Need Value Destination Recommendations, leaving from NYC area

[jaydubbs15]

For my 60th birthday, I would like to plan a week long dive vacation. I'm an experienced diver. I've been to Cozumel, Costa Rica, and Hawaii. I like to see big animals. I prefer boat based diving to shore dives. I'd be flying out of NYC. I'd love somewhat of a social scene at night, fun drinks, karaoke, etc. I'd prefer an experience where I'm not seeing a million cattle car dive boats in my dive vicinity. I'd be traveling between June and August. I don't know what to expect in terms of cost, but I suspect that airfare would be a big differentiator. Am I asking for too much? Does anyone have any dive destination recommendations? Are there discount dive vacation sites that I should explore? Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[rick00001967]

we usually find (not always) that if we build a trip ourselves rather than buying a package, we can get it cheaper.
for 2 weeks or more, if you rent a condo with a kitchen you can also save by doing meals in your unit.
we would sometimes do an easy dinner but typically would eat breakfast and lunch on the room and go out for most dinners.
keeping booze/mix/beer in the room is also a lot cheaper than drinking in the bars and restaurants.
but for shorter trips it us usually not worth the hassle.
playa del carmen can offer some nice places to stay for very reasonable prices especially in the off season.
you could easily find a nice condo close to a dive shop and groceries etc while still being a short walk to various restaurants etc.
no shortage of other activities to do there besides diving.
the ocean diving can be hot or miss there and the boats often get shut down due to high winds. but if you enjoy cenote diving they offer a goo alternative to the ocean.
flights from ny to cancun would be very reasonable and easy to find.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Seems like the biggest challenge to meet your goals is the preference for big animals....which kinda takes a lot of the Caribbean out of the picture. Maybe Sea of Cortez......or Baha America or whatever their calling it these days.

 

[tursiops]

For my 60th birthday, I would like to plan a week long dive vacation.

Great idea.

I'm an experienced diver.

50=99 dives over ten+ years? Barely....

I like to see big animals.

Not in the Caribbean, unless sharks in T&C and parts of the Bahamas count

I'd prefer an experience where I'm not seeing a million cattle car dive boats in my dive vicinity.

Forget Mexico.

Are there discount dive vacation sites

Yes, but this is exactly where you are likely find your cattle-car boats.

So, it is one thing to have criteria....but maybe you need to cluster them into Necessary and Nice-to-have.

 

[TostitoBandito]

Pretty much everywhere in the Caribbean with "good" diving is going to be a zoo, especially at low price points. There are a few smaller more secluded places far offshore you can go, or a liveaboard, but neither of those are cheap. And they don't have night clubs.

So decide what on your list is actually a priority and go from there. Some of those things are mutually exclusive. If you remove the "I don't want crowds or lots of boats" and "big animals" items, I think lots of relatively developed places like Belize (Ambergris), Roatan, Cozumel, and many others become viable. You'll find decent diving as well as your social scene and whatnot there.

You've got to get out there to avoid the crowds and see the big stuff, and that's not cheap or easy or even comfortable in some cases. I can attest after going to a 4 room resort on a tiny mosquito infested island way off the coast of Belize. Not super comfortable, but I saw more sharks and turtles in a natural (unbaited) setting than I have anywhere else in the world (see profile pic). It made the lack of fresh water showers for a week worth it.

 

[jaydubbs15]

My priority is quality diving and big animals. I have allergic reactions to mosquito bites so I'd prefer to avoid that if possible. Not anaphylaxis, but the bites turn into welts on me. I'm curious about live-aboards. The Sea of Cortez sounds amazing! I'd love to read about experiences on live-aboards. Any good ones to recommend in the Sea of Cortez? Is nitrox certification worth it? I wonder if I'd feel too cramped in the tiny room, etc.

 

[pintodog]

Big animals in June - August will put you in Cocos, Malpelo, or Galapagos in our hemisphere (Bahamas has sharks year round but best season is in the winter)....Komodo and French Polynesia in the Pacific. Maybe you can do a Liveaboard in the Sea of Cortez as well. None of these are "social scene at night" since they are all liveaboard (except Bahamas) so you might be out of luck on that front. Sadly...there are increasingly fewer places where you can do land based diving (so you get the social scene at night) and see a lot of big animals. Increasingly, large animals require you to go to quieter (i.e. more remote places). The land based shark dives in Bahamas and Beqa (Fiji) might fit your needs. Would stay away from Bahamas in June - August, however. That being said...I've had great social scenes (with beers, karaoke, and other beverages) on Liveaboards!