Help me with planning a dream trip

[Damselfish]

Oh, really?

Really. You might see those things on a muck dive, just like you might see them on any dive, but that's not what makes something a muck dive, at least not in this context. Someone shouldn't avoid muck diving because they are incorrectly assuming it means diving in crap. I'm sure some places have muck dives with more than their share of trash (often turned into critter homes.) I've heard of places with a bad rep for major trash or whatever issues, and that's just another thing people should pay attention to in their research if it's a deal breaker for them. I've been fortunate to experience little of this in the places I've dove, which has included a decent amount of muck diving.

 

[Rhone Man]

What kind of budget per person are we talking about?

Have you done any research into Truk Lagoon aboard the Odyssey?

Nice rooms, good food, fantastic service. 3 or 4 dives a day, good viz, no currents a true bucket list trip to celebrate your 30th anniversary.

If you really wanted to make it an ultimate dive trip you could look at adding Palau or Hawaii along with Truk....

Scuba Diving Truk Lagoon Aboard Odyssey. The best way to explore Truk Lagoon in Micronesia

If I had a week left to live, that is what I would do. Liveaboard diving is thought of as a bit pokey, but the Odyssey was pretty luxurious when I went (which was before the refit). No beach obviously, but epic diving in tranquil conditions with zero current. Minimal effort. Great food. Easy diving. I just loved it.

You could always combine it with a short stay in Guam to get any beach time needed.

 

[chillyinCanada]

If I had a week left to live, that is what I would do. Liveaboard diving is thought of as a bit pokey, but the Odyssey was pretty luxurious when I went (which was before the refit). No beach obviously, but epic diving in tranquil conditions with zero current. Minimal effort. Great food. Easy diving. I just loved it.

You could always combine it with a short stay in Guam to get any beach time needed.

But then it's all wrecks, right? And deep to boot?!

 

[CptTightPants21]

But then it's all wrecks, right? And deep to boot?!

Wrecks yes. Deep no.

Wrecks range from 35-300ft with everything in between. The Odyssey mostly sticks to the shallower sights that can be done on single tank. Not everyone has doubles, unless you own the boat and know everyone in the group.;

 

[Lorenzoid]

Please sell us on muck diving. . .

To get a taste of muck diving close to home, take a road trip to Blue Heron Bridge down in Florida. To me, "muck" simply means a fairly featureless bottom that would be uninteresting but for the marine life that inhabits such a bottom. The bottom might be sand, silt, rocks, coral rubble, or man-made stuff--yes, even discarded junk. But sometimes junk can be good! For example, octopuses love to make homes in things like bottles and shoes. You cruise over the bottom until you spot a critter. Blue Heron Bridge is great to get a taste of muck diving because it's a shore dive, and the depth is only around 20 feet.

 

[Rhone Man]

Wrecks yes. Deep no.

Wrecks range from 35-300ft with everything in between. The Odyssey mostly sticks to the shallower sights that can be done on single tank. Not everyone has doubles, unless you own the boat and know everyone in the group.;

I'd agree that they are on the deeper side. Most of my dives were in the 90 foot range, with the deepest maxing out around 125 feet (excluding one tec dive on the SF Maru). Very few of our dives were shallower than 75 feet.

And although they are wrecks, they are biiigggg wrecks with plenty of marine life on them, including mantas and sharks. You feel like you are just coasting around flat coral gardens when you are on the decks. I am not really a penetration guy, wrecks-wise.

 

[CptTightPants21]

For reference. Most common dive sites Trul Odyssey hits.

Truk Lagoon Dive Sites. Wrecks Truk Odyssey visits in Truk Lagoon

 

[anenomefishman]

for my 60th bday, we went to the galapagos. however, we went to raja ampat soon after that. we have been to wakatobi a couple times before. it is fabulous, but spendy. both raja ampat and wakatobi are fantastic places. wakatobi mostly all wall drift dives. RA was all drift dives, but not really much wall stuff. teaser photo from wakatobi.

 

[dirtfarmer]

RA was all drift dives, but not really much wall stuff.

wildbill, not all dives in Raja Ampat are drift dives. The Kri area, yes is heavy on the drift dives and tend to have the most current, but many of the sites in Raja are not drift dives. Al Mitch had a lot of good things to peruse in regards to options. Indonesia has some really incredible locations. RA is truly epic and if you want to do land based look into the resorts in the Missol area. It is the best of the Raja Ampat region which is very large.

In regards to muck diving if you like taking macro photos muck will lead you to critter heaven. Yes you might see a dirty diaper and some junk but amongst that junk just might be lurking an amazing sea creature. Ive been to Lembeh 4x and will go back again, it has some of the best muck diving in the world. Your wife might be bored or uninterested or go crazy over all the cool creatures so check out some videos on youtube of Lembeh and see if she would like it.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Top of my list of recommendations, would be Misool Eco resort in southern RA. It's mixed diving, walls reefs an pinnacles. They put groups together in respspect to their preferences ( so photographers who want macro may go in one, people who like currents in another.

You can do it by LOB but you only touch on a few sites. You chose how much you want to dive, gererally 3 dives per day and options for night dives. Everything from oceanic mantas to painted frog fish. They have 3 species of pigmy seahorse so, but my wife and I did this for our 50th and aren't interested in critters we need a magnifying glass to see.

Misool isn't cheap. For 12 days everything included (food, accom,diving, nitrox)as well as the internal flight was $8k per person. I'd be willing to sell the kids into slavery to go again, it really is the best place I've ever been, and I've been to quite a free places

Next us Komodo, you can choose between 7 day, 4 day or 3 days - even day trips. We only had a couple of drift dives, nothing too hard core and we could stop to take pictures. Really likes it, we chose a lower end LOB (Wicked Diving). Good safe and reliable and thus us the third time we've used them, approx $1500 per person per week all in

Liked Nusa Lembongan for day diving, but after a while the dives become samey, we enjoyed it never the less