Bucket List Trip

[Lesli W]

These are all on my bucket list!

 

[Wingy]

Nice Vid Dan. 3 months to drive and dive Aus sounds like the perfect time. Most people underestimate the size of Aus and while the GBR is not in good shape, Ningaloo is doing just fine

 

[Augustus]

It only was mentioned once on this thread but the socorro island group south of cabo gives you more bang for the buck if pelagics are your thing. Been going there over 20 years an have seen schooling hammers, whale sharks, friendly dolphin, mantas.whales plus whales. Very popular so you need to book well in advance though wait list also works. At last count i believe at least five liveaboards go

 

[TheSaltySeaTurtle]

I agree with the Socorro recommendation! I went on the Rocio del Mar on the late December/January trip and it was great.

 

[peeweediver]

Ditto on Socorro. We went on the Solmar V and really enjoyed it. However, I've come to conclude that, just like you can't share a computer, you can't share a bucket list. For me, Cocos Island will be my all-time favorite but that's because I am in awe and truly love hammerheads. To be in constant hugging distance and being part of schools of 50-100, my heart has never pounded so hard on a dive. For those with less of an obsession, might not be top of their list. Also, just dove Wakatobi and that is right up there because of combination of visibility, corals and muck diving (we spent half the time on the live-a-board which gave us two days muck diving....which we hadn't done before). So, decide what things about the underwater world you love to see and focus on a destination that has the most of that. Rarely does a location have everything, so, prioritize, but not to just one thing. For example, if I'd gone to CoCos in March 2016, El Nino would have ruined it all because most people traveling at that time barely saw hammers and no close encounters. I would have spent big bucks and not seen my obsession, nor much else as you really only go for the hammers.

Rob

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'm firmly in the camp of arriving a day or two early. Don't want to miss the boat. Depending on where you're going jetlag can be troublesome and take some of the joy out of the first couple of days.

My bucket list is almost full. I'm returning to fabulous places to get my fill. Really want to go back to Raja Ampat. Want to do the sardine run, and Socorro and Fiji. Don't think the sardine run is a possibility. My other wish is to go to Toronto, Mozambique but I'm thinking that not likely either.
This weekend, I'm back to North Sulawesi and that would be my recommendation for you two.