Family Scuba trip Summer 2011

[idocsteve]

If you go to either Little Cayman or Cayman Brac you will have a DM in the water with you where you can certainly follow them around if you want. They have plenty of equipment for rent.

It sounds like if you were to go to Curacao, "the Dive Bus" would be perfect as they lead the dives from what I understand. Don't know if they have equipment to rent but I expect they could get you hooked up easily enough.

Yes they have all sorts of packages for the day, the week or anything in between.

Nice folks over there. I met them, I know how their operation works but ironically enough I didn't get a chance to dive with them when I was in Curacao this past summer.

 

[robint]

Actually, as long as he's with his certified parent he's OK and 40' is the recommended depth.

sorta true... but he also the buddy to the 15 yr old child.
So either he would have to buddy with the 10 yr old, and be responsible for them (remember, he is a new diver, too) and let the 15 yr old buddy with a stranger....
OR
.... he buddies with the 15 yr old and pays a DM to buddy with the 10 yr old. I really think it would be best for all 3 divers if they pay for the DM to be with the 10 yr old.

As far as the Fla Keys go, there are lots of dive ops to choose from and reefs are generally shallow enough for all 3 of you to dive them. Only exceptions are the wrecks like the Spiegel Grove, Duane, Eagle, etc.
Horizon Divers Key Largo Florida
Amoray Key Largo
Silent World voted #1 dive shop in Florida
CONCH REPUBLIC DIVERS
Pirate Island Divers
Rainbow Reef Dive Center

these are just a few to check out... there are lots more.

robin

 

[mselenaous]

If you can't join us in Coz....

+1 on everything Robin said. Key Largo is a great place for kids (& kids-at-heart) to dive as most of the great reefs are 30ft or less. There are many praised dive ops to choose from as well as instructors who work well with Jr. divers. Feel free to contact the ops. Ask to talk to the instructor that will be teaching your child so that everyone is on the same page with their teaching styles and yours and your child's expectations. If you choose to come to Key Largo, whether you choose do dive with us or with some of my friends at other local ops, please stop by to say hi :wavey:

 

[TMJJS]

Thanks for all the replies. After going to the Underwater Show in Chicago and talking to the family more, we have revised our trip.

We would now like to do an all-inclusive. We are also open to going back to the Riveria Maya area of Mexico.

Any opinions on good all-inclusives that have good dive operators near by? We are hoping to keep the airfare, AI & diving to $1500 per person (2 children 15 & 10 years old). Does that budget restrict us to Mexico where I know we can do it on that budget?

Thanks again for all the previous posts and the ones to come!

 

[cardzard]

There is still time to join the Invasion.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/in...61018-scubaboard-invades-cozumel-package.html

Children 12 and under, Stay and Eat Free
With 2 Paid Adults per room

This is a family friendly event and the package has something for everyone.

 

[LynnB]

I also second the Fla. Keys.. Our first trip with our kids was to Cayman which was great.
After that we went several years to Key Largo which was wonderful for the kids.
Rainbow Reef puts a DM with all dives for no extra charge. They did a great job and my kids loved it.

 

[ShootinSquid]

I'm in the same boat (no pun intended) with my daughter. SHe is 11 and we did her Confined Water in a pool here in Chicago in January. We are now going to the FLorida Keys at the end of March to finish her OW cert. I have been talking with Garden Cove Divers and Elena who works there.
The 40' recommendation is simply that...a recommendation. IT is all about how comfortable your youngster is at depth, how comfortable you as a parent with them going deeper and the dive itself. Everythning should be taken on a person-by-person basis.
As for me personally, if she develops the skills necessary, feels comfortable and knows what she is doing, I can't see too much of a problem once in a long while doing a wreck at 45 or 50'. After all...an atmosphere is every 33'...so 40' isn't an exact science either. Again....it is a personal decision. Just the fat that you go underwater and breathe is dangerous and risky enough...just like goin up in a plane, on a motorcycle, on a roller coaster, hot-air balloon, etc...everything has risk....its just a matter of eliminating unnecessary risk and mitigating maneagable risk.

 

[ConchyJoe]

Like you, we have kids as well, and tend to go where flights are cheapest, and non-stop. The last two times that has been Cayman. We are going back in April and booked flights for $272 round trip, compared to $523 for TCI, and $700 for places like St. Lucia or Belize.

There are lots of great dive operators there like DNS Diving, Wall to Wall and Indepth.

 

[LynnB]

Like you, we have kids as well, and tend to go where flights are cheapest, and non-stop. The last two times that has been Cayman. We are going back in April and booked flights for $272 round trip, compared to $523 for TCI, and $700 for places like St. Lucia or Belize.

There are lots of great dive operators there like DNS Diving, Wall to Wall and Indepth.

Where did you find flights that cheap??? Ilive in Savannah and everything seems so high from Atlanta.

 

[texdives]

You might consider Ocean Frontiers on the East End of Grand Cayman. It isn't all inclusive, but a 2 bedroom condo with 7 nights and 6 days of diving is around $1000 per person. That's 12 dives per person. The condos are super nice and that cost also includes a rental car. I would think you could eat on $2000 even in Grand Cayman; thats the left over money of your $1500 per person budget. With a car, your wife could go into Georgetown or over to Rum Point on the days she didn't want to dive. With a condo you can have cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch if you wanted. You could even cook on the grills if you wanted; we don't usually because we are too tired. We have done three trips with these guys and they are the best. You walk out of your condo onto the boat and go diving; they handle all of your gear. I have done three trips to Cozumel and they just cannot touch Grand Cayman. And my experience has been that it's just not that much cheaper. On top of that, it's hard to beat the diving in Cayman and you don't have to deal with the whole drift diving; which might be challenging for your youngest. This also gives you guys the opportunity to go somewhere else and check it out. You could fly American through Miami or Continental through Houston. We drive 2 hours and 45 minutes to Houston Bush and catch a direct flight into Cayman.