liveaboard challenge

[slingshot]

Can anyone recommend an indopacific liveaboard that runs a trip that could be done using a single Sat-Sat calendar week from the west coast of the US, inclusive of travel time? I usually only can get one week of leave at a time from work, and want to do some diving in Indonesia, Thailand, or some such locale. Right now, I think I could do one of the Mike Ball trips in Australia in that time frame, but am wondering what else people may recommend.

 

[Doc]

Indo-Pacific, that's quite a journey.

You want to leave home on Saturday, and then return to California by the next Saturday. That's a packed itinerary.

The trick is to find a liveaboard that will provide you an airport transfer during mid-week while the liveaboard is at sea.

I know that this is very common in the Maldives. Fly into Male, and go by cigarette boat or float plane and meet your liveaboard.

I would direct you away from any liveaboard that is marketed to or caters to an exclusive North American clientele. Europeans tend to show up on days other than Saturday-Saturday, but Maldives is mostly inhabited by non-North American type divers.

Anywhere you go, just because of your limited access time schedule, you better apply for a couple more VISA cards, and then grab-up your girl friend's AMEX card.

 

[Quero]

You can manage this on a Thailand trip.
If you leave California on Saturday morning, you'll arrive here in Thailand, for example, (after crossing the dateline), two "days" later in terms of the day of the week and the calendar date. You can get on a boat sailing on Monday. I'd look for a four-day trip for you, finishing on Thursday evening. On Friday you would fly home, crossing the dateline, you may get home on Friday even, or at the latest you would be back at your place on Saturday.

 

[hypersonic]

Don't overlook the fact that many Pacific flights leave LAX late Friday evening.

 

[weeksd]

mermaid 2 liveaboard runs saturday-saturday charters from bali to komodo. If you left friday out of lax you could get on boat saturday afternoon. They depart at 4pm.

 

[Quero]

weeksd, your calculations are a bit off. You simply cannot make a Saturday afternoon sailing from Bali by leaving the US on Friday. It takes at minimum 18 hours just to fly from LAX to SIN, and that doesn't take into account getting from SIN to DPS. Plus there's a time difference of +16 hours. When you add those two things up, by leaving the US on Friday, even early in the day, the soonest you can expect to board a boat is Sunday.

 

[DSR-3]

My trip from SFO to Anilao, PI in May was Friday night to Sunday night. 6.5 days of diving 4 dives/day-night. Obviously not a live-aboard, but very similar in that there was nothing to do but dive, eat, sleep. $175/day all-inclusive, + reasonable flights made it hard for me to even match, let alone beat. If you're into macro, I don't see how it can get much better. I'm always tempted by Quero's Thailand suggestions though... Maybe next years trip! Have fun.

 

[Shasta_man]

If you figure this out, let us all know because we haven't cracked this problem either... it's like they say in Europe: "Not possible"

 

[chinacat46]

If you figure this out, let us all know because we haven't cracked this problem either... it's like they say in Europe: "Not possible"

Sure will be nice when they get that transporter built. Beam me to Lembeh Scotty. LOL

 

[Mossman]

Factoring in 24 hrs of travel time each way minimum, major jet lag and exhaustion, I say you're nuts. Plus you're spending a lot of money or air miles for at most 4 days of diving. My advice, save the Pacific for when you can get at least 10 days off for a week-long liveaboard, or better yet 14 days so you can make it a ten-day boat or have some time for land exploration.

What about Fiji, a much shorter hop from the west coast? Or even Hawaii? (Kona Aggressor) Or forget about the liveaboard and find a land-based resort with a intense diving schedule, maybe the Philippines are doable or an Indo resort within a drive from Manado?