Bucket List Trip

[drrich2]

Great to hear about the airfare. Got a practical question about a live-aboard that's so far, and I imagine involves some connecting flights and serious jet lag.

Any thoughts on how many people plan their trip to get there at least a day in advance, to allow some leeway for potential late or missed flights, etc...? If so, then add a night (2?) in a hotel going to total trip cost. Doesn't seem as crucial coming back home, but going, you literally don't want to miss the boat.

Richard.

 

[sunshower]

Great to hear about the airfare. Got a practical question about a live-aboard that's so far, and I imagine involves some connecting flights and serious jet lag.

Any thoughts on how many people plan their trip to get there at least a day in advance, to allow some leeway for potential late or missed flights, etc...? If so, then add a night (2?) in a hotel going to total trip cost. Doesn't seem as crucial coming back home, but going, you literally don't want to miss the boat.

Richard.

I've done a few of these large trips and have seen some people allow extra time for connections; so much so that they've gotten a day room at a hotel near the airport; don't think I've seen a full day early for dealing with jet lag or cushion in general but it's not a bad idea; good way to take in an extra little bit of wherever you're going; that said, if it's a trip organized through an LDS, most folks will probably want to stick with the group, that's part of the fun of the trip too.

 

[tursiops]

I've done a few of these large trips and have seen some people allow extra time for connections; so much so that they've gotten a day room at a hotel near the airport; don't think I've seen a full day early for dealing with jet lag or cushion in general but it's not a bad idea; good way to take in an extra little bit of wherever you're going; that said, if it's a trip organized through an LDS, most folks will probably want to stick with the group, that's part of the fun of the trip too.

What she said.
I have seen people arrive a full day early when they are going through many time zones. A night's sleep makes the first day aboard much nicer, plus the advantage of having luggage catch up to you! Also, depending on where one is flying to, there may not be a lot of choices for when you arrive....sometimes it is the same day (or even too late the same day as the departure) or the day (or two) before, no real alternatives.

 

[peeweediver]

Just came back from one of my 3 "want, hope, must go" trips, CoCos Island. Exceeded expectations in terms of hammerhead encounters. However, that's the main reason I went.... to have as many hammerheads around me for the most amount of time each day. Undersea Hunter is a great company and Sea Hunter a great boat. For diversity, next up on my list is Raja. Number three, Cuba. Antartica is number 4 but I'd never live through the boat ride, so it's only written in with pencil.

Rob

 

[Darnold9999]

On the "cushion" topic. I always book a day before and a day after a liveaboard to do either local diving or tourist stuff. Have had to use it twice. Once when luggage did not arrive until the next day, once when the plane leaving from Sorong was delayed more than 6 hours. Spent the night in Makassar rather than Bali and never did see the hotel I had booked in Sanur. Was REALLY glad both times for the cushion. Also find that the extra day after the flights and time zone changes makes the first day or two of the liveaboard much more relaxed.

 

[divin'dog]

Somewhere in the South Pacific would be my preference for a bucket list trip, although the Galapagos Islands is right up there too.

 

[KathyV]

We've learned the hard way to always leave extra cushion time before any dive trip, especially a liveaboard. It is not just because of delays and lost baggage but because we need the time to chill out and get healthy.

When we were younger we used to work crazy long hours just to ready to leave town, stay up all night to pack, head out to the airport before dawn, try to sleep on the plane, and stumble out to the dive boat (or house pier, or LOB) just as soon as we arrived at our destination.

It often happened that one or the other of us would get a head cold and that would lead to an ear infection and would cut short our dive plans. Now we allow extra time and enjoy relaxing in a lovely vacation destination before we go diving.

I think the best example of the importance of leaving at least a little extra time in advance came from @Skittl1321 a couple of years ago. They had planned the "trip of a lifetime" to the Galapagos that included a day in Quito, Ecuador before boarding. It just happened that they were leaving home at the same time that all flights out of O'Hare were cancelled because a contract employee decided to kill himself by burning down the air-traffic control facility. It caused major cancellations and delays all across the country and internationally.

They were stuck in various airports for hours while scrambling madly to figure out a way to make it on-time or book an alternative trip to Mexico. They actually made it to the boat just before boarding but they would have missed it if they didn't have at least one day as a buffer. They had insurance so they would have gotten the money back, but they would have missed their "trip of a lifetime" and that would have been a major disappointment.

Regarding bucket lists, the Red Sea and Egypt was our "trip of a lifetime". I am so glad that we had that opportunity because I don't think that I would be comfortable heading back to that part of the world during the current political situation.

What a shame, we met many lovely people, saw amazing cultural and historical sites, and the diving was wonderful.

 

[ppatin]

+1 to everyone who's recommending Komodo for a bucket list trip. My wife and I were there this past summer and it blows away anything we've seen in the Caribbean. IMO it also put the northern Red Sea to shame. Some of the other passengers on our boat said that Raja Ampat is even more impressive so that has been added to our list of places to make it to one day.

If you're flying to Indonesia from the US I would definitely plan on spending at least one night in a hotel before getting on the boat. Jet lag wasn't much of an issue for us but you absolutely want a buffer in case a flight gets delayed. Indonesia is quite affordable so you can probably find a very nice hotel for a reasonable price.

Re: other bucket list destinations, my top two are Socorro and Truk. Someone mentioned Cuba but most of the reviews I've read have said that the diving there is rather unspectacular. It just has a certain "forbidden fruit" appeal for people from the US.

 

[BDSC]

Of all the places I have been to, my very best trip was the Socorro Islands on the Rocio Del Mar. It's nickname is the "Mexican Galapagos". Saw a whale shark on three different dives, the largest and friendliest mantas in the world, and lots of different kinds of sharks. Already have the entire boat booked for a return trip in 2019.

 

[Shasta_man]

Have been on liveaboards in Fiji, Raja Ampat and Komodo, I can highly recommend them. Liveaboards are my favorite method of diving as I do my land based exploring after diving. First we dive then everything else.

Raja Ampat and Komodo are typically 12 days+ but you get a full dose of diving and forget whatever teh heck you were ever thinking about before you left. I found it difficult to come back to the constant media/advertising/money, money, money barrage world afterwards.

Raja Ampat is where you'll see every critter in the id book, but you won't see much big stuff beyond mantas and wobbegongs, but that ain't bad at all. Komodo seems like it could have more big stuff and had other far out stuff like diving by volcanoes, and its sites are world class too. Fiji had more sharks and lots of awesome stuff and very fishy, while the people are fantastic, on or off the boat.

The Not having the time later theme has me thinking that, if you had the big money, PNG, could be well worth the trip. You can get to the rest of the places for much less than it costs in money and time to get to PNG. I haven't been for precisely that reason: lots of time to get the there and big airfare cost on top of the boat cost. The boat costs are very similar all over the world so it comes down to airfare and a little hotel. And PNG has world class land stuff.

And agree with KathyV on allowing more time to get there. Getting there a shambles after a long trip and last minute packing and worry wastes a few days of trip to adjust. If I could fly some class I could actually sleep comfortably on, it could be different but otherwise you have to arrive relaxed and prepared.

Then for the two week dive trips you have to pace yourself. It can turn into something of a marathon of diving and up and down on the ears too. The sites typically only get better so don't want to peak too early.

And traveling to Indo or having any connecting flights in these far flung locales requires planning extra time to arrive because problems DO happen. I don't care about being on time back to work.