Where To?

[btscott]

After months of caring for people through the pandemic, my wife and I are looking to get out and travel again. We have recently been vaccinated with both rounds of Pfizer vaccine. So feel comfortable making a trip. Thinking April or May... Our last trip was on Mike Ball in January, just before this all went down.

Any thoughts on a good liveaboard trip in April orMay? We have done liveaboards in GBR, Palau, Belize. We are down for anywhere in the world.

 

[shmuggy]

I would look at the Maldives. I am just now finishing up a trip with the Carpe Vita LOB part of the Carpe Diem fleet and they do a great job. The diving was great, the crew was excellent and the Maldives has a good infrastructure for getting the necessary tests that you may need to get home.

 

[GF99/99]

First of thanks for your guys front line services!!

Hope you enjoyed Mike Ball's, what a fantastic trip! For your next my vote would be for Komodo or Raja Ampat cant go wrong with either of them both are amazing!!! And if your into wrecks then I would vote for Bikini or Truk I have only done Truk and Bikini hoping to do end of the year.

But this all depends on the travel situations in the up and coming months. For an alternative my next vote would be Red Sea. Still relatively easy to get to Egypt right now and the diving there is amazing also and there is so much amazing history in the area. Travel Tip: After visiting a couple times and always just going for diving and the Egypt tourist sites I finally made a short trip to Jordan and would highly recommend Petra and Wadi Rum

Friend of a friend made these fantastic videos highlighting Komodo and Raja

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ontdiver]

I would also make a pitch for Egypt and for Jordan as well. But not so sure whether April/May is realistic. You may have had both rounds of the vaccine, but testing/quarantine regimes may upend your travel plans.

 

[btscott]

I would also make a pitch for Egypt and for Jordan as well. But not so sure whether April/May is realistic. You may have had both rounds of the vaccine, but testing/quarantine regimes may upend your travel plans.

Yes, that's what I'm finding. A trip to Indonesia would be highest on our list. found a trip that covers Komodo and Raja Ampat in April. 16 day trip sounds great. But, will Indonesia be open??

Also a trip in April to Maldives. 14 days on MV Amba. Its a trip to the north. I've heard issues of coral bleaching. Not sure about the boat... Anyone been on this boat?

We were trying to travel sooner rather than later. But, in August there is a trip to Solomon Islands on Bilikiki boat we were invited on. 14 days, on the more expensive side $8000 pp. Sounds like a great trip though.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts.

 

[ontdiver]

I've heard issues of coral bleaching. .

There was a discussion about coral bleaching in the Maldives a couple of months ago. It should be easy to find.

 

[drrich2]

I'd hit southeast FL or the Caribbean. Especially in a near future time frame with an evolving pandemic and changing regulations.

Someone mentioned the Maldives, and you're considering it. Read COVID-19 Infection on a Live-aboard at the Maldives. This might be good to consider for other 'maybe not quite 1st world' destinations (I'm not very familiar with the Maldives, but how they handled this was pitiful).

1.) Even with people getting testing, the coronavirus can get on the boat and spread.
2.) Even if you personally don't test positive, if you were on the boat and some other people did, you might get caught up in a response quarantine anyway.

Shorter flights and fewer airport stops/layovers may mean less risky exposure. Fewer flights involving fewer countries may mean fewer opportunities for travel restrictions to directly (e.g.: barring entry from the U.S.) or indirectly (e.g.: flight cancellations) mess up your plans.

Africa's a big place, so take this next concern with a grain of salt. There's a South African viral variant that appears likely more resistant to the Moderna vaccine (lower antibody response) - saw an article on that today. Egypt is in North Africa. By the time of your trip, how much will it spread around? A more contagious and possibly vaccine resistant strain of this coronavirus is not the souvenir you want to bring home.

 

[btscott]

I'd hit southeast FL or the Caribbean. Especially in a near future time frame with an evolving pandemic and changing regulations.

Someone mentioned the Maldives, and you're considering it. Read COVID-19 Infection on a Live-aboard at the Maldives. This might be good to consider for other 'maybe not quite 1st world' destinations (I'm not very familiar with the Maldives, but how they handled this was pitiful).

1.) Even with people getting testing, the coronavirus can get on the boat and spread.
2.) Even if you personally don't test positive, if you were on the boat and some other people did, you might get caught up in a response quarantine anyway.

Shorter flights and fewer airport stops/layovers may mean less risky exposure. Fewer flights involving fewer countries may mean fewer opportunities for travel restrictions to directly (e.g.: barring entry from the U.S.) or indirectly (e.g.: flight cancellations) mess up your plans.

Africa's a big place, so take this next concern with a grain of salt. There's a South African viral variant that appears likely more resistant to the Moderna vaccine (lower antibody response) - saw an article on that today. Egypt is in North Africa. By the time of your trip, how much will it spread around? A more contagious and possibly vaccine resistant strain of this coronavirus is not the souvenir you want to bring home.

Outllook looks good for Pfizer covering South Africa and UK strain, but will see as more data comes out. Moderna, sounds like they are developing a booster shot.

Thank you for the article about Maldives quarantine. What a horrible situation for all involved. Its given us great pause about doing a trip. May hold off for Solomon Islands in August.

 

[btscott]

So, Solomon Islands in August it is. 14 days on the Bilikiki. Hopefully Solomon's open back up by that point.

 

[cpace]

I'd hit southeast FL

Yikes!