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

[KathyV]

Just some comments about Zika, the CDC has updated their world Zika travel map to reflect any country that has ever reported Zika, which includes the continental US.

There are no current outbreaks world-wide but of course there is the potential.

You should also be aware that it isn't just your wife that has to be careful and not only during pregnancy. Males and females both carry the virus and can transmit it to a partner during sex, even if he/she doesn't have any symptoms. Males have been shown to carry Zika for a very long time:
Zika Virus

The chances of infection are very low but if I were a young couple planning a family, I probably wouldn't risk it.

I know that you are not too keen about Hawaii, but there has never been any Zika reported in Hawaii and we had a wonderful trip on the Kona Aggressor. It is true that Hawaiian diving is different from the Caribbean and some other areas, but we really enjoyed it.

There are healthy hard corals and lots of sea life, including unusual animals that you don't see in the Caribbean. Loads of colorful fish and shellfish and turtles, eels, and octopus, and we also saw whales in Hawaii. And we watched lava erupting underwater which was cool. The water is a little colder in Hawaii than the Caribbean but not terrible, depending on the time of year.

The Kona Aggressor stays close to shore so I didn't get seasick - no deep water crossing - but it heads to distant and remote parts of the Big Island that are rarely dived.

The night dive with mantas was one of the best dives we have experienced. I am told that a lot of the shore-based dive ops show up around the same time at night for the manta dive so it can get very crowded, but the Aggressor has the advantage of picking a less popular, later time, when they were the only boat on the site.

Hawaii is a great place for a family vacation with a non-diver, you can spend time in Honolulu, or Maui, or Kauai before or after the Aggressor trip. We enjoyed the Big Island, but it doesn't have the beautiful beaches and lush greenery of some of the other islands, so you can pick and choose where you would like to spend your time.

My Zika-free suggestion for a dive/non-dive vacation is Hawaii and the Kona Aggressor.

 

[Statick]

Thanks for the detailed input, KathyV, it is much appreciated.

Just some comments about Zika, the CDC has updated their world Zika travel map to reflect any country that has ever reported Zika, which includes the continental US.

There are no current outbreaks world-wide but of course there is the potential.

You should also be aware that it isn't just your wife that has to be careful and not only during pregnancy. Males and females both carry the virus and can transmit it to a partner during sex, even if he/she doesn't have any symptoms. Males have been shown to carry Zika for a very long time:
Zika Virus

The chances of infection are very low but if I were a young couple planning a family, I probably wouldn't risk it.

I know that you are not too keen about Hawaii, but there has never been any Zika reported in Hawaii and we had a wonderful trip on the Kona Aggressor. It is true that Hawaiian diving is different from the Caribbean and some other areas, but we really enjoyed it.

There are healthy hard corals and lots of sea life, including unusual animals that you don't see in the Caribbean. Loads of colorful fish and shellfish and turtles, eels, and octopus, and we also saw whales in Hawaii. And we watched lava erupting underwater which was cool. The water is a little colder in Hawaii than the Caribbean but not terrible, depending on the time of year.

The Kona Aggressor stays close to shore so I didn't get seasick - no deep water crossing - but it heads to distant and remote parts of the Big Island that are rarely dived.

The night dive with mantas was one of the best dives we have experienced. I am told that a lot of the shore-based dive ops show up around the same time at night for the manta dive so it can get very crowded, but the Aggressor has the advantage of picking a less popular, later time, when they were the only boat on the site.

Hawaii is a great place for a family vacation with a non-diver, you can spend time in Honolulu, or Maui, or Kauai before or after the Aggressor trip. We enjoyed the Big Island, but it doesn't have the beautiful beaches and lush greenery of some of the other islands, so you can pick and choose where you would like to spend your time.

My Zika-free suggestion for a dive/non-dive vacation is Hawaii and the Kona Aggressor.

I'm with you on avoiding Zika for both males & females, hence, regardless of if my wife is joining or not, I am looking to avoid places with Zika. And agreed on taking the CDC's information as is applies to each individual scenario, so I'm relying a tad more on the Government of Canada's website as that is meant to be more relevant to current threat of transmission via mosquitoes.

It's really refreshing to hear about your experience on the Kona Aggressor. Especially if I'm going in the Atlantic hurricane season, maybe it's something I should give more consideration. The Hawaiian island where I've done the least diving is the Big Island, so it could be a good shout.

And I must say, next to Kauai, the Big Island is actually my favourite of the bunch (although Maui isn't far behind, mostly because of the number of better shore dives available there).

Thanks again!

 

[KathyV]

Thanks for the detailed input, KathyV, it is much appreciated.



I'm with you on avoiding Zika for both males & females, hence, regardless of if my wife is joining or not, I am looking to avoid places with Zika. And agreed on taking the CDC's information as is applies to each individual scenario, so I'm relying a tad more on the Government of Canada's website as that is meant to be more relevant to current threat of transmission via mosquitoes.

It's really refreshing to hear about your experience on the Kona Aggressor. Especially if I'm going in the Atlantic hurricane season, maybe it's something I should give more consideration. The Hawaiian island where I've done the least diving is the Big Island, so it could be a good shout.

And I must say, next to Kauai, the Big Island is actually my favourite of the bunch (although Maui isn't far behind, mostly because of the number of better shore dives available there).

Thanks again!

Thanks for the tip about the Canadian Zika travel web page, it is much clearer and easier to use than the US CDC site!

Zika virus - Canada.ca

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

 

[Redfoot]

Man, this thread is a wormhole!

Now I have to start a thread "Really? Another, other, different, help me pick my next liveaboard thread 2.0"

For me, short list is (one or two of) Roatan, Belize, Bahamas and Cayman Aggressors as I want to exhaust the Caribbean before I spoil my close to home adventures with the Pacific!

 

[JBFG]

Have you considered the Red Sea?
I never did a liveaboard there but I have done 25 dives in it. It’s amazing.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Have you considered the Red Sea?
I never did a liveaboard there but I have done 25 dives in it. It’s amazing.

Great suggestion, even for the OP. Zika free! The diving is spectacular and very affordable. It's a bit more to get there, but once you arrive, costs are extremely reasonable. Despite what the American news media might make you think, it is very safe there and I have traveled there twice, once as a single female traveler then later meeting up with others.

Land based diving is probably about $50-60 USD for 2-3 tanks on a boat, guided, with nitrox, including lunch. They are on a liveaboard style boat and not a regular day dive boat. Reputable/safe/fancy liveaboards can be had for a little more than $1000 for 7 nights including free nitrox. Should you choose the land based option, we stayed at the Marriott in Hurghada (beach front resort where every room is ocean view) for $105 a night for 2 people inclusive of taxes which included breakfast and dinner every day. Voodoo Divers was excellent in Hurghada region.

I rank it above the Caribbean and right behind Indonesia and Philippines personally. (I have not dived Galapagos or Cocos.) We dived Brothers, Deadalus, Elphinstone as well as Fury Shoal, Rocky, Zabargad, St. Johns. Great mix of coral/reef/wall/pelagic (oceanic white tips!)

 

[JBFG]

yeah there are some great flights from Calgary to Cairo for not that much. anyway GO RED SEA GO!

 

[Statick]

Have you considered the Red Sea?
I never did a liveaboard there but I have done 25 dives in it. It’s amazing.

I agree, the Red Sea is an amazing place to dive. I was on the Red Sea Aggressor II last September, it was a great first experience on a liveaboard. As that was the Northern Wrecks & Reefs itinerary, I was thinking about returning for the southern itinerary (Brothers, Elphinstone, etc), but I thought I'd mix it up and go elsewhere for my next few. I definitely will go back sometime.

Did you dive out of Hurghada or Dahab, or somewhere else? Which were your favourite sites?

Man, this thread is a wormhole!

Now I have to start a thread "Really? Another, other, different, help me pick my next liveaboard thread 2.0"

For me, short list is (one or two of) Roatan, Belize, Bahamas and Cayman Aggressors as I want to exhaust the Caribbean before I spoil my close to home adventures with the Pacific!

As I've already mentioned, I've not yet been on a liveaboard anywhere besides the Red Sea, but I did a fair amount of land-based diving in Roatan, and I logged a couple of dives in the Bahamas last October. Between those two, I'd certainly say Roatan would be better for a full week of diving, especially if the liveabaords about Roatan can take you around to the other bay islands as well.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Great suggestion, even for the OP. Zika free! The diving is spectacular and very affordable. It's a bit more to get there, but once you arrive, costs are extremely reasonable. Despite what the American news media might make you think, it is very safe there and I have traveled there twice, once as a single female traveler then later meeting up with others.

Land based diving is probably about $50-60 USD for 2-3 tanks on a boat, guided, with nitrox, including lunch. They are on a liveaboard style boat and not a regular day dive boat. Reputable/safe/fancy liveaboards can be had for a little more than $1000 for 7 nights including free nitrox. Should you choose the land based option, we stayed at the Marriott in Hurghada (beach front resort where every room is ocean view) for $105 a night for 2 people inclusive of taxes which included breakfast and dinner every day. Voodoo Divers was excellent in Hurghada region.

I rank it above the Caribbean and right behind Indonesia and Philippines personally. (I have not dived Galapagos or Cocos.) We dived Brothers, Deadalus, Elphinstone as well as Fury Shoal, Rocky, Zabargad, St. Johns. Great mix of coral/reef/wall/pelagic (oceanic white tips!)

It's a fairly miserable trip from Western Canada though.

 

[outofofficebrb]

It's a fairly miserable trip from Western Canada though.

From California, you can fly direct to Germany and then onwards to Egypt without ridiculous layovers. Is it not possible from Western Canada?