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Wow. Those are Canadian (domestic) flight prices!
Max Dives Per Dollar
- Thread starter ImmaHyrdalisk
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Ninelinegoby
Contributor
Before I lived in New York, I used. Drive the 3 hours to Newark or take the train. It used to save 225 per trip to Bon.
Ninelinegoby
Contributor
For the record, I Don't get paid for time off. And I'm not independently wealth or anything even close. I'm a carpenter. But what I do have is a complete and total addition to diving and underwater photography. I do save every where I can to support my habit. And I look for the cheapest place I can go.... Bonaire.
I completely agree that, depending on one's situation, Bonaire MAY offer more dives per dollar spent than other Caribbean destinations, mainly because the cost per week of shore diving is the same no matter how many shore dives you do.
ZzzKing
Contributor
So, what is the cost per dive now?
lerpy
Contributor
There are a few ways to try and reduce cost. If you have a boat you would go with a regular basis, get to know them, help sling tanks, you might find you get a trip at no cost now and again.
Some shops offer air card, if you buy fills in bulk the price is cheaper. Also maybe try out some diving that is cheaper, shore diving for one. I personally have enjoyed cave diving, and actually find it some of the more affordable diving I do. I have to go to Florida, but a lot of the cave sites are in state parks, a few bucks a car to get into. Many of the shops in the area offer houses to rent for your stay, I was just down with a buddy and we ended up paying about 35$ a night each. Bought food and made breakfast and lunch for ourselves rather than eating out. 32% Nx is cheaper than water. I make the trip from Ontario and put in a long drive, taking a nap in my truck. I also have a little tent trailer I have used for accommodations diving places, camping often being very cheap.
Unfortunately gear will always cost, but the initial outlay will pay off over time. No more renting tanks, gear etc all the time. That does help although a big cost upfront.
Belonging to sites like this and chatting to people also helps, I have had a few nights free on someone couch due to meeting buddies on scuba sites.
Some shops offer air card, if you buy fills in bulk the price is cheaper. Also maybe try out some diving that is cheaper, shore diving for one. I personally have enjoyed cave diving, and actually find it some of the more affordable diving I do. I have to go to Florida, but a lot of the cave sites are in state parks, a few bucks a car to get into. Many of the shops in the area offer houses to rent for your stay, I was just down with a buddy and we ended up paying about 35$ a night each. Bought food and made breakfast and lunch for ourselves rather than eating out. 32% Nx is cheaper than water. I make the trip from Ontario and put in a long drive, taking a nap in my truck. I also have a little tent trailer I have used for accommodations diving places, camping often being very cheap.
Unfortunately gear will always cost, but the initial outlay will pay off over time. No more renting tanks, gear etc all the time. That does help although a big cost upfront.
Belonging to sites like this and chatting to people also helps, I have had a few nights free on someone couch due to meeting buddies on scuba sites.
tarponchik
Contributor
The least expensive boat dives: Roatan
The least expensive shore dives: Bonaire and Curacao
The least expensive shore dives: Bonaire and Curacao
So for your neck of the woods outside of BHB and shore dives in Lauderdale here is the cheapest route.
1. Book on Florida Scuba Charters $50 per 2 tank dive- I have dove with them and I like Dustin and crew.
2. Buy your own scuba tanks.
3. Buy a Divers Direct fill card. They have a store in WPB fills are $4 for air with a 10 fill card $40.
Fill Stations
1. Book on Florida Scuba Charters $50 per 2 tank dive- I have dove with them and I like Dustin and crew.
2. Buy your own scuba tanks.
3. Buy a Divers Direct fill card. They have a store in WPB fills are $4 for air with a 10 fill card $40.
Fill Stations
CT-Rich
Contributor
How to dive on the cheap? If you live in S. Florida, then shore dive the heck out of it. Blue Heron Bridge is supposed to be epic beginner's diving, so enjoy it. Buy the guide books and learn where you can go that has already been explored. Next go onto the charts/Google Earth and start looking for new spots based on what you learned through experience.
A friend with a boat is always handy. When you find one, always be generous with your time and money (cover your share, no one goes out of their way to help a cheapskate). Become a valued customer at a local dive shop and try to pay cash (I always seem to get deals as good as the ones on the internet and the service is better). Dive gear is expensive, but there is always a ton available on Craigslist. Buy well rather than often, wait for the right deal for something you will use. If you are doing two tanks at 50', save your money and just dive air, nitrox is probably not going add that much extra value to the dive (no idea what nitrox costs in S. FL).
Finally, don't look at the cost of diving, look at the value. paying $60 for a cattle boat ride to see something you can see from a shore dive is not real value. Is getting out to do two tanks a wreck you never went on before is really worth something? A typical day of diving for me is $10-20 for air, $30 for gas $20 for food. But having a day with my daughters at the ocean and having videos to edit during the week and something to log and post about actually makes that $70 to $100 a bargain.
I really liked the suggestion about make each dive a mission of sorts. I have different things I try to accomplish on dives, maybe it is finding a ships anchor or seeing/video taping a tropical that comes into the area at different times of year. Tech diving isn't really about the dives, it is about the journey to make certain dives, whether deep or on a wreck, the whole process is about creating a goal to work towards (admittedly they tend to be money sinks). Shark teeth, other fossils or old bottles are some good objectives, make killing lionfish a past time.
Once you own your own gear, diving is not that expensive, but if you try to keep up with the Jones', it can be.
A friend with a boat is always handy. When you find one, always be generous with your time and money (cover your share, no one goes out of their way to help a cheapskate). Become a valued customer at a local dive shop and try to pay cash (I always seem to get deals as good as the ones on the internet and the service is better). Dive gear is expensive, but there is always a ton available on Craigslist. Buy well rather than often, wait for the right deal for something you will use. If you are doing two tanks at 50', save your money and just dive air, nitrox is probably not going add that much extra value to the dive (no idea what nitrox costs in S. FL).
Finally, don't look at the cost of diving, look at the value. paying $60 for a cattle boat ride to see something you can see from a shore dive is not real value. Is getting out to do two tanks a wreck you never went on before is really worth something? A typical day of diving for me is $10-20 for air, $30 for gas $20 for food. But having a day with my daughters at the ocean and having videos to edit during the week and something to log and post about actually makes that $70 to $100 a bargain.
I really liked the suggestion about make each dive a mission of sorts. I have different things I try to accomplish on dives, maybe it is finding a ships anchor or seeing/video taping a tropical that comes into the area at different times of year. Tech diving isn't really about the dives, it is about the journey to make certain dives, whether deep or on a wreck, the whole process is about creating a goal to work towards (admittedly they tend to be money sinks). Shark teeth, other fossils or old bottles are some good objectives, make killing lionfish a past time.
Once you own your own gear, diving is not that expensive, but if you try to keep up with the Jones', it can be.
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