Liveaboard Destination Recommendation

[queennyac]

Well, the wife is pregnant and due in February/March so my diving prospects for the next few years are not looking great. I had planned on doing some big trips over the past year or so but covid really put a damper on that...

With that being said, I'm trying to find a really good liveaboard destination between now and end of January. I had my heart set on Raj Ampat or the Philippines in December but it's not looking good at all for their reopening. I'll be traveling and diving solo if that makes a difference. The next month is probably a no-go due to work but after that I should be able to take off a week or two without any issues.

Cost isn't a major issue but I definitely don't need a top of the line luxury boat. On the other hand I don't want camping at sea...

Any recommendations? I was thinking maybe Galapagos or Red Sea?

Well,.....I'm booked on the Juliet to St. Croix in January.....interested????

 

[LimitedSlip7]

Well I'm still on the hunt and running out of time, so I've got to pull the trigger on something very soon. Looking at either mid-Dec or early January. I was still holding out hope for Indonesia but that's definitely not happening from the looks of it.

I didn't end up doing that Coco's dive trip, I was excited about the Argo and the sub dive, but after contacting them they said it wasn't going to be available. I believe that trip also ended up getting canceled/rescheduled due to Covid issues.

Looking for some larger pelagics up close, high number of dives, dive conditions can be "sporty", reefs would be nice but not required. Would prefer to hit a destination during the peak season I think...

Palau - Dec 12th - 8D/7N - Looks like ~$5200 for the trip, long flight, peak season
Socorro - Dec 14th - 10D/9N - ~$5000 for the trip, would be in peak season
Galapagos - Dec 16th - 8D/7N - ~$6700 for the trip, in peak season
Cocos - Dec 10th - 11D/10N - ~$6000 for the trip, off season, not sure if it would be worth it to go then?
Red Sea - Mid Dec - 8D/7N - ~$3000 for the trip, cheap but in the off season and would it be as good as the others?
Thailand/Similans - Mid Dec - 7D/6N - ~$3500 - Just reopened, long way for a short liveaboard, not sure how good the diving is?
Maldives - ~$4300, long flight, not sure if the diving would be worth it