Zeina
Contributor
Talk to a travel agent, not Continental!!
What would you do with 3 weeks and $15,000??
- Thread starter Scuba Duffer
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Finesse
Guest
Zeina....
Hope you guys got some good pictures !!!!!!
cant wait to read all about it !!!
Hope you guys got some good pictures !!!!!!
cant wait to read all about it !!!
ivansie
Guest
you had me dreaming for a while!!!!!!!!!!!!
bye
ivan
bye
ivan
Hi - I read your posts because my husband & I are trying to plan a trip to the same area, and as you, are overwhelmed by the many choices and lack of good info about them.
I wanted to comment on your search for Mantas -- I was on the same quest and tried the dive in Kona -- no mantas & it was a circus -- a dozen boats in a very small area and a dozen divers for each boat (plus it is only a night dive..). We dove Bora Bora and saw 6 or 7 mantas in the lagoon which we are told are usually always there. We also dove Manihi and saw at least one manta on about 75% of our dives. There is a dive spot called "the circus" where a young manta would stay with us for the entire dive & continually came so close I could have reached out and touched it. The manta encounters there were unforgettable and very personal (they don't take many divers out at a time).
The two drawbacks to French Polynesia are the expense (cost us about 7,500.00us for 2 weeks) and the crappy food. We are considering going again and if we go we will forgo the meal plan everyone tries to sell you and bring some gourmet camping rations -- they are probably better.
In closing let me just say that French Polynesia was the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life & the diving on Manihi was right up there as well..... I am torn between a new adventure elsewhere and returning to try some different French Polynesian Islands.
Good luck in your travel planning...
I wanted to comment on your search for Mantas -- I was on the same quest and tried the dive in Kona -- no mantas & it was a circus -- a dozen boats in a very small area and a dozen divers for each boat (plus it is only a night dive..). We dove Bora Bora and saw 6 or 7 mantas in the lagoon which we are told are usually always there. We also dove Manihi and saw at least one manta on about 75% of our dives. There is a dive spot called "the circus" where a young manta would stay with us for the entire dive & continually came so close I could have reached out and touched it. The manta encounters there were unforgettable and very personal (they don't take many divers out at a time).
The two drawbacks to French Polynesia are the expense (cost us about 7,500.00us for 2 weeks) and the crappy food. We are considering going again and if we go we will forgo the meal plan everyone tries to sell you and bring some gourmet camping rations -- they are probably better.
In closing let me just say that French Polynesia was the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life & the diving on Manihi was right up there as well..... I am torn between a new adventure elsewhere and returning to try some different French Polynesian Islands.
Good luck in your travel planning...
jimini
Registered
From Vancouver, Canada $15,000 USD is about exactly what hubby and I spent on a 3 week trip that included overnight at the Holiday Inn in Guam, 1 week in Yap at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel (1-week all inclusive package - meals, oceanview room, 10 dives, 1 mandarin fish dive, 1 macro dives, half-day kayak tour, island tour in a minivan, 3-hour cultural village tour), 4 nights at the Palau Pacific Resort (Leisure package - $240 USD per room per night which included full buffet breakfast for 2), full-day kayak tour of the Rock Islands (Sam's Tour), all our dinners out while we were in Koror, then 7-days on the Palau Aggressor II, plus assorted sundries including a half-hour aerial tour of Palau, a day room at the West Plaza hotel, and about $60 USD in souvenirs. We got more than we expected out of the trip and considered the monies well spent. We left town March 17 and returned April 7. Saw Manta Rays galore and hit all the highlights in Palau on the Aggressor. Hope you have as good a time as we had!
Jo
Jo
ratherbediving
Registered
dive_girl
Can you expand on your comments about the crappy food you experienced in FP? I'm going there in September if all goes well. We're not buying a meal plan, but we were expecting the food we do get to be good! Do you like seafood? I hear that's the main fare over there.
Can you tell me specific restaurants to avoid?
Thanks!
Can you expand on your comments about the crappy food you experienced in FP? I'm going there in September if all goes well. We're not buying a meal plan, but we were expecting the food we do get to be good! Do you like seafood? I hear that's the main fare over there.
Can you tell me specific restaurants to avoid?
Thanks!
ratherbediving
Registered
Jimini, this sounds like a great trip that you took. Maybe I should reconsider mine to French Polynesia. May I ask who you booked your trip through?
We're having a tough time trying to get our trip organized.
thanks
We're having a tough time trying to get our trip organized.
thanks
jimini
Registered
ratherbediving,
Even though I went through Freshtracks in Vancouver, Freshtracks actually used the Aggressor people to do the bookings. We booked the kayak tour of the Rock Islands in Palau ourselves with Sam's Tour (upon recommendation from Patricia Acker - wife of Bill Acker - owner of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel - Sam's set up Patricia's kayak operation in Yap).
I forgot to mention in my last post that the price included airfare from Vancouver.
Jo
Even though I went through Freshtracks in Vancouver, Freshtracks actually used the Aggressor people to do the bookings. We booked the kayak tour of the Rock Islands in Palau ourselves with Sam's Tour (upon recommendation from Patricia Acker - wife of Bill Acker - owner of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel - Sam's set up Patricia's kayak operation in Yap).
I forgot to mention in my last post that the price included airfare from Vancouver.
Jo
If I had that kind of money, I would adopt a poor girl from Ohio and take her on a fabulous trip to French Polynesia!!
Just kidding!!!! (not really) Sounds fabulous, I hope you have a wonderful time!
R
Just kidding!!!! (not really) Sounds fabulous, I hope you have a wonderful time!
R
OP
Scuba Duffer
Contributor
But we are still having a hard time bringing it in on budget. When people say $15,000 will go so much further - I wish I knew who they were talking too. The more we plan - the more this is quickly apporaching $20,000.!
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