Best place to do a liveaboard in December?

[NicoleMarie]

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I are trying to plan a dive trip for late December. The only thing that we have decided is that we would like to do a liveaboard. We are having a hard time narrowing down where to go. If we are going on a trip we want to go where the conditions are going to be amazing. We dive frequently here in California in the cold so for a vacation we definitely want to do some warm water diving. We have talked about Palau, Maldives and Thailand. My boyfriend is really into underwater photography, particular macro so we would like to go to a place that has a mix of macro and pelagic life (I would love to see mantas or whale sharks). What are is everyone's experience with diving around the world in December? Where would everyone recommend?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Nishan]

The best mix would probably be in Thailand around the Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Richeliue Rock etc. Nice macro, fairly healthy reefs and chances for mantas and whale sharks. Maldives is fantastic diving but not great for macro. Have never been to Palau but there friends that went say its great diving. Was told more consistent shark encounters but less shark species than Maldives. In terms of mantas and whale sharks the Maldives would probably be the best bet in my opinion at least. I have had multiple manta encounters on all my Maldives trips so far as well as seen whale sharks. I think you will enjoy any one of the locations as they all have good diving and warm, clear water.

 

[cbm32]

A liveaboard in Fiji (The Nai'a being one of the best) would be a great dive experience and you would see sharks and manta rays but not sure about whale sharks. December would be in the rainy season but who can predict the weather??

 

[Krazyklaws]

I'd give a big thumbs up to the Maldives. Been there a couple of times in December and had plenty of manta, shark and whale shark action. The weather last year was a bit sketchy, but I understand that was quite unusual for the time of year and pervious trips were much sunnier. The cloudy days did nothing to deter the wildlife though.

Would recommend Maldives Scuba Tours and the Sea Queen and Sea Spirit boats. They have a definite knack of finding the action.

 

[Doubler]

As far as getting there, Fiji is MUCH easier, direct flight out of LA. Naia is a great boat and Foji is a great place for photography. Your problem may be finding an opening.

 

[cbm32]

Airfares to Fiji have been down as well. Last I looked they were down around $942 or something like that

 

[KeithG]

Anywhere?

Realizing that a live aboard generally represents the pinnacle diving experience "in it's locale", I claim the answer is easy: pick one, any one, anywhere (well except for the crappy boats).

In my opinion this reduces your question to: where is the best weather for <insert your style of diving> in December.

We often dive over Xmas in the Caribbean, either Bonaire on land, Belize Peter Hughes or T&C explorer. It always beats the snow back home....

 

[cbm32]

Even if liveaboard diving represents the pinnacle of diving in its locale, which isn't necessarily true, that certainly doesn't mean that the best diving in one locale can measure up to that of another locale. I could be wrong, but I don't think there are many that would assert that Caribbean diving can measure up to that in the South Pacific, the Philippines, Micronesia, and some other areas. At least I haven't heard many people, or read many articles, that make that claim. Can't think of one off hand. Yes, there is some very good diving in the Caribbean, but is it some of the very best in the world?

 

[jmsenger]

Another vote for the Maldives. Plenty of macro stuff to take pictures of, and lots of pelagics too.

 

[Doubler]

Another thing you need to look at is how long does it take to get there. Example from the west coast it takes 48+ hours to get to Maldives with flight connections, that is four days total travel. Is this a two week vacation? If not you need to look closer. Palau, Yap, Truk all two days travel too, one day back. Again due to connections -La to Guam to Palau' Yap, Truk. All require about a twelve hour layover in Guam. IMHO You need at least ten days to go West except for Fiji and Hawaii.