Really? Another "Help Me Pick My Next Liveaboard Thread"?

[Dan]

Another Socorro liveaboard info for your review: Socorro 22-30 December, 2018 Trip Report

Costa Rica is another beautiful country for vacationing and I also had a blast going to Cocos, as reported here: Cocos Diving Trip Report, 17 -27 September, 2018
I enjoyed the liveaboard trip with Argo a lot and already made plan for a return trip, as posted here: Gathering a group for Cocos with Argo on 10-20 September 2020

 

[electric_diver]

Look carefully at flight schedules from Western Canada before choosing. Flights from Toronto and Montreal to Caribbean destinations usually leave early in the morning before the flights from the west arrive. People connecting from out west usually need to overnight in the east. There aren't that many direct flights from Western Canada to dive destinations.

It might take you less time to travel to a Pacific destination than a Caribbean one.

 

[Hoag]

Look carefully at flight schedules from Western Canada before choosing. Flights from Toronto and Montreal to Caribbean destinations usually leave early in the morning before the flights from the west arrive. People connecting from out west usually need to overnight in the east. There aren't that many direct flights from Western Canada to dive destinations.

It might take you less time to travel to a Pacific destination than a Caribbean one.

True, I live about 100km west of Toronto, and I usually spend the night before in a hotel (with Long Term Parking) near the airport. It is not uncommon to stay in a hotel the night before an early morning flight, but it is something that you might need to be aware of.

 

[Shasta_man]

I'll mention, for future reference, my experience is getting very few to no mosquitos when staying on liveaboards. Mosquitos seem to stick close to land and I just don't see them or get bitten when on liveaboards (another reason I use them almost exclusively). I'm sure that number is something above zero but pales in comparison to on land. I noticed in Tahiti that even "garden" bungalows had many more mosquitos than the "beach" ones.

That said, Zika virus is nothing to fool with and to reinforce your decision process, a dive trip is nothing to risk your wife and future child over. There'll be plenty more trips but the child is forever.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Zika virus: Zika-affected countries or areas - Canada.ca

Note that the last review of that data regarding Zika from the WHO is from March 2018. Perhaps this is similar to dive computers in that you dive the more conservative computer to minimize your risks. This will have to be a personal risk assessment and decision that you and your wife will have to make together.

I'll mention, for future reference, my experience is getting very few to no mosquitos when staying on liveaboards. Mosquitos seem to stick close to land and I just don't see them or get bitten when on liveaboards (another reason I use them almost exclusively). I'm sure that number is something above zero but pales in comparison to on land. I noticed in Tahiti that even "garden" bungalows had many more mosquitos than the "beach" ones.

That said, Zika virus is nothing to fool with and to reinforce your decision process, a dive trip is nothing to risk your wife and future child over. There'll be plenty more trips but the child is forever.

I'm a liveaboard addict (mostly Southeast Asia) and can confirm that there are none on the boat even when moored near land. On land is a different story....I'm actually really allergic to mosquitoes and suffer from something called "mozzie syndrome" in that I get really bad reactions. Pregnancy concerns aside, I am very good about not getting bitten. For the OP...I highly recommend that you look into ExOfficio Insect Shield clothing that has been factory treated with permethrin. I've spent a lot of months in SE Asia and even in Costa Rican rainforests and have escaped mosquito bites while wearing the apparel. They don't even land or get near you with it on and it's a great alternative to a spray. When I do want to wear shorts or short sleeves and have exposed skin, I use 20% picaridin (Natrapel).

Lastly, if you do get bitten....there is an amazing German product called Bite Away that some Germans on a boat told me about and showed me. IT WORKS. It heats up your bites (any insect bites) to 51C which denatures the protein that causes our discomfort and reaction. The itching immediately stops and within hours, the entire bite starts to go away. I picked mine up on Amazon. I swear by these few tricks now.

 

[Statick]

Again, thanks very much to everyone, I'm hoping to get something booked fairly soon.

This might be helpful info on mosquitoes for T&C. Looks like the last known Zika case on the islands was 2.5 years ago.

I went on the T&C Explorer the first week of May last year and had a blast.

As a few have said, I am not a doctor or travel consultant- but from my research and personal experience, I did not see or hear of a single mosquito in the 2 separate weeks I spent on and around Providenciales in the past year.

Here is a good link from the TCI Visitor Website: (great website for any travel planning FYI)
Mosquitoes in the Turks and Caicos | Visit Turks and Caicos Islands

And direct from that:

Note: (March 2019) The US Federal health institute CDC has removed the Zika level 2 travel advisory regarding in the Turks and Caicos. There are now no Turks and Caicos Zika travel warnings.

Thanks! So T&C is in the game for me, I think. Would going in mid-July be fooling too close to hurricane season? The historic data suggests it might be alright.

Another Socorro liveaboard info for your review: Socorro 22-30 December, 2018 Trip Report

Costa Rica is another beautiful country for vacationing and I also had a blast going to Cocos, as reported here: Cocos Diving Trip Report, 17 -27 September, 2018
I enjoyed the liveaboard trip with Argo a lot and already made plan for a return trip, as posted here: Gathering a group for Cocos with Argo on 10-20 September 2020

I think Costa Rica might be a two-week vacation for me in the future, with one week on land (where there are mosquitoes) and one week out to Cocos.

Look carefully at flight schedules from Western Canada before choosing.
It might take you less time to travel to a Pacific destination than a Caribbean one.

Good copy, I wholly intend on spending a night in Toronto with some family I have there.

I'll mention, for future reference, my experience is getting very few to no mosquitos when staying on liveaboards. Mosquitos seem to stick close to land and I just don't see them or get bitten when on liveaboards (another reason I use them almost exclusively). I'm sure that number is something above zero but pales in comparison to on land. I noticed in Tahiti that even "garden" bungalows had many more mosquitos than the "beach" ones.

That said, Zika virus is nothing to fool with and to reinforce your decision process, a dive trip is nothing to risk your wife and future child over. There'll be plenty more trips but the child is forever.

I hear you; if you're out at sea, you shouldn't get many mosquitoes. But I will be spending some minimal time on land, and as you say, Zika can be a serious matter for those in my situation.



So long as T&C in July isn't too close to hurricane season and the risk of Zika is as low as it seems, that may be the winner. Any thoughts?

Palau in late October or early November could also work, but getting caught in that down-current if you miss hooking in sounds like it would get the adrenaline going! Out of curiousity, what does one do in that situation? I'd love to hear more about divers with relatively less experience diving out in Palau. If you were on a liveaboard there and had someone on the boat who only had ~100 dives, how did they fair with the heavy currents?

 

[drrich2]

I will most likely be travelling solo, but my non-diving wife may join for a few days before or after, depending on the location.

That 'depending on' thing is big. I'm guessing flights from western Canada to Palau would be very long; might impact whether all that confinement to planes and travel is worth it to her.

Since you're considering Turks & Caicos, a trip report -
Turks & Caicos Aggressor II Report Apr. 2018 - Turks & Caicos Aggressor II 4/21-4/28 Trip Report

 

[Dan]

Palau in late October or early November could also work, but getting caught in that down-current if you miss hooking in sounds like it would get the adrenaline going! Out of curiousity, what does one do in that situation? I'd love to hear more about divers with relatively less experience diving out in Palau. If you were on a liveaboard there and had someone on the boat who only had ~100 dives, how did they fair with the heavy currents?

I didn't experience any down current when I was in Blue Corner, Peleliu Cut, and Ulong Channel. The currents at the sites are typically an over the ledge horizontal currents. You start from the deep blue water, say about 25-30m, get your reef hook ready for deployment & slowly ascend towards the wall, as soon as you fly by the ledge (top of the wall) then you anchor the reef hook on any crevices on the ledge, slowly release the line to hover yourself above the ledge and enjoy the show.

If you miss the hook-on step, you'll blow off your dive & end up floating in the shallow or back in the blue water. Hopefully you have signalling devices (SMB, whistle, signal mirror, PLB, PAB, etc.) to alert the skiff pilot to come and get you before being lost at sea to Philippine. Palau Aggressor will loan you a PAB (Nautillus Marine Rescue GPS) and a SMB at free of charge so you can alert the crew as soon as you get blown away.

 

[DeputyDan]

For Palau, here is my trip report for your review: December 24-31, 2017 Palau Trip Report

For August, i’d recommend Komodo with Mermaid LOB roundtrip Bali-Komodo-Bali & meet your wife in Bali after the trip.

Mermaid II

This. SE Asia every time over the Caribbean.

 

[Statick]

That 'depending on' thing is big. I'm guessing flights from western Canada to Palau would be very long; might impact whether all that confinement to planes and travel is worth it to her.

Since you're considering Turks & Caicos, a trip report -
Turks & Caicos Aggressor II Report Apr. 2018 - Turks & Caicos Aggressor II 4/21-4/28 Trip Report

Thanks for posting this report! To clarify, whether my wife is able to join me later on or not isn't really a consideration when deciding where to go for this liveaboard trip; if it happens to be in a place that works for her to join, she will do so, and if not, she & I will take another trip together at some other point in the next few months.

But you're spot on, she wouldn't be joining me if I end up going to Palau!

I didn't experience any down current when I was in Blue Corner, Peleliu Cut, and Ulong Channel. The currents at the sites are typically an over the ledge horizontal currents. You start from the deep blue water, say about 25-30m, get your reef hook ready for deployment & slowly ascend towards the wall, as soon as you fly by the ledge (top of the wall) then you anchor the reef hook on any crevices on the ledge, slowly release the line to hover yourself above the ledge and enjoy the show.

If you miss the hook-on step, you'll blow off your dive & end up floating in the shallow or back in the blue water. Hopefully you have signalling devices (SMB, whistle, signal mirror, PLB, PAB, etc.) to alert the skiff pilot to come and get you before being lost at sea to Philippine. Palau Aggressor will loan you a PAB (Nautillus Marine Rescue GPS) and a SMB at free of charge so you can alert the crew as soon as you get blown away.

Well I suppose that doesn't sound that bad. Maybe I'm making a mountain of a molehill...

This. SE Asia every time over the Caribbean.

Especially from western North America, a lot of people say this. I need to have a second look at which areas in SE Asia, other than Palau, would fit my Zika-free requirement.