Where in the world?

[sschlesi]

So here is the situation, my wife and I have 2-3 weeks of vacation at the end of November/early December. My wife wants to re-do her OW cert on vacation. We are looking for a destination that meet the following criteria

i) The water and air is warm.
ii) There is plenty of reasonably easy diving with colorul reefs and fish.
iii) There are other touristy things to do besides diving.
iv) There are "luxury" amenities available such as a spa (wife).

Over three weeks it may make sense to change scenery to another relatively nearby location.

So far the idea of diving the Red Sea has great appeal. Staying in Sharm El Sheikh, or Dahab for diving and visiting Giza/Cairo/The Nile for touristy things seems to meet all the criteria. I haven't checked the weather in the area for late November yet, but I'm assuming at least near the water the temperatures remain pretty warm year round. Are there good Red Sea diving destinations in Saudi Arabia, I've only heard of Egyptian locations?

Other areas that have crossed my mind that I haven't really looked into yet include; Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines, Australia, Maldives, Seychelles. Are there any good diving operations around Mombasa, Kenya? A friend of mine is from there and he makes it sound like an interesting place to visit. Anywhere in the world is a possibility if it meets the above criteria, the more exotic the better.

So, where would you go?

 

[Mako Mark]

Sounds like you have your vacation time allocated for the next decade or so.

Sharm or Hurgada sound more like what you want than Dahab, Dahab is more backpacker than spa.

 

[gehadoski]

I recommend Sharm El Sheikh. I like it the most.

 

[Doc]

We are looking for a destination that meet the following criteria

iii) There are other touristy things to do besides diving.
iv) There are "luxury" amenities available such as a spa (wife).

the more exotic the better.

Mutually exclusive depending upon actual deffinitions.

Exotic to me means float planes and pack mules. The distinct possibility of a one way ticket.

Maybe you mean posh?

Do one of the private liveaboards.

 

[robint]

So here is the situation, my wife and I have 2-3 weeks of vacation at the end of November/early December. My wife wants to re-do her OW cert on vacation. We are looking for a destination that meet the following criteria

i) The water and air is warm.
ii) There is plenty of reasonably easy diving with colorul reefs and fish.
iii) There are other touristy things to do besides diving.
iv) There are "luxury" amenities available such as a spa (wife).

Over three weeks it may make sense to change scenery to another relatively nearby location.

So far the idea of diving the Red Sea has great appeal. Staying in Sharm El Sheikh, or Dahab for diving and visiting Giza/Cairo/The Nile for touristy things seems to meet all the criteria. I haven't checked the weather in the area for late November yet, but I'm assuming at least near the water the temperatures remain pretty warm year round. Are there good Red Sea diving destinations in Saudi Arabia, I've only heard of Egyptian locations?

Other areas that have crossed my mind that I haven't really looked into yet include; Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines, Australia, Maldives, Seychelles. Are there any good diving operations around Mombasa, Kenya? A friend of mine is from there and he makes it sound like an interesting place to visit. Anywhere in the world is a possibility if it meets the above criteria, the more exotic the better.

So, where would you go?

from what you have said your WIFE wants, I would go to Indonesia.
A week in Bali first maybe then a week here for the diving:
www.wakatobi.com
I think that would meet all your needs as well as her's.

robint

 

[mjh]

Thailand! Phuket or the other Ko Samui side. Plenty of diving, nightlife and you can get a massage on just about every corner.

 

[Lottie375]

Trying not to sound too biased, and as your based in Canada. You could try the Caribbean....?

St Lucia has good temps (water and air) around December/January. The reefs are easy going. There's alot going on to see and do thats land-based. I know there are also direct flights here via Air Canada, but not where they depart from within Canada
Plus it's only a quick hopp, skip and a jump to other islands (bonaire, curacao, barbados, grenada, antigua etc) if you want to have a bit of variety for your vacation and see the diversity within the caribbean (each island is completely different to the next, no two islands are the same).

HTH

Lottie )

 

[babs]

Been to St Lucia twice loved it and I would recommend the Sandals Grand St Lucia its all inclusive, spa and diving is included in the package. you have rainforest, waterfalls, mountain bike, hiking and volcano tours. http://www.sandals.com/main/grande/gl-home.cfm the Sandals Resort are offering discounts up to 50% off.

Let me know if you need any help booking your vacation.

 

[sschlesi]

Exotic to me means float planes and pack mules. The distinct possibility of a one way ticket.

I guess by exotic I meant an uncommon destination, at least with respect to vacationing from the west coast of North America. For example, staying at one of the Four Seasons resorts in the Maldives would score highly on my "exotic/uncommon" scale as well as the luxury amenities scale. Float planes are perfectly acceptable, but if pack mules are required to reach our destination I'm going to be in BIG trouble.

I like the idea of a liveaboard, but that doesn't leave many non-diving options for my wife.

Scott S.

 

[namabiru]

Well, then, how about Malaysia, or Thailand? The Thailand suggestions are solid, as you can stay on land somewhere (maybe Phuket), get a really reasonably-priced dive course for your wife, decent priced diving for you, and there is cheap shopping, cheap eats, and cheap accommodation.

Your location says Vancouver, so I am tenatively going to guess you can get a good deal on flights to Asia from there. Try Bangkok, or to Kuala Lumpur, or to Hong Kong, or even to Singapore. From any of those places, you can get on a smaller flight to go somewhere in Thailand. I always enjoy Singapore. I will warn you, though, that departure tax from Changi airport can be a bit expensive. You may be better off flying into Bangkok, or Kuala Lumpur, and then going north/south. You can do this on Bangkok Airways from either place. Or, if you want to fly into KL, you can use Air Asia to Phuket, I do believe.

If you'd like to chat about how to get around Asia inexpensively, PM me, and we'll have a good natter.