Hi All,
We are a bit late for decent Bali villas for an entire month, but i would be open to Philippines etc.
You’re not too late for Bali Villas. I lived in Indonesia for several years and nothing ever really sells out there. Also Bali is kind of overrun with Aussies and not as great as it use to be 10+ years ago. But having dived all over the world I keep finding myself going back to Indonesia (not Bali). I just love the diving, the people, culture, and things are sooooo cheap. if you have a 12K villa budget you could live like a king. I still spend several months a year diving in Indo and my housing budget is about USD $600-700 a month. For 12K you can usually rent a place for a year so 12k a month you should get a castle with a butler. In all seriousness for 12k you should actually be able to get a villa with a maid and cook and if not when you get to Indo ask the Villa and the can set you up with them.
If I had a month I would look at booking a villa in Lombok, Gili T, Manado area, Wakatobi, Labuan Bajo, Togian Islands, Waigeo/Sorong/Raja area, the list is endless. Just do some google research there is tons and tons of villas out there and info on Indonesia, Air B&B is also a good resource I use that a lot. I am a budget traveler and it sounds like you guys travel a bit different and have different accommodation standards so I have never used a travel agency be for but I see tons and tons of rich Aussies use them and it looks very convenient. They source really nice villas, organize your entire trip, airport, transportation, tours, diving, etc. maybe look into using one of them, sorry don’t have any recommendation as I have never used one. But really the diving in Indonesia is amazing!!! also in a month you could do two different diving destinations in Indo if you’re up for it. Since you have young children some of the more remote (but also national geographic/documentary dive destination) might be a little more difficult with kids. Maybe base yourself in a nice villa in Lombok, (Senggigi area is where all the posh stuff is) you can dive Lombok/Gili's, and explore the islands, waterfalls, world class surfing, volcano tour, etc. and you can get dirt cheap flights from Lombok to any other dive destination in Indo. Labuan Bajo is not as remote as others and the diving is mind blowing, maybe even do a quick 3-5 day liveabord out there, see the Komodo dragons, etc. I am just thinking that 1 month at a strictly diving destination might be a lot for your kids. Don’t get me wrong I’ve done 1 month of 2-3 dives a day no days off especially when I was trying to get my rebreather hours up but that’s not really a holiday it’s nice to just relax and take a break from diving and do some tourist stuff also.
Like I said do some google research, also check YouTube, now a days there are so many backpackers/travel bloggers making very good informative videos and websites about travel destinations I actually find them a lot more helpful than the old school Lonely Planet books.
Also there is nothing wrong with Philippines, or Thailand I have travel and dived them extensively too. I am just partial to Indo but what works for me and what I like might not work for you I think a lot of it is personal preference. Like me personally I am not a huge fan of the Caribbean, it’s nice but just not my style and to me the diving is just mehh and I think it gets the hype and ratting because of how close it is to America, I would much rather go cave diving in Tulum or Belize. I think if every Canadian and American (not bashing on them I am actually American I just live part time in Australia and Indonesia) that went to the Caribbean last year went to some other dive destinations in the world they probably would not be going back to the Caribbean.
Just to throw another option out there on the other side of the world is the Red Sea. It’s actually very easy to get to and if you fly Turkish Airlines you get 2 free checked bags per person if you say its diving gear. I am hesitant to list this one as a month destination with kids because it might get a little boring for them (I don’t have kids so I can’t compare) Literally all there is to do is diving, but I am throwing it out as an option because the diving is soooo good. I just love the red sea but it is huge and there is so much to see and so much area to cover. But at the same time if you stay up in the Dahab area most people don’t know this or even think about it but last time I was in Dahab I took a boat to Jordan and found a guy to drive me to the ancient city of Petra. It was incredible!! and can easily be done in 2 days a very nice diving brake when you burnt out from diving every day and if I was a kid I would love it. Also you can fly through Cairo and stop off and see the pyramids etc.