Intro

[Mike Jones]

Hey everyone, just got myself added to the community. I'm pretty new to scuba and just finished my advanced open water class. I'm open to an suggestions for gear, trips, training etc. I'm looking forward to chatting w you all

 

[Marie13]

Oh, goody, another diver in Chicagoland!

I'm in the NW burbs myself. My regular buddy is out your way.

Do you dive local or are you a vacation diver only?

 

[drrich2]

Welcome. If you mainly aim for benign, warm-water condition diving, I'd recommend hitting a location where you can get a bunch of dives packed into a week that's 'budget' (mwah-hah-hah!) as dive trips go. To get some experience and comfort in the water. If you don't have Advanced Open Water cert. yet, be aware some dive op.s require that for some of the deeper diving they do (e.g.: I saw 2 guys denied a deep wreck dive years ago in Florida for this reason), but that varies by region.

I'm gonna make some suggestions for an economical trip that mix personal experience (Key Largo, Bonaire, Belize, Caymans, St. Croix) with places I haven't been (Cozumel, Roatan) but are so consistently praised and reported on by others you can get plenty of 1st hand accounts yourself if you wish. With land-based resorts, cost is often based on assumption of dual occupancy, and if you travel alone, you may get stuck with a single supplement (but there are many organized dive group trips you can join and get paired with a room mate).

Cozumel seems to be the perennial favorite for that, but it's drift diving and often fairly deep. You could do a quick search on Scuba Club Cozumel, Aldora (which has the option for Aldora Villas to stay at) and Tres Pelicanos while staying at Casa Mexicana.

Roatan - Turquoise Bay Resort for great budget, CocoView if you want to do shore diving & really cram in the dives (but CocoView doesn't allow kids under 10).

Bonaire - go with a group your 1st trip, to learn your way around. Bonaire has boats but it mainly chosen for high-volume shore diving, as you can walk in and swim out to the reef independently. But not much sandy beach; it's mostly iron-shore.

I doubt you'll want to start with a live-aboard, but if you find you love diving and aren't too plagued with sea sickness, oh, yes, I think you will love them. Often with live-aboard if you go alone, and you're willing to accept a same sex room mate, you don't have to pay a single supplement.

Sun Dancer 2 (Belize) May 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ving-belize-via-sun-dancer-2-may-2nd-9th.html
Cayman Aggressor IV May 2016 - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/cayman-aggressor-iv-trip-may-2016.527640/
Picking a Caribbean Live-aboard - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ats/495738-picking-caribbean-live-aboard.html

If you go with a small group (e.g.: family), but larger than 2, then the option to pack 3 or 4 people into a hotel room that's not a dive resort (where the room doesn't cost much more for 4 people than it does for the 1st), the economics change drastically per person.

Although they need time to get it together after Hurricane Irma, back in 2013 I had a great trip to Key Largo diving with Rainbow Reef Dive Center, got a dirt cheap 10-trip 20-dive package and it was done in 5-days flat!
Key Largo with Rainbow Reef Dive Center 2013 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...iving-key-largo-rainbow-reef-dive-center.html Key Largo offers fine shallow reef diving, plus the option for trips to deep wrecks if you wish. But Key Largo is not a sandy beach kind of place!

If you will be taking non-divers along, the dynamics of your trip choice change again. Sometimes I solo, sometimes my wife, little girl and mother-in-law are along. My recent trip to St. Croix stretched the budget a bit, but we stayed 8-days -
St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017 - St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017

Richard.

P.S.: Your local diving scene will be different. If you turn out to like cold water diving fine, then California opens up as a fine option.

 

[Mike Jones]

Oh, goody, another diver in Chicagoland!

I'm in the NW burbs myself. My regular buddy is out your way.

Do you dive local or are you a vacation diver only?

I've done both, I usually go to the quarry in Kankakee locally. Do you have any other local recommendations?

 

[Marie13]

Pearl Lake in South Beloit. It's spring fed rather than the ground water fed at Haigh, so the water tends towards a more bluish tinge rather than the green water at Haigh. Viz can be an issue, too, but Pearl Lake's is different than Haigh. Bottom tends to be sand rather than the lovely silt at Haigh.

And my other local recommendation is Lake Michigan! There are some great wrecks out there. There's only a few more weekends left in the season before the boats are pulled in.

 

[Mike Jones]

Welcome. If you mainly aim for benign, warm-water condition diving, I'd recommend hitting a location where you can get a bunch of dives packed into a week that's 'budget' (mwah-hah-hah!) as dive trips go. To get some experience and comfort in the water. If you don't have Advanced Open Water cert. yet, be aware some dive op.s require that for some of the deeper diving they do (e.g.: I saw 2 guys denied a deep wreck dive years ago in Florida for this reason), but that varies by region.

I'm gonna make some suggestions for an economical trip that mix personal experience (Key Largo, Bonaire, Belize, Caymans, St. Croix) with places I haven't been (Cozumel, Roatan) but are so consistently praised and reported on by others you can get plenty of 1st hand accounts yourself if you wish. With land-based resorts, cost is often based on assumption of dual occupancy, and if you travel alone, you may get stuck with a single supplement (but there are many organized dive group trips you can join and get paired with a room mate).

Cozumel seems to be the perennial favorite for that, but it's drift diving and often fairly deep. You could do a quick search on Scuba Club Cozumel, Aldora (which has the option for Aldora Villas to stay at) and Tres Pelicanos while staying at Casa Mexicana.

Roatan - Turquoise Bay Resort for great budget, CocoView if you want to do shore diving & really cram in the dives (but CocoView doesn't allow kids under 10).

Bonaire - go with a group your 1st trip, to learn your way around. Bonaire has boats but it mainly chosen for high-volume shore diving, as you can walk in and swim out to the reef independently. But not much sandy beach; it's mostly iron-shore.

I doubt you'll want to start with a live-aboard, but if you find you love diving and aren't too plagued with sea sickness, oh, yes, I think you will love them. Often with live-aboard if you go alone, and you're willing to accept a same sex room mate, you don't have to pay a single supplement.

Sun Dancer 2 (Belize) May 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ving-belize-via-sun-dancer-2-may-2nd-9th.html
Cayman Aggressor IV May 2016 - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/cayman-aggressor-iv-trip-may-2016.527640/
Picking a Caribbean Live-aboard - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ats/495738-picking-caribbean-live-aboard.html

If you go with a small group (e.g.: family), but larger than 2, then the option to pack 3 or 4 people into a hotel room that's not a dive resort (where the room doesn't cost much more for 4 people than it does for the 1st), the economics change drastically per person.

Although they need time to get it together after Hurricane Irma, back in 2013 I had a great trip to Key Largo diving with Rainbow Reef Dive Center, got a dirt cheap 10-trip 20-dive package and it was done in 5-days flat!
Key Largo with Rainbow Reef Dive Center 2013 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...iving-key-largo-rainbow-reef-dive-center.html Key Largo offers fine shallow reef diving, plus the option for trips to deep wrecks if you wish. But Key Largo is not a sandy beach kind of place!

If you will be taking non-divers along, the dynamics of your trip choice change again. Sometimes I solo, sometimes my wife, little girl and mother-in-law are along. My recent trip to St. Croix stretched the budget a bit, but we stayed 8-days -
St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017 - St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017

Richard.

P.S.: Your local diving scene will be different. If you turn out to like cold water diving fine, then California opens up as a fine option.

Wow, that's great info. Thank you so much! I just finished advanced open water and other than Illinois diving(quarries) I did a trip to Pennekamp in Key Largo.
Cheers!