I need a Texas road trip.....where to go?

[NadMat]

This is hard for me to say, but..... "I've never been to Flower Gardens" :11:
It really sux! I have 2 kids that I tote everywhere with me. Untill I get them out from under my arm, the liveaboards are out. I hope to go in the next 2 years.

For now, there are a lot of other waters I haven't conquered around, so I'll stick to shorter trips till I make my way further.

Here's what I'm considering so far: Lea, Travis, Murry, Athens Scuba Park, & Amistad
(I'll probably do Allen Henry in the next week or two. It's only a 2 hour drive from me.)

Thats ok, neither have I, and for my money, would rather go do Coz anyway. Was plannin' a weekend Flower Gardens trip, and after looking at cost per day of diving, Coz came out way ahead on my spreadsheet. Would still like to do FG, if only just to say I have, but a 600 dollar weekend vs. a $1400 week in Coz makes it hard for me to justify unless it is just a 'I have more money than time off to dive' thing.

As far as the kiddo's goes, what about their Grandparents. Growing up, we almost always got a week or two at farm in TN during summer while dad took off to tropical locale with his dive buddies. Parents got a break from us, and for part of time from each other as well, plus we got to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in TN.

 

[scubajoh44]

The kid thing is a long sad story. Basically, to keep a long story short, I'll just say I HAVE to keep them close for now. Gradparents might work out when things settle down, but for now, no.

As for Cozumel, I guess we Texans are spoiled with our cheap trips to Cancun/Cozumel. I agree. Skip a few average dives and you can get to Coz for the same price! I'de really love to go to Bahamas again or Hawaii, but just can't when I compare the price to Mexico trips.

 

[redacted]

Thats ok, neither have I, and for my money, would rather go do Coz anyway. Was plannin' a weekend Flower Gardens trip, and after looking at cost per day of diving, Coz came out way ahead on my spreadsheet.

If you work the cost out per dive rather than per day, FGB should come out well ahead of COZ. You can bring cost per dive down further by taking a 3 or 5 day trip to FGB rather than the 2-day trip. The quality of the diving is every bit as good as Coz. You will have much more freedom to manage your dive at FGB than in COZ. But it could be more challenging than COZ in terms of living conditions (you can make lots of friends), seas, and dealing with currents, temp, and vis conditions. The fish life at FGB and Stetson will be more spectacular than what you see in Coz.


On a per dive basis, FGB may even be cheaper than day trips off the coast.

 

[NadMat]

Yeah, it is great being spoiled

Sorry to hear about kid thing, sounds like a crazy ex story, hope it gets better soon. As far as keeping them close, dad started training me as boat tender for his Travis dives about age 9, so you can always turn a problem into a solution when they get old enough. Get 'em into diving when are old enough and 'grow yer own' buddies
Have a good one, and get wet often
Matt

 

[NadMat]

If you work the cost out per dive rather than per day, FGB should come out well ahead of COZ. You can bring cost per dive down further by taking a 3 or 5 day trip to FGB rather than the 2-day trip. The quality of the diving is every bit as good as Coz. You will have much more freedom to manage your dive at FGB than in COZ. But it could be more challenging than COZ in terms of living conditions (you can make lots of friends), seas, and dealing with currents, temp, and vis conditions. The fish life at FGB and Stetson will be more spectacular than what you see in Coz.


On a per dive basis, FGB may even be cheaper than day trips off the coast.

I got spoiled back a few years when one of dive buddies had friend with nice boat on coast for day trips into gulf. Got to go fishing and diving with only cost being to chip in a bit for gas and beer. So now find it hard to pony up money for day trips, even when have it to spare. I will undoubtably try FG in next year or two, but not in that big a hurry. For me a dive vacation is mostly about the diving, but also enjoy the between dive experience of checkin' out the locale between dives. Also may have been a bit put off by friends last couple of attempts to do FG getting called on account of weather. Long rough ride out in hopes weather would change for better, then even rougher ride back when it didn't, no diving, and issues with getting money refunded. Maybe just poor planning on their part, and/or wrong choice of operators, but have put FG lower on my dive priority list.

 

[scubajoh44]

Yes, my oldes is 10 and he will be certified this summer. The youngest is only 2, so I'll have to wait a while with him.

What are the age/certification requirements for FG diving? Anyone know?

 

[Goose75]

Yes, my oldes is 10 and he will be certified this summer. The youngest is only 2, so I'll have to wait a while with him.

What are the age/certification requirements for FG diving? Anyone know?

Go to www.gulf-diving.com for info on diving the Gardens.

As for bringning the kids, Rocky Point on the Sea of Coztez has shore diving (and beaches for the little ones) so you don't have to take them on ship. Plus it is reachable by roadtrip so you are facing a long boring drive instead of 3 plane tickets. Haven't been there but hopefully one day.
http://www.dtmag.com/dive-usa/RockyPointPuertof.html

If driving doesn't bother you and you plan on roadtripping for spring break, California s only a little farther down the road. I drove from L.A. to DFW last May with only two stops for the night but I started out of LA VERY late afternoon.

 

[ianr33]

What are the age/certification requirements for FG diving? Anyone know?

If you can pay they will probably take you.........................

I was on a trip once that had a 12 year old boy and his father.Both newly certified. The son lost his mask and weightbelt jumping in (6' drop) on the first dive. The Captain banned him from diving without his personal supervision.

The FG is not the place to learn how to dive .The ability to navigate in sometimes strong currents with less than wonderful vis,and the ability to climb a bouncing ladder in rough seas are more important than age or certification.All the dives are deeper than 60' (except maybe a rig) so technically you should have AOW

 

[redacted]

I got spoiled back a few years when one of dive buddies had friend with nice boat on coast for day trips into gulf. Got to go fishing and diving with only cost being to chip in a bit for gas and beer. So now find it hard to pony up money for day trips, even when have it to spare. I will undoubtably try FG in next year or two, but not in that big a hurry. For me a dive vacation is mostly about the diving, but also enjoy the between dive experience of checkin' out the locale between dives. Also may have been a bit put off by friends last couple of attempts to do FG getting called on account of weather. Long rough ride out in hopes weather would change for better, then even rougher ride back when it didn't, no diving, and issues with getting money refunded. Maybe just poor planning on their part, and/or wrong choice of operators, but have put FG lower on my dive priority list.

I understand. My favorite between dive activities at the FGB are eating and sleeping. The rare 5-day trips are the best because you only do 4 dives per day after the first day. This lets you sleep a bit later and is not as tiring.

 

[chipb]

FWIW, the only place to dive in Texas is a rig dive in the Gulf. I have been out of Port Aransas many times. In July and August, it can be awesome. At that time of year, the blue water can be as close as 12 miles from shore with visibility 70 feet or more. Warm water, no thermal protection needed. Lots of fish. Check out the dive shops in Corpus Christi or San Antonio to schedule trips.

Chip