Cheapish Diving

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

I think RoatanMan is right...he's already going to PR...dive in PR. No matter how inexpensive other destinations are, it's going to add a lot to the cost just getting from PR to somewhere else.

 

[Doc]

Grab a flight over to Bonaire on AA. There are several inexpensive places to stay on Bonaire. Check out Golden Reef Inn. Liz has a complete dive package for around $550 USD. www.goldenreefinn.com

Glutton for punishment that I am, I went to www.aa.com and tried. The Northbound, yes, you can fly from Bonaire to Puerto Rico, But to get to Bonaire first, you have to fly to the States from San Juan and then transfer to Continental. Looks like about a 43 hour trip.

Remember, the poster is coming from Sweden.

They have, for whatever reason, chosen Puerto Rico.

So... any good, cheapish diving on Puerto Rico?

 

[rexman24]

Roatanman-I think you need to reread the post:

"We are keen to do some diving either on PR or Dominican Republic or somewhere else nearby. But the problem is that we have not got a lot of $$$. Can anybody recommend a place where the diving is pretty good in October and the accommodation and diving do not cost too much.."

 

[rexman24]

he also states that he has researched Cayman and Bonaire but they seemed to expensive to him........so if he considered Bonaire, then the Bay islands do not seem out of reach for him and the best low budget option..............

 

[Doc]

Roatanman-I think you need to reread the post:

I re-read it. I also know that he is coming from Sweden and he has no real knowledge of the lack of interconnecting flights.

The Caribbean is not easily (or "cheapishly") navigated inter-island by air.

He said cheapishly. He said (or inferred) he is flying from Sweden to Puerto Rico. In Europe, jetting between countries is common, quick and fairly cheapish. In the Caribbean, unless you are on the course of a pre-determined looping air route- it aint going to happen.

Here are the flights from SJU today

Beef Island American Eagle 5066 11:41 AM

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St. Croix American Eagle 5020 11:57 AM (sounds pricey)

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Caracas (Simon Bolivar) LACSA Costarricenses 611 11:57 AM (then what?)

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Antigua American 1019 12:11 PM (that's not cheapish)

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Saint Maarten American 891 12:26 PM (way not cheapish)

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Newark Continental 476 12:00 PM (bad diving unpless you're Tony Soprano)

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Caracas (Simon Bolivar) American 1857 12:18 PM (still a long way from Margaritte)

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Dallas/Fort Worth American 633 12:19 PM (Sucks for diving) But only $6-800 (each) away from Roatan.


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New York (JFK) Delta 2067 12:27 PM (Really sucks for diving)

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Aruba (Reina Beatrix) American 1151 12:34 PM (Great diving) $1100 for the two

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New York (JFK) JetBlue 702 12:47 PM (Bad news for diving)

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Atlanta GA Delta 312 12:50 PM (nice Peaches.)

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St. Croix American Eagle 5150 01:01 PM (pricey)

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Chicago IL (O'Hare) United 1259 01:02 PM (good pizza, bad football, good wrecks)

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St. Thomas American 1407 01:27 PM (pricey again)

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Beef Island American Eagle 5068 01:39 PM (beefy)

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Beef Island sounds not so "cheapish", more like "bullish" !

It was a bad decision to fly to Puerto Rico (if diving cheapishly or moving to another island easily was part of the equation). If 1 out of 10,000 posts here had anything to do with Puerto Rico, I'd be surprised.

Have at it.

 

[rexman24]

I agree with you its not neccesarily real cheap to get around the caribbean, it just seemed to me like he was asking where to go for cheap diving and rooms.........so I told him.............no big deal

 

[rexman24]

I have to stay in your good graces anyway........planning a trip to Roatan in the fall so I will be having some questions for ya!

 

[Damselfish]

PR is a hub of sorts, it's not completely unreasonable to look into where else is easy to reach from there. The important thing will be the bottom line including everything, whether it means diving someplace in PR or going elsewhere.

AA certainly flies from San Juan to Bonaire and back, 5 days/wk. But it is often booked (like whenever I try to go!) so the flights may not always appear. When I just searched I found flights available some random time I picked in the fall. About $300RT per person.

Carribean Sun flies from PR to a bunch of islands, as does LIAT. There may be others.

 

[herman]

Glutton for punishment that I am, I went to www.aa.com and tried. The Northbound, yes, you can fly from Bonaire to Puerto Rico, But to get to Bonaire first, you have to fly to the States from San Juan and then transfer to Continental. Looks like about a 43 hour trip.

Remember, the poster is coming from Sweden.

They have, for whatever reason, chosen Puerto Rico.

So... any good, cheapish diving on Puerto Rico?

You may be right, I just assumed (Yea I know) that the hop between Bonaire and PR was available. May not be but I do know of several Bonairian locals who travel that way fairly often.

"Remember, the poster is coming from Sweden."
Well yes and again I may be mistaken BUT his post does imply that they would like to go to some other place than PR after getting on PR and Bonaire was one of his choices but avoided it due to cost, I was suppling a possible alternative that was cost effective.

 

[herman]

Hummmm, I just found flight SJU to BON for $317 in Sept and $372 in Oct 7-14 on AA.com, seats were available too.