Hi from Newfoundland, Canada! Looking for dive vacation advice!

[Megan123]

Hi guys ! Just looking for a bit of advice for our next dive vacation ! Looking for somewhere to go to experience a bit of everything . My fiancée would really love to experience a liveaboard but I would also like to experience some new culture, and I'm having a hard time with the thought of spending my whole time on a boat in a new place that I've never seen before (although I love being on the water) . Is there such a thing as like a two or three day liveaboard so I also get to see the place Im going ?
Last year we did Utila and I LOVED the island living and diving but we'd like to go somewhere new this year.. we will probably only have 7 days and I want to make the most of it ! (We did Jamaica last year as well but I'd prefer somewhere a little less touristy)
Thanks in advance !

 

[jaque88]

Hello, Megan:
Cozumel would be an obvious choice, although it definitely is touristy and full of divers and dive opererators. I also would recommend Dominican Republic, which would give you a good mix of fun culture and good diving. Good dive areas in DR are the Samana Peninsula and the Bayahibe area (southern coast). (NOT Punta Cana!!)

 

[decompression]

Thailand, specifically Koh Lak, a great 3 day livaboard to the Similans and good day trips. Great food and culture with lots to do and see. We used Seabees, and excellent outfit.

 

[KeithG]

What type of diving do you really like? Do you want to do group cluster dives? Or do you want the freedom to dive as a buddy pair? Do you want 60 minute+ dives? 5 dives a day? Or 1 and done? Is food important (quality vs quantity).

If you provide some more details about your preferences / past dive trips / budget expectations then you may get more specific answers. Who did you dive with in Utila? Utila has some very cheap and some very ritzy diving.

I always recommend Bonaire for easy diving. You can dive on your own schedule as deep and as long as you wish. We also switch between the T&C Explorer LOB and the Belize Dancer (now aggressor) LOB.

P.S. Jamaica is not really considered a dive destination...

 

[KathyV]

I know what you mean, when I travel to a distant country I want to see things and meet the local people. Usually when we do a liveaboard trip we add some time on land before getting on the boat. That gives us a chance to relax, rest, and look around, and it also gives us "cushion" time in case we experience flight delays or lost luggage. That doesn't happen often but it does happen.

But if that is not an option for you, then you might check out some liveaboards that include optional island tours or free time on land. The Caribbean Explorer runs a couple of different itineraries between St. Martin, St. Kitts, and Saba with some opportunities for island tours.

For example, for one of their itineraries you fly into St. Martin to board the boat, cruise over to Saba to dive and an optional island tour, then cruise to St. Kitts to dive with an optional island tour, and fly home from St. Kitts. And you could always add an extra day or two in St. Martin or St. Kitts or both!

See the link below:
Saba/St. Kitts/St. Maarten Itinerary and Pricing - Explorer Ventures

 

[ram04769]

(We did Jamaica last year as well but I'd prefer somewhere a little less touristy)

Hi Megan. I wish I had some advise to pass along but, I am still fairly new to all of this myself. I wanted to ask you though how you liked diving in Jamaica? I have my first trip planned out to Montego Bay next month and diving will be a good part of it. Just wondering what I should expect. I will be staying at the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort.

 

[Hoag]

There is a cool little dive resort on Grand Turk called Bohio that is run by a couple of Canadian ex-pats. The diving is great, and it is easy. (They pick you up at the hotel beach.) The dive sites are all only a 5-10 minute ride from the pick up till "the pool is open". I saw more turtles there in 5 days of diving last March than I had seen in the more than 20 years of diving up until that point. As an added feature, if you go in the spring, the whales are migrating through and you can hear them on almost every dive.

It is a little off the beaten path, but it can get a bit crowded when a cruise ship is in town since the cruise ships list Bohio as a location to go to for lunch or to lie on the beach. This was never an issue though.

 

[Musicgirl]

I Agree with decompression...I just did a liveaboard in the Similans, departing from Pukhet in Thailand...awesome trip.
I'd also recommend looking into the Philippines (specifically..Palawan, Malapascua, Bohol) and of course Indonesia like Manado or Komodo....all will have liveaboards and local centres with shore/day trip dives. The culture in these places are not a touristy as Bali or Gili/Lombok, so more chances to explore local culture.

 

[KeithG]

Hi Megan. I wish I had some advise to pass along but, I am still fairly new to all of this myself. I wanted to ask you though how you liked diving in Jamaica? I have my first trip planned out to Montego Bay next month and diving will be a good part of it. Just wondering what I should expect. I will be staying at the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort.

We were at Rose Hall a few years ago for a corporate event long weekend thingy. Since it was so short we decided not to take our scuba gear so we did not dive. We did snorkel in the marine park in Mo Bay. It was very disappointing. A cloud of tiny 3 inch Sargent Majors that flocked to the swimmers looking for handouts. Off shore of Rose Hall there is a pile of rubble rocks out by the rope which provided the best snorkel viewing.

The on site Dressel divers appeared to be geared to best handle discover scuba divers. When we asked about planned depth and duration of the dives the shop was not able to provide any answers other than "you stay with the guide". It took almost an hour for the first boatload to get geared up and loaded on the boat. the boat was back at the dock within an hour so the dive could not have been very long.

Please let us know your actual experience.

 

[ram04769]

We were at Rose Hall a few years ago for a corporate event long weekend thingy. Since it was so short we decided not to take our scuba gear so we did not dive. We did snorkel in the marine park in Mo Bay. It was very disappointing. A cloud of tiny 3 inch Sargent Majors that flocked to the swimmers looking for handouts. Off shore of Rose Hall there is a pile of rubble rocks out by the rope which provided the best snorkel viewing.

The on site Dressel divers appeared to be geared to best handle discover scuba divers. When we asked about planned depth and duration of the dives the shop was not able to provide any answers other than "you stay with the guide". It took almost an hour for the first boatload to get geared up and loaded on the boat. the boat was back at the dock within an hour so the dive could not have been very long.

Please let us know your actual experience.

Will do. Thanks for the information! I hope they straightened things out since then and improved. Would stink if it is still the same since this is the first dive trip I take that isn't involving taking any scuba courses.