Dive Vacations--Familiarity or Diversity????

[Steve_C]

Think it depends on how easily you are to amuse. I like to try new places when I travel but locally in NC there are dives I have done 20 or more times and I still find them interesting. The wreck always look the same but you never know what critters show up. Last Saturday I was diving an inshore wreck that I had dove many times (Stone Tug). I found a pair of tiny nudibranchs that as far as I can tell so far have never been seen on the US East Coast and are supposed to be in the Mediterranean.

I think if you just say there is coral and fish and stuff that the same reef could get monotonous. But if you get into locating and identifying new critters the same piece of water can sustain you for many many dives.

 

[boulderjohn]

Think it depends on how easily you are to amuse. I like to try new places when I travel but locally in NC there are dives I have done 20 or more times and I still find them interesting. The wreck always look the same but you never know what critters show up. Last Saturday I was diving an inshore wreck that I had dove many times (Stone Tug). I found a pair of tiny nudibranchs that as far as I can tell so far have never been seen on the US East Coast and are supposed to be in the Mediterranean.

I think if you just say there is coral and fish and stuff that the same reef could get monotonous. But if you get into locating and identifying new critters the same piece of water can sustain you for many many dives.

I think there is a real difference in one's attitude between going to a local spot and planning a vacation to a remote location. If you saw where we dive in Colorado, you would wonder why anyone would go there the first time, let alone a second. We go to New Mexico a lot for an improvement, and I can't begin to estimate how many dives I have in the same sink hole on the prairie there. When it's what you have locally, you do the dives over and over again, and you have a different mindset about it. If I lived in NC, I would be thrilled to have diving like that readily available to me, no matter how many times I had done it before.

 

[diverjen]

This is a great thread and very timely to my current situation.

I have met a lot of folks who do the "both" thing and if I can get by with two dive trips a year that is what I would do too. My travel and snorkeling experience throughout the Caribbean has been pretty extensive prior to becoming certified (Grand Cayman 2x, Roatan 2x, Belize once, Cozumel 2x, Riveria Maya 3x, Antigua 1x and three cruises). After certification, I have been pretty limited to Bonaire with the slight exception of BVI.

I have met a lot of repeaters to Bonaire and I totally get that for its convenience, affordability, and diving freedom. Several of the folks I met last time did Bonaire and then every other trip someplace totally different. Bonaire was the only place they had repeated frequently and they planed on coming back every other trip due to its qualities. I can totally see doing that!

Also, I think its so circumstantial, as to what is going on in your life with money and schedule flexibility as some of us don't have the time off or money to try some of those big dive trips every year.

I really hope I get to try diving many many places, but I can understand when you find something that works really well for you, why you would be hesitant to give that up and spend all of that time, money, and energy, and run the risk of thinking "I wish I had just gone back to Bonaire...."

We are trying the Philippines this next time and are very very excited to have some new diving experiences there. Maybe the long flight times, boat diving and such won't be for us, but that is why they call it an adventure, and we will never know until we try!

 

[Mike]

We do both, we continually seek out the next dive destination on the bucket list and keep returning to the ones that become favorites.

Once you get out of the Caribbean and experience Indo Pacific diving, it's tough to just go back to the Caribbean again and again. Those people who keep going back to Cozumel 30 times and rave about the diving don't know what they are missing.

 

[Agility]

As I live in Europe the Red Sea is diving destination #1 but I have been to different regions to dive there and different islands in and countries around the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.
I will be back to the Red Sea later this year

 

[Zznola]

Timely post for me as well as I embark on my repeat trip to the West End of Roatan. Staying at the same Hotel, Cocolobo, as well. Why the same trip? Because everything just fit well for me. The flights, the location, the diving and the hotel. Im pretty particular as to what makes a good stay and this mix just works for me. $1.25 beers at happy hour helps as well! Just sayin. Now as my dive experience grows I may want to see if there are " Better" locations. Went to Belize last year with a girlfriend and I was blown away by the diving and she was just ,"meh" after spending time in Fiji and the other islands. Maybe I don't know what Im missing but sometimes the familiar is just easier and that itself makes it a better vacation.

 

[lmorin]

My wife and I did not learn to dive until we were in our mid fifties, unfortunately. We then began to take dive trips to a number of spots around the Caribbean, including a Belize liveaboard. The sampling process included 3 trips to Bonaire and after the third, we decided that Bonaire could really entertain us diving-wise for a long time. We bought a condo at Sand Dollar in 2010 and have been going about 4 times/year since, with stays now up to 3 wks. We are extremely pleased with the way this has worked, 1) because the diving is great and something different is almost always seen; 2) we enjoy our familiar home-away-from-home; 3) we enjoy the Sand Dollar environment; 4) we rent out our condo when we cannot be there; 5) the rentals keep our diving-related costs very low, which makes us even happier. That said, we are going to Little Cayman in just a few days and at least one trip to Palau or some such place is on our bucket list.

 

[drrich2]

Wingy's post touched on some good issues. I'll expand on that a bit.

Some destinations, like the west coast of Bonaire, can be done in 1 or 2 dive trips where you dedicate yourself to diving it, and you can honestly say 'been there, done that.' But some destinations would require multiple trips to say you've sampled it overall.

If memory serves, Doc has indicated elsewhere that Roatan's underwater topography varies substantially in different areas, and dive boats for a given resort don't covert the whole dive able island. If you want to say you've 'been to and done' Roatan, you probably not only need to go more than once, but to stay different places.

Testing the old memory again, I'm thinking someone elsewhere pointed out the Philipines is a large number of islands covering a huge area. Saying 'I'm going to the Philippines' is more like saying you're going to the Caribbean than saying you're going to Cozumel.

So, as an added nuance to the discussion, consider how many people choose to make 1/3rd or more of their dive trips to a location that they've dove extensively enough to say 'been there, done that?'

And roughly how many dedicated 1 week dive trips do you guys think it takes to say 'been there, done that' for Cozumel, Saba, Belize, Roatan, etc…?

Richard.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Some places I'll go to multiple times ... Bonaire, Quintana Roo, Bali, Lembeh Straits, Port Hardy ... but even there I tend to mix it up in terms of dive sites. I'll definitely return to Raja Ampat, but I'll want to see parts of it I didn't see last time.

For the most part, I prefer trying new places ... gonna be heading to the Red Sea in a few weeks. Next May it'll be Fiji, and then there's the 2016 ScubaBoard Philippines trip ... I've never been to any of those places yet, and really looking forward to the experience. Too many places in the world I haven't dived in yet ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mikeycanuk]

Very recently discovered Bali can be had for $3000 for 2 weeks accommodation. Diving and food costs comparable to Coz. Have not looked into airfare too much but for us I can use points to fly.

Little bit extra $, looooong flight time but I'd imagine the diving is so much better. We have a 2 week vacation in Carriacou this Christmas then Solomon's, Raja and Komodo 6 months apart.

Can't wait, and we do some local diving. Really missing the salt water at the moment, on a local 4 day trip diving the St Lawrence. Cold and murky! But bring wet is better than being dry any day


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