Favorite dive spots-reasonable distance

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Morehead City, NC August 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/no...us-dive-center-aug-9-13-2015-trip-report.html

My trip report includes destination research with some content posted by local Captain Tortuga James, who gave the breakdown of how the diving out of North Carolina varies seasonally. See the end of Post #1 in that thread.

Truth Aquatics Vision Trip Aug. 2016 - Truth Aquatics Aug. 2016 Trip Report - California

My Notes For Researching My California Dive Trip.

From what I understand, California live-aboards are not 'Aggressor Fleet' type operations, and California diving is not warm water. Calibrate your expectations to what they offer. Head far enough south at least the right time of year, and you can get warmer water.

Trevor JC's guide at Diving the Baja Sur Cabo San Lucas - San Jose Del Cabo - Cabo Pulmo- La Paz - La Ventana - Diving the Baja Sur Cabo San Lucas – San Jose Del Cabo – Cabo Pulmo – La Paz - La Ventana and Cabo Pulmo/La Paz vs. Socorro Live-aboard.

A number of boats hit the Socorros; you can see a list at LiveAboard.com or some other dive travel agency sites. Then a search on Scuba Board can get you more info. The Socorros is one of what I think of as the big 4 regional eastern Pacific regions known for pelagic diving - the Socorros, Cocos Island, Malpelo and the Galapagos Islands out of Ecuador. From what I've read, the Socorros tend to be the least expensive of those.
 
You've spent a lot of time in Bonaire but have you tried Curacao? It is very similar diving but nicer beaches and easier shore diving IMO. It is also a Dutch island but it is larger and more developed than Bonaire - but there are also more rural and out of the way areas.

I haven’t, but good point. I think what has always held me back was that I’ve heard it’s more of a pain to get there. I’ve heard that the flights from Aruba to Curaçao can be unreliable. True or not? I fly Delta because I have points from work travel.
 
I haven't been recently but I thought that it was easier to get to Curacao than to Bonaire and you don't have to go via Aruba. Curacao is larger and more developed and there are probably more flights to Curacao than Bonaire.

But @diversteve can give you more recent information about Curacao.
 
I haven’t, but good point. I think what has always held me back was that I’ve heard it’s more of a pain to get there. I’ve heard that the flights from Aruba to Curaçao can be unreliable. True or not? I fly Delta because I have points from work travel.
Flights to Curacao tend to be cheaper and more plentiful in general than flights to Bonaire, with no need to go through Aruba. I'd say it's not a pain at all, and is part of Curacao's appeal to some. But if you are strictly limiting yourself to Delta they may not fly to Curacao, so that's a different matter.
 
I haven’t heard anyone mention this yet, so I will throw it out there. Saint Croix. I’ve been there twice, once for about three weeks, and the second time for just short of that. I simply love it.

It’s the Caribbean for sure. Laid back. Easy. I love shore diving and I love racks. There’s some of both of those. I love solo diving, and there’s plenty of that. Lots of great shops, support for whatever you want to do. Plenty of boat diving as well. You can stay at a hotel or a resort or rent a house or any combination thereof. And from where you’re at, it’s very easy to get to.

I certainly haven’t been diving all over the Caribbean, but in my limited experience (Bonaire, Cozumel, Cuba, Aruba, PR, Cabo, Mazatlan, SC), this is one of my favorite places.

Puerto Rico is actually a really fun place to Dive as well, the North Shore and South Shore are totally different diving since they are technically different oceans. That’s a fun place to dive. Should be noted that my trip to Cabo was stormed out and we didn’t do any diving, and my trip to Cuba was a diving logistical nightmare and no diving was performed, so I can’t technically Comment on the diving at either place, just the top side experience.
 
We definitely need to do the recks in NC. We could make a weekend of that. When is best? We could easily fit this in this summer.
Anytime from July thru September is good. I've done October but it's a little more iffy. Of course, anytime on the coast is prone to get blown out, but that's a chance you always take. Plan for 2 days diving, hope for 1.
 
Grenada
 
It’s the Caribbean for sure. Laid back. Easy. I love shore diving and I love racks.
Where did you get rack certification? St Croix sounds better and better.
 

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