Question Suggestions for First Non-Caribbean Dive Trip

[Patrick Star]

Hello All,

Thanks to your recent excellent advice, I have booked a trip to Bonaire for this upcoming November. This will be my third lifetime dive trip, preceded by Belize and Roatan. All have been spectacular (Belize was 11 years ago, and still in great shape). I feel like it is time to branch out and explore an area other than the Caribbean, and I am hoping you all can offer some suggestion.

I live in New England, USA, and am contemplating getting something scheduled for March-April, 2025. I have never done a liveaboard and would certainly be up for that experience, especially if it will get me off the heavily-travelled path. There are so many places I have heard of as being great diving destinations, only to learn on our forum that such glowing assessments are a bit aged. Current travelers report sometimes significant and recent declines in reef health.

I don't even know where to start or how to narrow it down. What would be a good first non-Caribbean destination to consider, balancing diving conditions with distance from the East Coast of the US?

Thank you all, again, for your great advice.

 

[Bookworm11]

I live in West Springfield, MA and I assume you would be flying out of Boston and not JFK. I've dove in Thailand, Egypt, and Bali. The easiest for you is to fly to Egypt. It took me 50 hours in transit to get to Koh Samai in Thailand, and I flew premium economy, and it wasn't fun. You can fly to Sharm thru Istanbul for around $1100 RT on Turkish, and either dive there or an hour away in Dahab. Me, I dove in Dahab and loved it. I loved it so much I'm going back. Its cheap, too, and has a rustic hippy vibe. Or you could do  a live aboard. ( I was going to do that, but saw the accident record, and changed my mind.) Or do both. Or dive at both Sharm and Dahab as they are an hour apart. For $30, you can make your ticket multi city and stay a few nights in Istanbul.