So my wife is finally certified. YAY!
Now we're planning an exotic vacation that will include (but not focus on) scuba, probably about two weeks in late December/early January 2010.
The biggest problem is that she is violently seasick. Seriously. 10 minutes on a boat in placid waters, and no matter how drugged she is, she's an unhappy camper. And once she's unhappy, fuggetaboutit, the day is ruined.
She did say that she might consider a boat once or twice during a trip IF the ride is VERY shore (like 10 min or less) and very smooth, but that still doesn't give us much to work with.
I need to find a vacation spot that includes lots of fantastic shore diving options, warm water, an exotic location (i.e., Florida and Hawaii are out, no matter how good the shore diving), and lots of things to do and see topside that don't include the water. Preferably fascinating cultural, architectural, natural, whatever. Just not diving, and nothing that involves a boat.
This lets out Bonaire, unfortunately, as she is not interested in diving enough (at this point, at least) to want to do diving all day. She'll want shopping, sightseeing and culture, and Bonaire is just too limited, by all reports. And she's not really a "cocktails by the pool" girl, so there really has to be serious options for topside entertainment.
We LOVE Asia (Thailand is perfect topside, but the shore diving there doesn't make the cut), and Bali is a strong contender at this point, but we'd like some other options to chew over as well. Jamaica is a blast topside, but the diving is merely adequate at best, and requires a boat to get there.
And, of course, being American (and she Jewish), the middle east/red sea options probably aren't safe enough for serious consideration.
I know there are islands in the Caribbean that have some good shore diving to offer, but how do they stack up for the rest of the trip? A few days of diving during a 2 week trip is probably the most I can hope for. We could possibly go one place to dive and hop on a plane to somewhere else close by with better topside options, but that definitely eats into the trip... more flying in the middle of a trip is a hassle that easily eats a whole day, maybe more.
From a shore diving standpoint, I've read good things here and at Shorediving.com about:
Anyone have any good options for me to ponder, or thoughts on the ones I've listed above?
Now we're planning an exotic vacation that will include (but not focus on) scuba, probably about two weeks in late December/early January 2010.
The biggest problem is that she is violently seasick. Seriously. 10 minutes on a boat in placid waters, and no matter how drugged she is, she's an unhappy camper. And once she's unhappy, fuggetaboutit, the day is ruined.
She did say that she might consider a boat once or twice during a trip IF the ride is VERY shore (like 10 min or less) and very smooth, but that still doesn't give us much to work with.
I need to find a vacation spot that includes lots of fantastic shore diving options, warm water, an exotic location (i.e., Florida and Hawaii are out, no matter how good the shore diving), and lots of things to do and see topside that don't include the water. Preferably fascinating cultural, architectural, natural, whatever. Just not diving, and nothing that involves a boat.
This lets out Bonaire, unfortunately, as she is not interested in diving enough (at this point, at least) to want to do diving all day. She'll want shopping, sightseeing and culture, and Bonaire is just too limited, by all reports. And she's not really a "cocktails by the pool" girl, so there really has to be serious options for topside entertainment.
We LOVE Asia (Thailand is perfect topside, but the shore diving there doesn't make the cut), and Bali is a strong contender at this point, but we'd like some other options to chew over as well. Jamaica is a blast topside, but the diving is merely adequate at best, and requires a boat to get there.
And, of course, being American (and she Jewish), the middle east/red sea options probably aren't safe enough for serious consideration.
I know there are islands in the Caribbean that have some good shore diving to offer, but how do they stack up for the rest of the trip? A few days of diving during a 2 week trip is probably the most I can hope for. We could possibly go one place to dive and hop on a plane to somewhere else close by with better topside options, but that definitely eats into the trip... more flying in the middle of a trip is a hassle that easily eats a whole day, maybe more.
From a shore diving standpoint, I've read good things here and at Shorediving.com about:
- Roatan/CocoView Resort (but not much topside in Roatan, right? and Honduras proper is not very safe to travel in per State Dept. advisories)
- Curacao - (but how is it topside?)
- Grand Cayman - (but how is it topside?)
- Bonaire (perfect diving, but very poor option due to lack of topside activities)
- Sipadan/Mabul (but I know nothing about it)
- Okinawa (great from an exotic standpoint, but probably tough due to Japan's high cost, and I don't know much about the diving)
- Bali - a serious option, as there is pretty great shore diving and topside is pretty good, plus definitely exotic, but the topside options are far from diving locations, and are there enough topside things to do?
- Dahab (Red Sea) - Probably not an option due to political instability
Anyone have any good options for me to ponder, or thoughts on the ones I've listed above?