How lucky are we?

[fnfalman]

Also, some regions have quirky stuff.

I "think" that some people have reported that inline octo is a no-no when diving in Israel.

 

[iztok]

I am new to diving but fortunate to dive in various places including SoCal and all the way up to Monterey in California. I've also dove Key Largo, off the coast of South and North Carolina, Mediterranean (out of Tel Aviv), Red Sea (Israel and Egypt), as well as Thailand (Similan and Phi Phi Islands). (What can I say, I travel for work so it helps.)

My best experience is diving with Sundiver (Express with captain Kyaa) diving around Santa Catalina Island. Traveling alone you end up "solo" or in "insta buddy" situation so it is important to be as much self sufficient as possible. SoCal diving is nice due to variety of marine life. It is about the same in terms of how demanding it is to diving Graveyard of the Atlantic (NC Coast).

So you are right, if you can dive off NC coast or SoCal you can dive pretty much anywhere.

You are lucky in terms of biodiversity, in terms of quality of dive operations, and in terms of divers and dive instructors.

Wish I could afford moving there. I would love to dive SoCal more often.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I've been trying for years to get a work transfer out to Guam, Okinawa or Kwajalein Atoll (all hubs to the great diving in Micronesia/SE Asia), but the best my employer can offer me is either England; middle (outback) Australia; or stay here in SoCal . . . (I think I'd rather stay here!).:cool2:

. . .Los Angeles County, the Birthplace of Recreational Scuba: where you can snowboard/ski in Winter Mountain Wilderness; then turn back around to swim, surf & night dive in Kelp Forests at Mainland Beaches; and finally come home to Suburbia with a perfect Mediterranean Climate --all done within either a span of 12 hrs, or a leisurely paced Weekend. . . !

 

[on_two_wheels]

Well that's a generalization - there are certainly places where it's not - but it's pretty common at tourist destinations. And there are many "vacation divers" who've never dived any other way!

I was actually quite startled the first time I encountered it, which was in French Polynesia. I was on a small cruise ship that had it's own dive op, and we dove off zodiaks that would take 6 or 8 divers out to the dive site. When they explained that we were all going to stay together and follow the DM, I was like, HUH? Hey, I'm certified, I've got a buddy, I know how to navigate - why can't I go do what I wanna do? But that's just not how they do things there. I got to know the dive crew pretty well over the course of the cruise, and they explained that many of the divers are vacationers who rarely dive, some not for years. So they just feel safer with everyone staying together.

Our next vacation brought us to Belize, where we were on a larger boat - 12 divers. I thought for sure THERE we'd be able to go do our own thing. But no - they broke us up into two groups, each with our own DM leader. Here they were a little more lax - they let a few of us go either ahead of or behind the group, but we had to stay within view of the DM (with viz of 100+ ft, it wasn't too hard!).

The problem with these DM-led dives is that your bottom time can be limited to the SAC rate of the biggest hoover in the group. This does NOT sit well with me - when I'm paying over $100 for a 2-tank dive, and I end with 1500+ in my tank each time due to gas-suckers, that is just not a good value.

The good news is that there ARE dive ops out there that will allow the hoovers to head back to do their safety stops on their own, while allowing the rest of us to finish our dive. That is really the way it should be handled, IMO. When we were in Costa Rica a couple years ago, we had 8 + the DM. Everyone had a buddy, and when someone hit the turnaround spg they and their buddy were pointed back towards the boat so they could do their safety stop on the line, and the DM continued with us. My husband finished his tank before I did, and was sent off to the line with another buddy team. The DM then continued on alone with me for another 10 minutes - it was great!

I now make a point of emailing with any dive ops that I'm considering using on vacations, to ask what their policy is on that. If they say that the dive ends when the first person in the group breathes out their tank, I won't use them. We've got a trip to another region of Costa Rica coming up in December, and I've chosen Rich Coast Diving. They have assured me that they allow you to use your full tank, and won't make you end the dive if others in the group finish before you. That's a big reason I chose them, because some other dive ops in the area are well-known for ending the dive based on the fastest hoover in the group.

Just a little advice for when you start doing dive travel!

So what about the places that offer unlimted shore diving and x tank boat dives per day? If a place let me dive from shore all I wanted yet demanded I dive with a group on the boat, I'd be a little pissed. Thanks for the great info. Since I haven't traveled as a diver, I can spend that vacation money anywhere. I'll make sure to find a place that will let me & my buddy dive on our own.

Personally, FINDING the cool stuff is often as much fun to me as simply seeing it. So if a DM can find all the cool stuff, great. I'd have just as much or more fun searching for that same stuff on my own.

 

[Leejnd]

Y'know, I haven't actually been beach diving anywhere else but here. So I'm not actually sure how it works at resorts where you can do both beach and boat diving. I guess I'll have to try that next!

I was supposed to go beach diving when I was in Bali - we spent several days boat diving in the South (Padang Bai), then several days boat diving North (Menjangan Island), and we were supposed to go spend a few days on the East coast where there is beach diving (Tulamben), staying at a resort that does offer unlimited beach diving as well as boat diving. I too was curious how that would work, since all the boat dives I did in Bali required a DM-led group. Unfortunately I got hit with a nasty case of Bali Belly right before we were supposed to head to Tulamben, so we never got there.

I totally agree with you about finding the cool stuff myself.

 

[Codyjp]

So what about the places that offer unlimted shore diving and x tank boat dives per day? If a place let me dive from shore all I wanted yet demanded I dive with a group on the boat, I'd be a little pissed. Thanks for the great info. Since I haven't traveled as a diver, I can spend that vacation money anywhere. I'll make sure to find a place that will let me & my buddy dive on our own.

Personally, FINDING the cool stuff is often as much fun to me as simply seeing it. So if a DM can find all the cool stuff, great. I'd have just as much or more fun searching for that same stuff on my own.

The beach is open 24/7/365 in Bonaire. Nobody cares what you do.

 

[Selchie in LB]

The beach is open 24/7/365 in Bonaire. Nobody cares what you do.

That's what I've been told!

What about Cozumel? Those are beach dives too.

 

[iztok]

So what about the places that offer unlimted shore diving and x tank boat dives per day? If a place let me dive from shore all I wanted yet demanded I dive with a group on the boat, I'd be a little pissed.

In Israel you can dive with your buddy only but you have to have a buddy (and valid insurance such as DAN) to even rent a tank (shore or boat diving).

In Egypt you have to have a DM (some sort of Egyptian agency one not just any DM). But with some good tip (not required but appreciated) you can trail behind (with 100+ft visibility you are pretty much always in sight of DM).

SoCal and SC/NC solo or buddy diving is fine it seems. Fron the boat once "pool is open" you are good to go. It is my similar experience with boats in FL so far.

Generally from what I've seen more places foster independent diving bigger the quality of the divers is.

 

[on_two_wheels]

The beach is open 24/7/365 in Bonaire. Nobody cares what you do.

But do the boats require a DM guide? This is my point. If I stay at a resort and it's a stay & dive package (meaning resort has dive op in house) and they allow beach diving, they shouldn't require a dm just because the method of entry is different.

 

[Leejnd]

The beach is open 24/7/365 in Bonaire. Nobody cares what you do.

Okay...putting Bonaire at the top of the bucket list!

But do the boats require a DM guide? This is my point. If I stay at a resort and it's a stay & dive package (meaning resort has dive op in house) and they allow beach diving, they shouldn't require a dm just because the method of entry is different.

That's an excellent question, and one I'm very curious about as well. I should go post it on some of the regional forums at places that have these kinds of resorts.

Meanwhile, just want to repeat, since it's really the topic of this thread: our diving here is so freaking awesome!