Epic trip - August

[Murphy in NC]

Hello friends,

Putting together a big father / son trip for July or August 2024.

Not too worried about travel time, distance or cost, however want an awesome time. We prefer nature over nightlife and looking for not extremely challenging diving.

No cold water diving due to Raynauds Syndrome.

We have been to Hawaii, Saint Martin, Curacao, Belize, Bonaire and Grand Cayman.

We both love Mantas

Looking at Indonesia and looking suggestions.



Thanks

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Chuuk - Truk Lagoon.

Google it.

 

[Doc]

…..looking for not extremely challenging diving.



We both love mantas.

Best chance at Mantas is night diving hovering over very deep water. Many find that challenging.

Define “not extremely challenging diving”. It could mean many different things.

 

[Murphy in NC]

Best chance at Mantas is night diving hovering over very deep water. Many find that challenging.

Define “not extremely challenging diving”. It could mean many different things.

Deeper than 130, extremely cold, area know for STRONG currents or extremely difficult seas.

 

[drrich2]

PADI has a page with a blurb on the Maldives that looks promising:

"With a tropical climate and warm temperatures year round, Maldives can be dived at any time. Water temperatures range from 80°F/26°C-86°F/30°C. August-November is considered the best time of year to see manta rays and whale sharks. Jan-April offers great visibility and welcomes the driest/warmest months."

IIRC, @Dan has been. Dan, does this sound like a good destination for what he's after? IIRC, it's mainly a 3 dive/day live aboard destination and the diving tends to run deep, feature some currents (how strenuous is the diving?) and it's known for a diversity of sharks.

I've never been to the Maldives and will probably never make it there, but it sounds like this might fit your wish list.

 

[Centrals]

Komodo

 

[Failed captcha]

Deeper than 130, extremely cold, area know for STRONG currents or extremely difficult seas.

I experienced strong current in most parts of Indonesia. I did some liveaboards in Komodo and in Raja Ampat. I saw a lot of mantas in Komodo but It almost seems like strong current correlated with manta sightings except on one dive site toward the end of my 10 days on that boat in Komodo, the Jaya I think it was called. I wish I could remember the name of that dive site but it was definitely spectacular. Two mantas were playing together in front of my group for most of the dive and the water was quite calm. Visibility was incredible that day and yes, it was day time.

Looking back, the current was one of my favorite things about diving in Indonesia. There was also quite a bit of hand punching in Raja Ampat which I also loved but I didn't see any mantas there.

 

[Dan]

PADI has a page with a blurb on the Maldives that looks promising:

"With a tropical climate and warm temperatures year round, Maldives can be dived at any time. Water temperatures range from 80°F/26°C-86°F/30°C. August-November is considered the best time of year to see manta rays and whale sharks. Jan-April offers great visibility and welcomes the driest/warmest months."

IIRC, @Dan has been. Dan, does this sound like a good destination for what he's after? IIRC, it's mainly a 3 dive/day live aboard destination and the diving tends to run deep, feature some currents (how strenuous is the diving?) and it's known for a diversity of sharks.

I've never been to the Maldives and will probably never make it there, but it sounds like this might fit your wish list.

It is. I have been there 3 times. The 4th & 5th times are next month. I’ll be on 2 liveaboards back-to-back, Dec 17-24 on Maldives Aggressor, Dec 24-31 on Horizon 3.

Here’s one of the trip video to give you an idea how the dive was:



Plenty of Reef Mantas in Moofushi.



Or Oceanic Mantas in Randall Maldivaru. They are huge, the mature adult ones are
about twice the size of mature adult Reef Mantas.

 

[Dan]

Hello friends,

Putting together a big father / son trip for July or August 2024.

Not too worried about travel time, distance or cost, however want an awesome time. We prefer nature over nightlife and looking for not extremely challenging diving.

No cold water diving due to Raynauds Syndrome.

We have been to Hawaii, Saint Martin, Curacao, Belize, Bonaire and Grand Cayman.

We both love Mantas

Looking at Indonesia and looking suggestions.



Thanks

Another good option for August is Bali & Komodo. I’m taking 11 of my dive buddies for 4 days in Bali and 10 days cruising from Bali to Komodo and back to Bali on Mermaid 1 (which just received the best liveaboard in Pacific award from Scuba Diving Magazine) on August 8 to 21, 2024. You’ll see Mola Mola, Whaleshark and plenty of Mantas.

Here are some videos I took from last July & August.

 

[Dive Advice Travel]

Hello friends,

Putting together a big father / son trip for July or August 2024.

Not too worried about travel time, distance or cost, however want an awesome time. We prefer nature over nightlife and looking for not extremely challenging diving.

No cold water diving due to Raynauds Syndrome.

We have been to Hawaii, Saint Martin, Curacao, Belize, Bonaire and Grand Cayman.

We both love Mantas

Looking at Indonesia and looking suggestions.



Thanks

Definetely go to Komodo. Sounds like Manta guarantee, wild dives, beautiful and healthy reefs. You can contact us on www.diveadvice.com ! Cheers!