Dive Vacation Ideas

[Roscoe B]

Planning a trip and could use some advice. The more I read online the more options I come up with.

Working with:
2 Travelers (both avid divers)
About 10k Budget & 400k AA miles
About 3 weeks travel time
No set dates or time of year to travel

Dive experience between the two of us:
Southern California/Catalina/Channel Islands - We have a 36 ft. sport fisher with compressor on board w/ slip in Dana Point.
Roatan - (VRBO, Dive Centers & Resort)
Utila - (VRBO with private dive boat w/ captain & dive master)
Belize - (VRBO & Dive Centers)
Grand Cayman - (VRBO and Dive Centers)
Loreto/Sea of Cortez Baja California - (private trimaran w/ compressor)
Islamorada Florida Keys - (Private Boat & Dive Center)
Cozumel/Cancun/Cenotes – (Dive resort & Dive Center)

Looking for:
Exploring somewhere new and great scuba diving. Never experienced a liveaboard but I’m not convinced I’d enjoy being stuck on a boat with a bunch of strangers that may or may not be walking around in piss soaked wetsuits. Not a big fan of large all-inclusive resorts. We have usually been happiest renting a vehicle and our own little place then diving with different dive operations in the area. Thinking about combining a 7 day liveaboard (just the tip, see if we like it) and a vrbo or dive resort.

Ideas I’ve considered so far:
Maldives (combine ½ time at dive resort, ½ time on liveaboard)
- Can fly Etihad Airways First Class via Hong Kong on AA miles (but still a long flight from LAX)
- Small and limited to the resort and/or liveaboard boat)
- Expensive (shorter trip)
- I read the Maldives have some of the best diving in the world
Fiji: Taveuni
and/or
Fiji: Kadavu
- Can fly Fiji Airways Business Class (Not as nice as 1st but a shorter flight)
- Combine a 1 week Liveaboard, 1 week VRBO and 1 week stopover in New Zealand (rent a caravan (bucket list item), possibly dive one day with a dive op on the north side of the island)
Micronesia
- Still need to research
Indo: Kamodo
and/or
Indo: Raja Ampat
- Could combine liveaboard, VRBO, dive resort or stop over elsewhere
- Still researching
Egypt: Red Sea
- Still need to research


Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[drrich2]

All the places you've listed are regional. Much of what you're looking at is very foreign. Is this trip apt to be the 1st of a few, or a once in a lifetime event? With that money, that time, no worries about bringing non-diving family along, and an avid diver buddy companion, I think I'd be headed off, too. Hope to do something like that someday.

A few questions might help others with 1st hand experience direct you. Do you like drift diving (Komodo's famous for)? What about soft corals (hear good things about Fiji)? Are you big on large animals, or do you love macrophotography of nudibranchs, tiny shrimp, etc...?

I've done 3 live-aboards & loved them; much better than I feared. Have you considered trying one more locally, just to see how you like it?

Scubadada posted a trip report on the Red Sea Aggressor April - May 2016, and one on Emperor Divers and Marina Lodge Hotel April 2016. People keep talking about how the tourist industry in Egypt is hurting so badly; might be a good time to strike!

It's be closer to home, but I'm guessing the Galapagos and Cocos Island didn't appeal as much as the other options you considered.

Richard.

 

[drrich2]

P.S.: Billt4sf posted RA Resorts compared - RA Dive Lodge? Peewee diver posted asking about Raja Live-a-Board recommendation. Clernex posted a recent Komodo Trip Report. Do you know Ken Kurtis with Reef Seekers out in California? He posted about an ultimate Indonesia trip - "• Nov. 20 - Dec. 16 (dates can be trimmed) - Ultimate Indonesia (A week at Murex in Manado, 10 days in Raja Ampat on the Aggressor, 4 days in the Lembeh Straits)." Just thought some of that might jump start your research.

 

[KathyV]

Is the main purpose of the trip diving or do you also want to do other things topside? If yes, what types of activities do you enjoy?

If you want to try combining a liveaboard with a land-based trip then how about 3 weeks in the T&Cs, with a week on a liveaboard and a week on Provo and a week on Grand Turk? Be aware that the 2 liveaboards that service that area both do whale watching tours to the Silver Banks during the first few months of the year and are not available as dive boats during that period.

Another option might be 3 weeks in Hawaii with a week on the Kona Aggressor and 2 weeks enjoying and diving the islands.

 

[DSR-3]

Based on your past destinations/experience, what you're looking for, and your miles bank- you should really try Asia, or Fiji. Either would be a great new experience. That's enough miles for 2 round trip, first/bus class tickets on Cathay Pacific to Bali (DPS). Lot's of great diving+ to do there. Then a short/cheap flight to Komodo (LBJ) and you could do a liveaboard or resort there. The challenge is getting the flights on miles. I've done it 5 times now, and have never been able to schedule more than a month ahead. Last trip I booked the flight and Komodo Dancer 3 days before departure!

 

[dirtfarmer]

Raja Amat or Komodo
Epic diving, well worth the travel.

Oh and I take my pissy wetsuit off right after a dive and take a nice shower, none of the LOBs Ive been on in Indo want you walking around their boat dripping piss. Me neither



original post edited to add snarky piss comment

 

[jstrang]

We spent a week on the Carpe Vita in March and absolutely loved it. The diving was fantastic. A nice mix of deep atoll dives to 100 feet and drift dives in ripping current, and easy dives looking at sharks and mantas and clown fish. Definitely not a beginner trip. The manta dive at night was unbelievable.

We then spent a week at one of the island resorts. Diving was less spectacular. But the food and pampering was off the chart.

I would go back in a heartbeat.

John

 

[pinshootr]

Bonaire

 

[Roscoe B]

I appreciate all the feedback, thanks everyone.

We’re hoping this trip can be the first of many but will treat it like a once in a lifetime. We enjoy all types of diving, but we seem to have the most fun when we are hunting; either scuba diving for Lobsters and freediving kelp paddies here in Southern California, spearfishing Cabrilla and grabbing slipper lobsters in the Sea of Cortez or bring the Hawaiian sling along and plucking off a few lion fish in the Caribbean. I know that’s not an option for most every dive location and we get a lot of it here at home.

If the fishing’s good we often charter an offshore fishing boat and try to stock the freezer early in a trip. Other top side activates we enjoy would be tasting local cuisine and checking out the local culture and attractions. We also enjoy catching a few sunsets and setting up the camera for some nice time-lapse videos.

This is the first I’ve heard of Ken Kurtis, but his Ultimate Indonesia trip is intriguing. I will definitely look into that. As well as the Red Sea Aggressor, 7-10 days on the liveaboard and a week or so checking out Egypt. We considered and defiantly want to dive/visit Galapagos & Cocos but where never got to motivated seeing that the best way to do so was via liveaboard. I’m hoping after this trip, that will no longer be an issue.

Hawaii is a great option but we have planned an extended vacation there. My better half has family, friends and time share options there so we plan is to arrange it and island hope for a couple months while we are both still capable of working remote.

Bonaire has been on our list for a while too and one day we plan to rent a bareboat cat or trimaran and tour it and the surrounding islands.

Everything else is still on the table, the South Pacific and Asia at the top of the list.

John @jstrang, What resort did you stay at? Would we need to extend our budget a bit for a trip like yours?

 

[Adelaar Cruises]

Greetings from Indonesia Roscoe B,

...We enjoy all types of diving, but we seem to have the most fun when we are hunting; either scuba diving for Lobsters and freediving kelp paddies here in Southern California, spearfishing Cabrilla and grabbing slipper lobsters in the Sea of Cortez or bring the Hawaiian sling along and plucking off a few lion fish in the Caribbean. I know that’s not an option for most every dive location and we get a lot of it here at home.

How about trying a different kind of hunting? "Hunting" for strange and unusual critters is an amazing way to spend a dive - it's like a treasure hunt. Lol, only you don't get to keep your treasure, just amazing memories (or photos)!

Of course there is much more to Indonesia than just critters. Some areas have the healthiest reefs in the world - hard corals, soft corals, 1000's of reef fish, some reef sharks, whale sharks, mantas and mola-mola.

3 weeks gives you plenty of time to experience some of Indonesia! Bali is relatively easy to get into and offers plenty of topside activities as well.

You could start off with a VRBO or stay at a dive resort in Northeast Bali (Tulamben, Amed or Candidasa). From these surrounding areas (possible day trips) you can see:
Wrecks, tons of marine critters, some reefs, Mantas, Mola-mola (seasonal)...etc.

From Bali you can either join a liveaboard from Bali or fly to Labuan Bajo and dive Komodo. Leaving from Bali gives you the opportunity to see more of Indonesia, both above (visit - waterfalls, dragons, volcanic lakes, sunset hikes or sunset flying bats) and below (dive - reefs, muck, walls, drift, volcanic slopes). The diving is spectacular, the marine life abundant and diverse

As far as liveaboards go, you can spend as much time as you want with the guests or find a quiet spot to relax and do your own thing. @dirtfarmer is right, most guests take a shower after their dives, we offer 2 hot & cold showers right on deck (in addition to the ones in the cabins). The best part about a liveaboard is that you get a new dive site every day. No need to return to the resort, so no need to keep the tenders at a site nearby. You'll definitely see more variety on a liveaboard. And if you don't want to dive, have the tender drop you off at a secluded beach to relax or take a hike.

You can't go wrong diving Indonesia, it's a huge diverse archipelago with amazing diving. Enjoy!

P.S. If you do head to S.E. Asia we've just written a blog about free stopovers, city tours and airport amenities. Maybe you'll find some useful information for your trip.