Trip of a Lifetime..

[a-marshal]

I know this is a variation on a well-discussed theme but I thought I would reopen it again with maybe a small twist. I am about to turn 50 and am looking to take my "TRIP OF A LIFETIME!" (insert echo effect here) . My wife and I have been able to arrange 3 weeks in February for this trip and we want it to be something special, and while we are not made of money we’ve been saving for this for a while and don’t have to do it on the cheap.

These are our criteria..

1. This is a dive trip, we want to be diving or have the option of diving on most days.
2. Not the Caribbean or Central America, we get there once or twice a year anyway.
3. There should be other things to do besides dive, while I am OK with the idea of 4 dives per day for 21 days it is nice to have options. It would also be nice to see a bit of the local history and culture of where ever we end up.
4. Accommodations need to be clean and comfortable and the food should be good, both of us did "the world on two dollars a day" thing when we were in our twenties, and while I think we could do it again if we had to we would rather not.

So far we have been thinking about a week in Wakatobi and another week on a live-aboard but both of those ideas seem to miss one or more of the criteria. So we are hoping to get some ideas here..
Please?

 

[Doc]

I know this is a variation on a well-discussed theme but I thought I would reopen it again with maybe a small twist..... and while we are not made of money we’ve been saving for this for a while and don’t have to do it on the cheap.[/QUOTE]

a) What was the small twist that makes this different than all of the other similar posts that you found?

b) How much money exactly are you not made up of?

These threads are fluff unless you state a real working budget limit (and specify the currency that the "dollars" are in).

 

[a-marshal]

I know this is a variation on a well-discussed theme but I thought I would reopen it again with maybe a small twist..... and while we are not made of money we’ve been saving for this for a while and don’t have to do it on the cheap.[/QUOTE]

a) What was the small twist that makes this different than all of the other similar posts that you found?
[/QUOTE]

Sorry I guess I was a bit too brief. Basically the trip is not necessarily to one specific place it could bridge two or more locations if the travel is easy enough. For example is it easy to get from Palau to say Raja Ampat or Wakatobi? And do we want to? The second that I don’t see much of is discussion of non-diving activities (who would have thought that from Scubaboard) using Wakatobi as an example I have been told there is nothing to do there but dive or sit on the beach, I don’t know if that is true or not.

b) How much money exactly are you not made up of?

These threads are fluff unless you state a real working budget limit (and specify the currency that the "dollars" are in).

Real working Budget is tough,but if we can hold it under 20K USD I would be happy but I can go higher if I think it warrents it..

 

[diversteve]

A few upscale options on my Indo-Pacific short list - one problem you may have is that some trips will already be full thru next year also.

Wakatobi also has the Pelagian liveaboard. The Wakatobi Dive Yacht - The Pelagian - Wakatobi, Indonesia

For Komodo/Raja Ampat there's Arenui. Arenui the Boutique Liveaboard - Dive Indonesia in Style from our Luxury Diving Vessel

Someone told me Damai is even nicer. Dive Damai

If you're interested in Male'/the Maldives - Four Seasons Maldives also has a liveaboard - Maldives Cruise | Indian Ocean Cruise | Four Seasons Explorer And there's others: Maldives diving - The best Maldives liveaboards at the best prices

It's a different experience but there's also the Paul Gauguin cruises. They have a watersports platform and dive at many of their stops but also do more of the local island stuff you sound like you want. Luxury Small Ship Special Offers | Paul Gauguin Cruises

Feb. 2nd, 2013 there's a week with Jean-Michel Cousteau on-board - he lectures and joins dives. 2013 Guest Host Cruises on the m/s Paul Gauguin | Paul Gauguin Cruises

 

[cbm32]

Fiji would offer a TON of options with a wide variety of diving and an extremely interesting culture to explore. With over 320 islands there is something for everyone and good weather someplace nearly any time of year.

 

[Wookie]

Philippines, azores resort and liveaboard.

 

[RJP]

I did such a trip several years ago when I took some extended time off from work.

Went to Truk first
- by myself
- for 21 days
- a few days at Blue Lagoon resort
- Two weeks on Truk Odyssey
- a few more days at Blue Lagoon
- 4-5 dives a day on phenomenal wrecks
- Flew home, rinsed my gear, did a load of laundry...

Then on to Egypt for three weeks
- with a group of 30 or so folks from my LDS, including my wife
- First 5 days in Cairo doing pyramids, etc, etc, etc
- Flew to Abu Simbel, then to Aswan
- Nile Cruise back to Cairo
- Flew to Hurgada (wife went home)
- our group boarded two Emperor liveaboards for a week on the Red Sea
- back to Cairo for a day
- Drove to Alexandria for a few days
- Dove Cleopatra's Palace in the Mediterranean
- Flew home, rinsed my gear, did a load of laundry...

Went to Curacao for two weeks
- non-diving wife and both non-diving kids came along
- drove all over the island, great beaches, hiking, etc
- did a few dives each day, including many arranged with ScubaBoarders ahead of time
- flew home, rinsed my gear, did a load of laundry...

Spent the Summer diving locally
- Diving NJ wrecks most weekends
- DM'ing lots of classes with my LDS
- Running "Discover Scuba Diving" programs with kids at local summer camps
- Spending lots of time with my wife and kids on Long Beach Island at the Jersey Shore

If you ever have a chance to dedicate 4-5 months to such a "Trip of A Lifetime" I highly recommend it.

 

[TSandM]

Australia is a wonderful place to visit. It was my first "real" dive trip. We went to a place called Byron Bay, which was beautiful, with a huge white sand beach and turquoise water. The diving was fantastic, and the town had a lot of good restaurants. There are also nature preserves nearby where you can take hiking tours (we didn't).

Although it involves a fair amount of driving or flying, Australia also offers the Hunter Valley wine country -- and we loved Sydney, which I think ended up being my favorite city in the world, edging out Hong Kong for scenery, activities and WONDERFUL people. There is diving there, too, and weedy sea dragons . . . and further south, near Melbourne, is a lot of wreck diving. Of course, the water there is cold.

But there was nothing quite like taking a horseback trip through fields full of kangaroos . . .

 

[mathauck0814]

I know this is a variation on a well-discussed theme but I thought I would reopen it again with maybe a small twist. I am about to turn 50 and am looking to take my "TRIP OF A LIFETIME!" (insert echo effect here) . My wife and I have been able to arrange 3 weeks in February for this trip and we want it to be something special, and while we are not made of money we’ve been saving for this for a while and don’t have to do it on the cheap.

These are our criteria..

1. This is a dive trip, we want to be diving or have the option of diving on most days.
2. Not the Caribbean or Central America, we get there once or twice a year anyway.
3. There should be other things to do besides dive, while I am OK with the idea of 4 dives per day for 21 days it is nice to have options. It would also be nice to see a bit of the local history and culture of where ever we end up.
4. Accommodations need to be clean and comfortable and the food should be good, both of us did "the world on two dollars a day" thing when we were in our twenties, and while I think we could do it again if we had to we would rather not.

So far we have been thinking about a week in Wakatobi and another week on a live-aboard but both of those ideas seem to miss one or more of the criteria. So we are hoping to get some ideas here..
Please?

Mine would be an Antarctic liveaboard trip. Leopard seals, whales, crazy ice monsters!

 

[Mike Veitch]

How about a week or two discovering and pampering yourself on the island of Bali followed by a liveaboard trip to Komodo National Park where you can cavort with dragons