As part of my son's birthday/high school graduation present I said I would take him on a liveaboard. Since I've done an Aggressor before and he knows others who have been on various Aggressors he wants to do an Aggressor either in Kona or the Caribbean. He's not new to boats having not too long ago spent a week on the Shedd Aquarium's research boat in the Bahamas. He is however a new diver, they did snorkeling off the Shedd boat, so he's comfortable being in and under the water but the diving should be for a newer diver. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Which Aggressor to go on?
- Thread starter DiverBeth
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We have done the Kona, Belize and Fiji boats. If you can do the Fiji boat! Between Kona and Belize it depends on what you like. Kona has no soft corals and is mainly about the fish and some cool lava formation swim thrus. Belize is typical Carib diving with some nice spots with some interesting topography.
daniel f aleman
Contributor
Caribbean over Kona for a new(er) diver - preferably to an English speaking destination.
mjarens
Contributor
Greetings,
I boarded the Kona Aggressor last June with only 6 dives in my dive log. I ended the week with 25 dives in my log, and completed both my Advanced Open Water certificate training and my Nitrox training. The experience was wonderful.
I then booked the Cayman Aggressor for early September. I ended that week with 52 dives in my log book, as well as earning another certification for Night Diver.
Either trip will be good for your son. Maybe the Kona trip was a bit less "over the top" as far as corals. But his first good dose of diving should really be more about the skills he is honing: buoyancy, routine, safety, etc. Let him cut his teeth on the Kona trip. Then sign up for the "over the top" sights on the Cayman trip. I appreciated the Cayman trip more as my second experience because of the skills I worked on during the Kona trip. Besides, the Cayman trip had many more deep water dives than the Kona trip. You need Advanced Open Water certification to participate.
IMHO,
mjarens
I boarded the Kona Aggressor last June with only 6 dives in my dive log. I ended the week with 25 dives in my log, and completed both my Advanced Open Water certificate training and my Nitrox training. The experience was wonderful.
I then booked the Cayman Aggressor for early September. I ended that week with 52 dives in my log book, as well as earning another certification for Night Diver.
Either trip will be good for your son. Maybe the Kona trip was a bit less "over the top" as far as corals. But his first good dose of diving should really be more about the skills he is honing: buoyancy, routine, safety, etc. Let him cut his teeth on the Kona trip. Then sign up for the "over the top" sights on the Cayman trip. I appreciated the Cayman trip more as my second experience because of the skills I worked on during the Kona trip. Besides, the Cayman trip had many more deep water dives than the Kona trip. You need Advanced Open Water certification to participate.
IMHO,
mjarens
DiveMaven
Contributor
Belize is also a great option for newer divers. It's all wall diving with lush reefs above. You can choose to dive the reef at between 40-60' or drop down the wall to 130' if you want. Navigation is a breeze...go one way down the wall, turn around and come back to the boat. Second dive, repeat, but go the other direction. 
Shasta_man
Contributor
Lots more capable liveaboards besides the Aggressors. If you want a real islands experience, go to Fiji as mentioned.
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