Destination recommendations for novice divers + physical limitations

[lgmontgo]

Hi everyone,

I've visited ScubaBoard many times over the past few years, but just now got around to making an account with the hopes of getting some recommendations for dive destinations that will work for me and my husband. I'll be posting this in the Divers with Disabilities forum as well, but I'm looking for as much input as possible. Thanks in advance -- I'll try not to ramble on for too long!

TLDR: We're a young couple from California with ~20-30 dives each. I have an energy and mobility-limiting disability. We'd like ideas for destinations (primarily tropical) that offer:

• Guided dives that are easy/convenient to access and suitable for relatively inexperienced divers
• Comfortable accommodations with some level of accessibility for someone who can't walk long distances and sometimes uses a wheelchair (wheelchair accessibility not necessary for boats)
• Topside activities for outdoorsy people (at the same location as the diving, or somewhere to spend a few days before/after)
• Travel from SJC or SFO that doesn't require a bunch of layovers/transfers

My husband and I fit well into the "vacation diver" category. I've been certified for 9 yrs, have an AOW cert, and 30 dives. He got his OW in 2021 and has ~20 dives. We don't dive much at home (Monterey, CA) but have been making a point to try to work diving into all of our vacations. We're currently brainstorming for our next trip and would appreciate some ideas for places that will fit our needs. In addition to being relatively inexperienced, our situation became more complicated after I developed some chronic illnesses that impact my energy levels and mobility. I am cleared to dive by my doctors, and we've done several dives since I became disabled. Once I'm underwater everything is great, but there are more constraints on the circumstances surrounding the dive. Here are the main things I have to take into consideration:

Amount of effort getting to/from:

• Minimal walking/time spent standing before, and more importantly, after gearing up (especially in hot weather)
• Stairs are not great, but I can do some if necessary
• Ideal to be able to ditch some gear and/or have someone help get me out of the water
• Boat dives are great because they limit the amount of walking with my gear on, but diving with a group tends to be really rushed. I need to be able to get geared up slowly so that I don't hurt myself or end up starting the dive really stressed and out of breath, and then run through my air super quickly.

Conditions:

• Minimal surface swimming
• Casual, easy drift dives are okay, but generally we like to avoid strong currents
• We're most comfortable diving with a guide or experienced buddy

Travel/Accommodations:

• Air travel can be rough. Mostly it's the airport experience, rather than the flying itself, so the fewer layovers/transfers between modes of transport, the better. Shorter travel time overall is a plus, but we're willing to go the distance if the trip will be worth it. We fly out of SJC or SFO, but can get down to LAX if there's a good flight from there.
  • We went to Bali and east coast Australia for our honeymoon and it was 100% worth the amount of time I had to spend resting in hotel rooms so that I had enough energy to dive
• I use a folding wheelchair sometimes because it can be hard for me to walk long distances. I don't need the destination to be completely wheelchair accessible, but more accommodations are always better. Staff who are understanding and considerate of my limitations make a huge difference.
• Air conditioning is a must for warm climates!
• Being able to properly rest and recover between activities is probably the most important factor when it comes to things that limit my ability to participate in any sort of physical exertion.
  • Husband is an avid hiker and drone photographer, so destinations with topside opportunities (day trips or a secondary location to stay at for a few days before/after the diving) for a nature enthusiast are ideal so that he can go exploring while I rest. Bonus points for really picturesque landscapes/architecture/ancient ruins/etc.

Other thoughts based on prior experience:

We did 2 days/1 night on a liveaboard in the GBR in 2023. It was incredible, and I really appreciated the flexibility of such a short trip, but I have not seen options like that anywhere else. I'd probably be okay with up to 6 nights depending on how comfortable and accessible the boat is, but the main issue is that I can't dive several days in a row or do 3-4 dives per day anymore.

• Any suggestions for other liveaboards that either offer really short trips or are a good enough value that it wouldn't be a huge waste for 1 of 2 people to not be diving every day?

I hope it's okay that I am intentionally not limiting this discussion to a particular region or time of year. I want as many recommendations as I can get! However, I'm happy to provide more specifics about my needs or our interests. Thanks everybody.

 

[Ukmc]

Hi. Welcome to Scubaboard.
You can check into Aquacat with All Star. They depart from Nassau. It is a cat so very stable, roomy cabins (by liveaboard standards) , not a lot of steps. I would think there would be some easy (maybe even non-stop) flights from California.
Good luck! Please post on your experiences once you find some places you like.

 

[d^2b]

My mother-in-law (who is mobility challenged, but not a diver) has joined us twice to Itza resort in Belize. The staff were super helpful, and I think the ground floor rooms are reasonable for access. There is a short (2 min) walk across the sand to a pier. The diving is mostly quite easy, guided in small groups. The boats are small, but the guides have no problem grabbing your gear from the water (as long as doffing it is fine for you).

Alas, no air conditioning, so if that's a dealbreaker, not for you. Also, a 90 minute to 2h ride in speedboat to get there, so isolated from urgent medical care (if that's a consideration). The boat ride itself is also physically tiring.

On the other side of the world, I just got back from Peter's Dive Resort in Southern Leyte, Philippines. We had a room literally steps from the boat and restaurant (it varies, so you'd have to ask). We were there in the off season so often by ourselves on the boat. The ladders worked well for us, but they also dealt with removing gear in the water. There is a wide variety of conditions there, but if you ask for gentle, you can get it. In particular consider getting a private guide, it's pretty affordable and then you are totally at your own pace. It is a bit of a journey to get there: we flew to Cebu city then took a 3h ferry. You can take it in stages, if you don't mind the extra travel days.

In both places I mentioned, you pay less if you dive less, so 1 or 2 a day won't feel like a waste. For non-diving activities, I mainly know about Belize, which is amazing. We had a kindof deluxe tour of land sites with 5 days (I think) of a private driver. The level of energy needed varies. The ATM cave tour is moderately athletic (but was very cool), while others involve driving or taking a boat to various ruins. Walking tours of ruins are classic tourism, so sore feet are a possibility. But if it's just the husband, that's fine .

 

[DreadnoughtNH]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the land of hundreds of suggestions, and thousands of opinions!
Based on the description of your disability, it sounds like either a scuba diving based resort or a well-researched liveaboard would tick most to all of your boxes. 2 come to mind in the Caribbean:

- CocoView in Roatan, Honduras - people have strong opinions about CCV, but I don't think anyone would argue that CCV makes diving comically easy. Boat dives are available in the morning and afternoon, and the 'moonpools' in their boats makes egress very easy for divers with mobility issues. Unlimited shore diving. Resort is on flat ground, and ground floor accommodations are available (simply stress the 'no-stairs' need). The dive locker 'rooms' make gearing up easy and out of the sun, and boat crews handle all the gear transfer from the locker room to the boats. The only 'downside' to your requests is that CCV is primarily focused on diving; aside from a few offsite trip opportunities, there is not much topside activity other than reading in hammocks (which suits me fine, but may be a drawback to you).

- Little Cayman Beach Resort / Cayman Brac Beach Resort, Cayman Islands - very similar to CCV, but a touch higher-end. 3 boat dives a day, no shore diving (LCBR). Resorts are more 'condensed' so less walking. Both resorts tout 'valet diving' so they handle all your gear to and from boat. From a disabilities standpoint, both resorts are top notch.

- Liveaboards - if the boat is setup well, this could be the ticket if you have the means. Very little walking required, and depending on how the diving is handled, very little work. With liveaboards, I'd recommend really doing your research to determine if it is the right fit for your needs. Some more modern boats I've been on would be great for someone with disabilities (most Aggressor boats, Nautilus, Emperor, Manta) while older/rustic boats could be tricky.

 

[TostitoBandito]

+1 for liveaboards, assuming it's a quality operator and a destination with dives within your ability comfort zone (eg. probably not Galapagos, Palau, Komodo, etc...). It's the most pampered diving experience you can get in terms of not having to lug gear around or walk long distances or anything like that. Doing 3-4 dives a day could be a bit much for some people, but you can always skip dives and they do make everything else so easy that it doesn't seem like any work at all.

In terms of destinations, there's probably a bunch in the caribbean which check those boxes, though the quality of diving can be variable there. The Pacific tends to be a bit more current-y, but there's some places which aren't as bad. I don't recall a ton on the Thailand liveaboard I did (Similan/Surin islands), and something like the Pelagian liveaboard out of Wakatobi could be a good option (though $$$$). Hawaii out of Kona also a possibility.

 

[lgmontgo]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the land of hundreds of suggestions, and thousands of opinions!
Based on the description of your disability, it sounds like either a scuba diving based resort or a well-researched liveaboard would tick most to all of your boxes. 2 come to mind in the Caribbean:

- CocoView in Roatan, Honduras - people have strong opinions about CCV, but I don't think anyone would argue that CCV makes diving comically easy. Boat dives are available in the morning and afternoon, and the 'moonpools' in their boats makes egress very easy for divers with mobility issues. Unlimited shore diving. Resort is on flat ground, and ground floor accommodations are available (simply stress the 'no-stairs' need). The dive locker 'rooms' make gearing up easy and out of the sun, and boat crews handle all the gear transfer from the locker room to the boats. The only 'downside' to your requests is that CCV is primarily focused on diving; aside from a few offsite trip opportunities, there is not much topside activity other than reading in hammocks (which suits me fine, but may be a drawback to you).

- Little Cayman Beach Resort / Cayman Brac Beach Resort, Cayman Islands - very similar to CCV, but a touch higher-end. 3 boat dives a day, no shore diving (LCBR). Resorts are more 'condensed' so less walking. Both resorts tout 'valet diving' so they handle all your gear to and from boat. From a disabilities standpoint, both resorts are top notch.

- Liveaboards - if the boat is setup well, this could be the ticket if you have the means. Very little walking required, and depending on how the diving is handled, very little work. With liveaboards, I'd recommend really doing your research to determine if it is the right fit for your needs. Some more modern boats I've been on would be great for someone with disabilities (most Aggressor boats, Nautilus, Emperor, Manta) while older/rustic boats could be tricky.

Thank you for all the details!

I took a look at both of these and you're right, their aim to take all of the work out of diving would definitely make things a more manageable for me. Their websites only have quotes for week-long diving packages, which include a lot more diving than I would be able to do (as is the case with liveaboards). I'm sure any a la carte dive options are a terrible value compared to the packages, but I am curious what the accommodation rates are if we were to stay for fewer than seven nights. Does anyone ever stay at these resorts for less than a week?

 

[TostitoBandito]

Their websites only have quotes for week-long diving packages, which include a lot more diving than I would be able to do (as is the case with liveaboards). I'm sure any a la carte dive options are a terrible value compared to the packages, but I am curious what the accommodation rates are if we were to stay for fewer than seven nights. Does anyone ever stay at these resorts for less than a week?

Yes you can often find shorter stay packages, or they can usually price one out for you if you contact them and ask (though the cost per night may be higher). But there's diminishing returns because of travel time/expense and time you can't dive at the end of your stay before your flight out (depends on flight time but no afternoon/evening diving the last day is common). That's why most folks typically go for at least 5-7 nights. But for places that are easier to get to like in the Caribbean near major airports, a shorter trip can make sense.

Here's a hypothetical breakdown assuming 3 dives per day (2 morning, 1 afternoon), accounting for the days you can actually dive:

7 night stay (5.5 diving days) = 17 dives
6 night stay (4.5 diving days) = 14 dives
5 night stay (3.5 diving days) = 11 dives
4 night stay (2.5 diving days) = 8 dives
etc...