Both my husband and I are experienced divers, and we are starting masters programs in late fall or winter, and we want to do another dive vacation before it's too late! Since we're going to grad school, we're on a budget. We don't care about shopping or such, we just like diving (no shore diving tho), as much diving as possible. Dove Coz 3 times, want something else, love drift diving. Any suggestions?
Good diving?
- Thread starter lalbers
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Lalbers,
Depending on the type of diving you are wanting to do, there are several affordable dive locations to go to. My wife is currently in law school and we are on a limited budget and limited time frame for trips as well. We have done some pretty inexpensive trips to Roatan and Bonaire. You can get good flights from Houston to both locations for reasonable rates. I think that there are some really good fares to Bonaire right now. It does seem to be pretty expensive to fly from Albuquerque to Houston however, and that bumps up the price.
You might also want to look at California. We have had alot of fun diving on Catalina Island. Avalon has a cool, almost carribean feel and the kelp forests are really a neat experience. If you decide on Catalina or California, plan for cool water in the spring. It was 52 when we went last March.
Most importantly, don't forget about Blue Hole. The visibilty is good enough to see all five of the fish in it! PM me if you are interested in any additonal information, or want to do any local diving.
Ryan
Depending on the type of diving you are wanting to do, there are several affordable dive locations to go to. My wife is currently in law school and we are on a limited budget and limited time frame for trips as well. We have done some pretty inexpensive trips to Roatan and Bonaire. You can get good flights from Houston to both locations for reasonable rates. I think that there are some really good fares to Bonaire right now. It does seem to be pretty expensive to fly from Albuquerque to Houston however, and that bumps up the price.
You might also want to look at California. We have had alot of fun diving on Catalina Island. Avalon has a cool, almost carribean feel and the kelp forests are really a neat experience. If you decide on Catalina or California, plan for cool water in the spring. It was 52 when we went last March.
Most importantly, don't forget about Blue Hole. The visibilty is good enough to see all five of the fish in it! PM me if you are interested in any additonal information, or want to do any local diving.
Ryan
robint
Contributor
Cozumel is definitely a budget destination, it is the only place we dove for 3 years as it was all we could afford! Now, having branched out and tried new places I can say Roatan and Bonaire are places you should check out. Yes, they are a bit more $$ than Cozumel but they are different, not drift diving but easy relaxed diving and lots of fish and critters to see. The shore diving in Bonaire is actually very easy, especially from the oceanfront resorts where they have stairs to walk right down into water! They also have markers out on the reef which point back to the resort.
Look at some of the deals offered on the dive travel websites like Caradonna Dive Adventures - Dive Travel and Vacations
and
Bay Adventures :: Dive Adventures and Island Vacations :: 888.599.3483
depending when you want to go, there are some sweet deals out there.
tadeotadeo
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Almost always forgotten San Andres and Old Providence Islands in the Western Caribbean. There are rates are some of the lowest in the Caribbean, the 2 trips I offer for one week $700 including breakfast and $800 all inclusive and you can find similar rates throughout the two Islands. The biggest issue is getting there, depending on where you are coming from the trips can be long or costly. I’ve seen and paid myself as low as $550 in the past year. PM me if you are interested in any more information.
Ciao
Tad
Ciao
Tad
Check out Thatch Caye's all inclusive dive packages, they have runs to the outer atolls and their own liveaboard (as well as a stunning beautiful caye)......
Good grief, I;ve dove Blue Hole enough for a lifetime. I used to be a NAUI instructor in Alb and, of course, first check out dives were in blue hole. Also dove California and Sea of Cortez enough,, at this point in time, want warm weather diving, 5-7 mil wetsuits are a pain when you can just jump in with your bc!. Local diving is pretty grim in NM, Navajo etc viz is horrible. Like caribbean and 100 ft viz!
Have heard alot about Bonaire and the shore diving, but have some questions and concerns. Hubby has a prosthetic leg, has made a dive leg, but it is no good for walking on shore, which is why I've always thought no shore diving. How easy is shore diving there? Also, is the diving better in Roatan or Belize than Coz? I've also heard the crime is bad in Bonaire?
robint
Contributor
The crime in Bonaire is petty theft, usually things left in rental vehicles by divers. The rule on Bonaire is to leave nothing in the truck but towels and sunsreen and roll the windows down to keep a thief from breaking in. We did this with no problems.
The shore diving at many spots would be fine for him as long as he can navigate stairs. The coral rubble at some sites might be difficult. For those sites you might want to carry his gear into the water for him first and let him gear up in waste deep water, then gear yourself up on shore and walk in. You can always do the boat dives offered at every dive resort too. The boats usually go out for a dive, then return to resort, load up for a second dive, etc. At Buddy's, where we stayed, they had 3 boat dives per day offered. Most people only do 1 boat dive per day, then do a shore dive there at resort, and then a shore dive or two somewhere else on island. I did meet one guy recently who only did the boat dives or shore dives at his resort. It is totally up to you.
Roatan might be a better choice as many resorts do 3-4 boat dives per day. CoCoView would be okay shore diving for him as it has a sand channel that you walk out into and back for the shore dives. Very easy, no waves or coral. Other resorts like Fantasy Island and Anthony's Key are worth checking out.
robin
RussR
Contributor
What about a liveaboard? No shopping or anything - just diving - not sure of the prices but I think they are comparable with a full weeks boat diving + hotel etc.
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