Where oh where to go?

[YoDadio]

Dear Scubaboard people,

Your mission (should you decide to accept it), is to tell me where to go!

My dive buddy and I have been diving (Los Angeles) for two years now. We are PADI Rescue/Nitro/Dry Suit divers looking for a dive vacation. Of course we want it all: warm water, large critters, lots of critters, reefs, wrecks, walls, easy diving, 3-5 dives a day, great weather/viz/people/food, and night life, all for around $2,500 apiece. We do not want to travel on the major holidays, otherwise we are pretty open to any travel date (given ample advance notice).

The kicker is my buddy isn't interested in going to Roatan (due to the no-see-ums), returning to Coz and feels that the documentation/medical requirements for the Philippines is too much trouble.

Personally, I just want a hassle free trip with good weather & viz. Being surrounded by half naked chicks wouldn’t hurt either. I think we would be best served by an all-inclusive (we’ll either be too tired or drunk, depending upon the dive count, to do our own cooking and he’s not a PB&J sort of guy) but a live aboard will be a budget buster.

In short, I am guessing that we are looking at the Caribbean and/or Bahamas, but we’re open to your input, particularly regarding specific resorts, dive shops, etc. at any given local.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[ngdiver72]

View attachment Cayman Madness (2).pdf- This is just a start,

 

[robint]

 

[diversteve]

Habitat Curacao. It's a resort with a meal plan, easily under $2500 - the room/meals will be around $1500/wk - includes some taxes - summer season - starts May 1st. It's only $12 more per day if you want to go sooner. http://www.habitatcuracaoresort.com/

It's sort of remote though so I'd split a vehicle also so you can drive around and shore dive. Or go to town for dinner - maybe 20-30mins drive. They even have some of the U.S. chains (McD's, KFC, etc) if you want to save some money.

We rented an SUV for about $400+change for the week. That leaves you $800 for flights which should be just doable.

If you're interested, contact Caradonna also - through them, 7 nts/meals/car (no boat diving) looks to be about $3K total for both of you. Not including flights. You can try different options online on their site also. www.caradonna.com

No bugs either - I left my deet at home - unlike Roatan/Utila. Most of the time along the water there was a breeze also.

Diving on Curacao is the same as Bonaire - it's on the same reef. Just a little further swim out in most places. Lots of fish, healthy coral, the reef starts around 40' and drops to at least 135 or so in most spots. Seahorses are pretty easy to find, turtles, most dives we saw big morays and other eels - lots of reef fish etc. Not too many large critters - for that it's Cayman, Turks/Caicos or the Bahamas most likely. Saw dolphins twice - once on the Seaquarium dive and once past our apt deck one morning - if it wasn't a 60' drop I'd have been snorkeling with them. No sharks though.

Habitat's house reef - Nos Kas - is easily one of the 10 best dives we did all week.

The half naked part is the KLM flight attendants that tan just down the road at Porto Marie beach. My friends swam extra distance to exit in front of them - might have worked till one fell flat on his face in the surf.

Much of Curacao is pretty liberal about sunbathing. Which isn't always a good thing...