Moogyboy:
hey all
Having caught the dive trip bug back in May after a wonderful several days on Blackbeard's Sea Explorer and looking on enviously at other members of my dive club putting these shindigs together, my question to you this election day is what a typical planning process for a dive trip looks like. All the deciding which hotel and boat operator and airlines, and how to go about it, is totally foreign to me--the most complex trip I ever had to plan for was my three months in Germany as a student. Basic info on the planning process will do for now, if yall could help. I'm lost.
Keep in mind the scenario of a guy trying to arrange a several-days trip for maybe 6-8 people.
thanx, and cheers
Billy S.
My basic starting point is to do a lot of reading about a location we're considering. Scuba Diving and Undercurrents are good places to start. Google the destination looking for package deals and location descriptions, amenities etc. I also like to find any discussion groups about the location, either here on SB or elsewhere.
After deciding on a location and picking a date, we generally use some combination of Expedia, Travelocity, Airline websites and divetravel sites to come up with the best deal. Usually requires several/many phone calls as well. And more flexibility around dates can mean better deals. Two years ago we got a much better fare by returning on the 4th of July. And airports were empty so we zipped through everything(except Miami customs) as well.
Call the dive travel agents and ask questions, most of them have been to at least the more usual destinations. I got some insight from a travel agent who had been to several of the places I had been considering which led to a different decision on our last trip. We've also called diveresorts directly to ask specific targeted questions but that can get a little pricey unless they have toll-free numbers. I got a great deal on a condo in Cayman that wasn't listed on any website by talking to the booking agent directly, she just happened to mention it while we were discussing options.
Our last two trips for the first one we wound up booking flights directly via the airline website and booked a condo through a US condo reservation firm, got a car when we got there. If I did it over again, I'd pre-book the car too, it would have saved about $80. The other trip we booked condo, car, insurance etc. through a divetravel agency after verifying that the deal we were getting was better than doing it directly with the resort and car rental firm.
If you want someone to do it all for you, contact any dive travel agency, they specialize in larger group trips. We've used Aquadreams.com and contacted Maduro and Caradonna for info in the past. I even think Expedia has a travel service you can call. I'd verify the price of any package deal against what you can get via the airlines and resorts websites directly though before I'd book with them.
If you're wanting to do a liveaboard, they all have websites and telephone numbers which can simplify things, they usually even have recommendations on how to get there affordably. Some of them offer private charters once you commit to a certain number of divers, that might be really interesting to have private use of the boat for a week for you and your friends. I think the Hughes and Aggressor fleets offer it.
Personally I'd only go with a small group of close friends, even if I made the arrangements for everyone, I'd make it clear I'm not responsible or the babysitter if something goes wrong. I'd rather just get the details and pass them on and let everybody pay for and book their own separately, with a divetravel agency they'll still give you the best group price based on the amount of travelers, some of them will throw in something free once you exceed 10-12 paid bookings.
I'm a member of a small local club (105 members) I'm contemplating opening our next trip to them to see what happens, maybe selectively. I like the idea of diving with people that I know are divers first and partiers second.
