Non-diving spouse - suggestions for travel destinations

[Dan]

These kinds of traumatic events take time to fade away from people's minds. I like to visit Bali. It took Bali 10 years to recover from 2002 Bali bombings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Now they have traffic congestion everywhere there, which I also don't like to see.

 

[KathyV]

OP, did you ever find a place to dive that is convenient to Europe but not in the Mideast?

 

[Storker]

Yep, we're going to the Canaries. Pretty ironic, because that's the quintessential destination for middle-agers who just want beach life and cheap booze, being warm and not too far away for a one-week trip. I believed I'd never go there. However, I found a couple rather promising ops, both on Tenerife and Lanzarote. And my wife seems pretty happy with the plans.

 

[KathyV]

Yep, we're going to the Canaries. Pretty ironic, because that's the quintessential destination for middle-agers who just want beach life and cheap booze, being warm and not too far away for a one-week trip. I believed I'd never go there. However, I found a couple rather promising ops, both on Tenerife and Lanzarote. And my wife seems pretty happy with the plans.

Let us know how it works out and what you think of the canaries as a dive destination. I have family living in Europe right now and we may visit. I never thought of it as a dive vacation but after my friend told me she loved the canary islands I started thinking "maybe?"

 

[tkaelin]

Same here. Just starting to look for info on diving the Canaries, Tenerife.

 

[Gareth J]

Dear wife AKA SWMBO doesn't dive. And I'd be willing to bet good money that she never will. So, vacations can't be too heavily focused on diving, and liveaboards are out of the question.

With those limitations, what would be the best vacation destinations where general tourist stuff can be successfully combined with quality diving?

Other things to consider:
Neither of us are particularly keen on all-inclusive resorts
Apart from diving and beach life, we like a bit of activity, like sightseeing cities, or nature hiking
Since we live in Europe, typical destinations for North Americans like the Caribbean or Mexico aren't as convenient for us.

Give Malta a go.

If you are into historic sites then there is plenty to see. If you buy a weekly bus pass then travelling around is easy, and inexpensive.

A lot of the dives are shore dives. I guess you will be a solo diver, so you will need to dive with a dive centre. If you have a diving buddy, and transport (hire car), most of the shore dives are straight forward, especially if you have visited them before.

Whilst the language is Maltese, a mix of Arabic, and Italian. The vast majority speak excellent English.

The Island is small enough to get around on the bus or in a hire car. (If driving the Maltese drive on the left - actually they drive in the shade, but the theory is the left).
If you do go the Harbour tour is worth while, especially if you use one of the smaller boats and haggle.

Gareth