Inexpensive dive trip *other* than Bonaire?

[akscuba]

Come to South Alabama and hang out with Bugman. It don't get no cheaper than free.

haha! as much as I love South Alabama, I was looking for more of an island adventure

But I guess...can you get tasty tropical drinks in South Alabama? We can always pretend there are palm trees...

 

[Tom Smedley]

We have Ono Island and Dauphin Island and Goat Island and Cemetary Island - Man we got islands. You realize of course that Lucy Buffett http://www.lulusathomeport.com/main/index.php
owns a bar in Lower Alabama. Can you get tropical drinks? Sheesh!! We got palm trees too. And we got the Bugman........ Whose motto is "The best springs in life are free."

 

[SoSiouxme]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Roatan or Utila. On the West End, you can find good dive shops that do boat dives for as little as $20/tank. Check out www.coconuttreedivers.com They have a good reputation on the board.

You find cheap lodging & food as well.

Or if you want to go the all-inclusive route, CocoView and Fantasy Island offer great deals.

And the diving is great.

 

[Divedoggie]

Riviera Maya (Akumal) Cenote diving!

Curacao

 

[akscuba]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Roatan or Utila. On the West End, you can find good dive shops that do boat dives for as little as $20/tank. Check out www.coconuttreedivers.com They have a good reputation on the board.

You find cheap lodging & food as well.

Or if you want to go the all-inclusive route, CocoView and Fantasy Island offer great deals.

And the diving is great.

So, we've been considering the Bay Islands as a possibility--do you recommend any 'cheap lodgings' in particular? Is it feasible to dive that way, or would you recommend the all-inclusive packages?

 

[EvaL]

The FL Keys are easiest to get to and the diving keeps getting better, but for a bit more I'd recommend the Caribbean:

I second Cozumel, particularly in August/September (low season, hardly any tourists) and don't forget to include a day trip or 2 to dive/snorkel the cenotes in the Yucatan peninsula and visit the pyramids. I usually book my packages thru Felix at Bay Adventures:
http://www.bayadventures.com/

Also Bahamas (New Providence) land based, through Stuart Cove's:
http://www.stuartcove.com/
I loved staying at Orange Hill Inn (economical but nice) and check out the casino/aquarium/waterpark on Paradise Island.

Northern Bahamian Islands through Blackbeard's liveaboard (departs Grand Bahamas):
http://www.blackbeardscruises.com/
be forewarned Blackbeard's dirt cheap, living/diving conditions are spartan (aka camping at sea).

Have a great trip!

 

[grassyknoll]

AKScuba-When I lived in Alaska I would go to Hawaii, you can try combos of airports and get it pretty down to a pretty reasonable price. Pair that with the fact that you can rent a condo and do most of your own cooking and now you're talking cheap. True, not the cachet of international travel, but I would definitley give it a look. Also, if you have the time to really try all sorts of dates, hotels and airports on a site such as Expedia you can sometimes come up with some interesting deals. Last October, my wife and I were able to get 7 days/6 nights at the Fiesta Americana in Cozumel, all inclusive for $740 pp, this included airfare from California. The catch was we had stops in Phoenix, overnight in Houston and then fly Houston to Atlanta to Cozumel. I don't know that I would do it again, but it was a pretty decent deal, and changing days and airports even a little bumped the price by hundreds. I must have spent 7-10 hours searching that one out.

Good Luck.

 

[akscuba]

I second Cozumel, particularly in August/September (low season, hardly any tourists) and don't forget to include a day trip or 2 to dive/snorkel the cenotes in the Yucatan peninsula and visit the pyramids. I usually book my packages thru Felix at Bay Adventures:
http://www.bayadventures.com/

Also Bahamas (New Providence) land based, through Stuart Cove's:
http://www.stuartcove.com/
I loved staying at Orange Hill Inn (economical but nice)

Northern Bahamian Islands through Blackbeard's liveaboard (departs Grand Bahamas):
http://www.blackbeardscruises.com/
be forewarned Blackbeard's dirt cheap, living/diving conditions are spartan (aka camping at sea).

Have a great trip!

blackbeard's is another one we were considering. camping at sea is pretty fine-yay 30 second showers.

i hadn't considered doing a land based bahama's trip yet, because i didn't realize it would be economical--i'll definitely take a look at this orange hill inn place and stuart's cove.

thanks! i'm tempted to ask 80 million more questions, but i suspect at some point i should move this to the more specific boards.

 

[robint]

Since you are a west coaster - I'd go to Maui or Kona, stay in a condo or rental house and cook for yourself, shore dive and boat dive. Check out these books for all you need to know: Maui Revealed and Big Island Revealed.

Cocoview Roatan would be a good value if you go to the Caribbean as far as cost - diving, meals, and lots of shore diving included.

 

[diver 85]

Cozumel...Buddy of mine & I recently went for ~$53/day pp(hotel & meals)-Vista del Mar.....that's about as cheap as you can get except for about $45/day-staying 3 or 4 blocks off the water......