Freakin airfare - why so expensive?

[outofofficebrb]

I would concur that for us on the West Coast, a place like the Philippines makes a ton of sense from a cost perspective, particularly if able to find a direct flight into Manila and cut down on the travel time. I have kept costs down in Florida by finding a reasonable AirBnB and I have also found that the diving can be pretty inexpensive if you have your own tanks or can obtain tanks somehow. The boat diving costs themselves out of Boynton and West Palm are really quite reasonable (much less expensive than Channel Islands boat dives) and even more so if you don't have to pay the additional tank costs.

I'll have to find someone who will let me borrow their tanks? Do you know how much the diving is per-tank or what the best you could find was? I'd love to do at least a 3 or 4 tank day if the water is warm.

 

[scubadada]

I'll have to find someone who will let me borrow their tanks? Do you know how much the diving is per-tank or what the best you could find was? I'd love to do at least a 3 or 4 tank day if the water is warm.

The 5 operators I use cost $70-78 for a 2 tank dive, cylinders not included. Cylinders are $15 each for nitrox.

 

[scubadada]

@outofofficebrb

JDC offers 3 tanker every Fri and Sun, at a discount. Others offer a 3 tanker sporadically. I often simply do the AM and PM 2 tankers.

Warm water is relative, today it was 72, I'm switching to my 7mm tomorrow. You don't do much work drift diving.

 

[Trailboss123]

I'll have to find someone who will let me borrow their tanks? Do you know how much the diving is per-tank or what the best you could find was? I'd love to do at least a 3 or 4 tank day if the water is warm.

What @scubadada said regarding dive costs. This time of year water is at its coldest, as Craig said, around 72 right now. I have had it as warm as 76 in February and then it starts warming up throughout the year to highs around 85-86 by late summer. I love the drift diving off of Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach, combined with some world class shore dives at Blue Heron Bridge, which allows for some outstanding muck diving at a very reduced cost, since you are just paying for a tank rental. The reefs are very lush and in addition to all of the normal caribbean reef fish you'd expect to find elsewhere in the Caribbean, it is common to see large green morays out and about swimming, various types of sharks and large Goliath Groupers. I have been fortunate on most of my trips to Florida to have much of my travel costs offset since I combined it with a business trip that took care of my airfare and a certain # of my hotel nights. I haven't looked into SFO, I believe that is your home airport?, - but I can get direct flights from LAX to Fort Lauderdale on Jet Blue very inexpensively. Oh yeah- Almost forgot-- Lots of turtles-- lots and lots of turtles-- Love me some loggerheads!

 

[scubadada]

...Oh yeah- Almost forgot-- Lots of turtles-- lots and lots of turtles-- Love me some loggerheads!

Lots of Loggerheads, many Hawksbill and Greens, I've seen a couple Leatherbacks, saw my first Kemp's Ridley in West Palm last year.

 

[scubadada]

Kemp's Ridley Turtle, courtesy of Dave Finch, Narcosis Dive Co. Cross Current Barge, November 30, 2016.

 

[Snoweman]

I've got to think the high costs are mostly due to the infrequent flights. It looks like United flies on Fri and Sat from Houston and Sat and Sun from NYC. Delta flies only on Sat and Sun from ATL. Insel, Divi Divi make up most of the weekday flights from CUR. I know there are some KLM flights, too.

From the viewpoint of the BON airport folks, they need to employ people over the weekend to unload the USA planes. From the airlines POV, they have to find reliable and reputable folks to man their desks for two or three days a week, for about four or five hours per day. The best thing that could happen to airfares is more flights. That is also the worst thing that could happen to hotel and rental costs.

Save up your Delta miles and figure out when the 35,000 or 40,000 mile availability matches your travel availability.

 

[Dan]

The problem with Fla is it's just not cost effective if you are planning on diving a lot. I know air to Bonaire is high but that's not the only cost. If you run the numbers, for me Bonaire is almost half what a comparable trip to the Keys is . I have a trip planned to Bonaire shortly which is running me just under $2000pp which includes everything but lunch, dinner and park fee. Food is about a wash for cost. I just did a quick search for diving in Key Largo and it breaks down like this.

Air- $300,. nice an cheap compared to the $900 I paid to Bonaire
Rental car- $200 (plus taxes???) And a lot more gas will be needed
Resort 7 nights in March $1500 and include breakfast (but I would bet its no where near the quality of the one in my Bonaire package) and I suspect that does not include taxes.

That in itself brings me to $2000 (plus taxes???) which is about the cost of my Bonaire trip and we have not got to the diving.

Now lets add diving. I checked a well know major charter which runs about $90 for a 2 tank dive, $100 if you do nitrox. Assuming 4 nitrox dives a day for 6 days ( my Bonaire dive package is unlimited nitrox) , that comes to another $1200. Add in tips and the cost of diving alone is almost the cost of my entire Bonaire trip.
Now lets do a little more in depth comparison of the diving. I will get at best 60 minutes of bottom time per dive or 24 hours of bottom time for the Keys trip. Had more than one captain pissed at me for 75 minute dives. My average dive on Bonaire is 75 minutes (often more) and I can easily do more than 4 per day but for the sake of comparison, I'll assume just doing 4- 75 minute dives per day, that is 30 hours of bottom time or an additional 6 hours of diving. Granted I am shore diving but I prefer it to boat diving since I am not on anyone's schedule. I also have the option of doing more dives, longer dives or night dives if I choose at no additional cost. And finally the possibility of not diving due to weather, in the keys it is entirely possible ( although not likely) that the entire week could be blown out due to weather. While I get my diving money back, I am still out the cost of the trip and wasted vacation time. And for anyone who had not been to the keys, there is NOTHING to do if you are not diving.....well set in a bar and drink but I can do that at home.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Keys diving BUT if it's anything longer than a long weekend, I'm heading to Bonaire, Cur or Coz, the price is simply not worth it when you factor in everything.

But.....can you see these guys in the video below in Bonaire?
I just go for a long weekend trip anyway.