area or traveling somewhere else after the first week. My week through RCI has a pretty good value, so I can turn it into more than one week a year. I figure, with the cost of my maintenance fee included, a one week trip for lodging is about $1000, 2 weeks improves that to $600/wk, and 3 weeks to about $460/wk (and can actually improve on that doing other deals they have.) Sometimes we have used my program for both weeks of a trip, in which case my buddy reimburses me part of the fee, and sometimes we coordinate between our two programs.

Our trip later this year, a week on each of our programs, has us in the same resort, but changing rooms halfway through. So basically, we all get 2 weeks for the price of 1 (speaking only the resort fee) by having great friends.

I always make sure there is dive op close by and contact several in advance to get all of the particulars. It's nice that all is required by our wives is a pool/beach and a few good places to eat since some of the islands offer little to non-divers.

At least with RCI, I know we can travel to other places around the world where diving is said to be great, but we love the caribbean right now. As my buddy settles into his recent retirement, I'm hoping our trips take us to some of those other places.

 

[Skeptic14]

We are headed to HI in a week and planning started back in January almost immediately after returning from Grand Cayman. My wife and I are both freshly certified divers and while the diving bug has bit us, we still really enjoy snorkeling (my wife probably more so than diving) and hiking and other activities when on vacation. That said, destinations that are more strictly diving fall off the list, similarly, I can't wait to try a liveaboard but my wife is pretty sure that isn't for her.

We seem to be more vacationers that dive instead of strictly going on dive trips and trying to maximize # of dives in x days.

What lead us to HI (Kauai & Maui) was how much we loved our trip to Maui in '14, we weren't dive certified then but the snorkeling, hiking and just the "magical" feel of Kaanapali was stuck in our minds. Kauai supposedly has world class hiking and we are going to get in a few dives there. Maui has better diving and some nice hiking too. I know the coral formations and reefs are different from the caribbean and in general diving in HI isn't considered that great by some but as new divers we are pretty easy to impress, plus I think the chance to see big stuff is higher in HI than caribbean. There is also just something about the deep blue color of the Pacific...

In the future, I can't wait to try a liveaboard, I grew up on boats and fishing oil rigs 60 miles off the coast so the idea of living on a boat and diving all day sounds appealing to me. I also want to try Cozumel, LCayman, the Galapagos and the coral triangle! But some of those are so far away they might be down the road when taking 2-3 weeks off work is doable.

 

[cardzard]

How You Picked Your Upcoming Trips?
I have a Magic 8 Ball Doesn't Everyone?

Ok on a more serious note. Since my wife and I are charged with coordinating the ScubaBoard Events INVASIONS & SURGE
INVASION = SB Birthday Party
SURGE = Winter event to escape the cold

The first thing I look at is the destination capable of holding either of these events. Both the Resort & Dive Op must qualify, not every resort or dive op can handle LARGE Groups.

The second thing is are they willing to create a SB exclusive package with extra value for our members. These events require resorts and dive ops to do thing out of the norm.
Total cooperation is required.

The third thing is the airlift into the resort. We have members that attend the event from around the globe.
It must be fairly easy to get there without costing a ton of money.

I understand that these concerns may not be what you consider, but with events like these that is how I get started.
​

 

[drbill]

Was supposed to be in Palau April and May teaching a course on coral reef ecology. Unfortunately the drought there is even worse than the drought here on Catalina (SoCal) so we decided to postpone the program. After not seeing real rain for years, I decided to go to the Maldives instead. It is monsoon season there so I know it will pour!! Not to mention the fantastic prices I got on airfare, two week liveaboard trip and hotel.

 

[Fishspearit]

We plan our vacations based on new places where we can dive and also hunt lionfish. Since we both worked professionally in the dive business for years all around the Caribbean, my wife and I are always looking for a little more to do than just look at the pretty fish when we dive. We've found lionfish hunting to be a fun addition to the normal reef dive and we often get to take dinner back to the restaurant to be cooked up for us. In the past few years we've been to Barbados, US VI, Cozumel, Cartagena, Florida Keys, Utila, Roatan, and the S/V Juliet liveaboard to the Bahamas all to include lionfish hunting. Coming up we have trips planned to Aruba and Belize. We've been working on this list of locations around the western Atlantic and Caribbean that offer lionfish hunting to tourists.

 

[TulsaTime]

We have a group of friends we sometimes travel with that like to do the Caribbean all-inclusives. Diving was included but no one else was interested so I did it by myself. I went ahead and got my Scuba Diver cert so I wouldn't have to do the intro course every time I came back but without any diving buddies, I had no interest in pursuing it further and just dove a couple of times on two trips to Jamaica.

Then, last year, my wife and I decided to have one last big trip as a family before the kids fully went their separate ways so we booked an all-inclusive in Turks & Caicos. Having read that that was some of the best diving in the Caribbean, I, my wife and my two sons decided to get fully OW certified locally prior to the trip (my daughter had absolutely no interest). My youngest son ended up unable to do the training due to ear issues and my wife aborted the training at the "I'm now going to turn off your air so you can see what that feels like" step and decided that scuba just wasn't for her, so that left just me and my oldest son to get certified.

I now have a diving buddy in my oldest son but being younger and much earlier in his work career, he has neither the disposable income nor vacation time that I do so that's one limitation. Another is that my wife doesn't really care to sit around by herself while I'm out diving so I have to balance vacation time between dive trips and other activities.

Having now dove only the local lake, Jamaica, and T&C, anywhere else is new and a potential candidate so it's really about the timing and expense and walking that fine line of keeping the wife happy . I'd never heard of it before but I read about Saba here in a couple of threads and that sounded really interesting, then the Caribbean Explorer announced a summer sale with a schedule that aligned nicely for everyone, so my son and I are now booked on our first liveaboard for a St Kitts-Saba-St Martin itinerary in September.

I'd really also like to do the surge in January but my son can't make both trips and my wife isn't keen on it. The LDS where we got certified is doing a trip to Truk in 2017 that my son and I would like to do but that's going to be very dependent on how much experience & additional training we can get in between now and then. Other than that, it looks like a good bit of low-viz diving in local lakes for us this summer.