For divers with 100+ dives - do you have a "happy place"?

[robint]

I had never really thought it was possible, I like EVERY place we go diving, there is always something special about it. Each destination has great things that area unique to that destination............

Brianil - True....... that was what I felt up until I had 350+ dives and had been to CCV. I liked everywhere for one reason or another and thought they were each special, and I still do! My "happy place" doesn't mean I don't want to go anywhere else, it just means that I have ONE special place that is the Gold Standard for me... the place that topside and underwater has made all other places pale in comparison. Once you have done more dives, and been to more destinations, you will probably find a "happy place". Heck, it might even be the same one I found!

robin

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Aboard the Eclipse sailing and diving in Micronesia.

 

[Rick Inman]

If there's no wrecks it really does not interest me and I'm not allowed to do caves(wife's orders).

Same same.

Diving the Jodrey in the St. Lawrence River. It is deep diving (wreck sits at 230'). It is huge (330' long) full of penetration areas. It is fresh water, so the gear cleaning is simple. The water is warm (compared to my local waters). Zebra muscles keep the water clear. The Thousand Islands area is quaint and the people are kind.

 

[mstrdvr]

Any where with decent viz. Hovering in front of a wall watching fish or simply feeding them night crawlers (blue gills and bass ) with my daughter in 20 ft of water. I aint cheap , but I'm easy. And the "small minds are easily entertained " thing

 

[tvictory]

I'd say that for about the first ten years we always resisted going back to places where we had been, no matter how much we liked them, just because we felt there were so many other places we had yet to experience that we owed it to ourselves to keep expanding our horizons. Once we started making repeat visits, it has proven to be the usual suspects: the Caymans, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, Curacao, etc. Still, though, we keep looking for new spots. Even though I've loved the diving in Thailand, Fiji, and the Red Sea, if I could put together the time and money to repeat those trips I'd probably still want to look for someplace I hadn't been yet.

 

[mase]

Similans, for the variety of marine life and good Thai food.

Me too. Thailand:The diving, the food, the culture, the people keep me coming back year after year.

 

[Pelagicsal]

Dominica! Great variety of rare stuff, and a lot of it.
Dive in the morning, lunch in town, adventure to hot springs, gorge, waterfalls, rainforest, Scotts head... in the afternoon, night dive, off to hear music, sleep. Do it all again.
Looking for seahorses, frog fish, pelagics on every dive - and usually finding at least 2 of the three.
Gazing skyward from a wall dive, straight up a cliff, and into the rain forest overhanging it.

Getting around in the jitneys was great, too! Slice of local life, and every ride featured someone who'd tell some tales and make the ride fly by.
Listening to the local radio stations to keep up with tsunami warnings because Monserat was threatening.
Having a Kubuli or a Quenchi while wandering. (Have a big Quenchi sign, from a little road-side store, in my kitchen.)

Nice memories from 1997 - waiting out the closing of my house. Gotta get back out there.

 

[spt29970]

Hmmm. That is a tricky question. The dive that sticks in my mind the most, is Roca Partida in the Revillagigedos Archipelago. I was only there once, but the image of Mantas, Sharks, Tuna, and Jacks, not to mention the mind bogglingly vertical wall and the deep pelagic blue water, is forever etched in my memory.

Of course in terms of being happy in a "comfort food" sense, it would have to be diving the Channel Islands, and San Miguel in particular. I have been diving the Islands for over a decade and it is always different and always beautiful.

 

[Oceanic Dreams]

The Maldives - Is a Ultimate happy place for diving . You can expect the unexpected. If you have dived in Maldives before , I suggest next time come for a longer stay and a longer route . To suprise yourself in the Marvel of the underwater garden, travel to the far north , reach to sites where you can see plenty of Mantas dancing, Whale Sharks in just one spot.

You just got to have a little bit of Luck.

Colourful reefs and the rich Marine life will make u feel happy. Your every dime will be worth it. choose the right liveaboard for the Adventure.

 

[kathydee]

It's called Bali ;-)

Also, warm water,100+ ft vis and nothing but deep, deep blue water ;-).

and there was a moment in Sipadan at Baracuta Point
130+ ft vis, a school of 1,000's? of silver barracuda spiraling 70ft up through the blue waters, black/white tip and gray sharks cruising by, turtles dotting the vista, and plenty of colorful reef fish--all at one time!