Help me with planning a dream trip

[wildbill9]

It will be our 30th anniversary and my 60th birthday and my most wonderful wife wants to go on the ultimate dive trip (within our financial constraints). We keep gravitating back to Wakatobi. I won't say we are experienced divers because of our time off between dives but we do 50 dives a year (carribean areas) and have both been certified since the early 80s. We do not love drift diving and I am a avid photography buff. We have considered a live aboard but just don't know if we are that hard core. 3 maybe 4 dives a day is our max. We love diving but in the end it is also a vacation and we don't want to feel we have to go on a dive. Diving, great food, really nice rooms, wonderful beach are what we are looking for. When is the best time to go? Wakatobi and Raja Ampat are tops so far. Muck diving has minimal interest. Again she hated drift diving in Cozumel and I didn't like it because I couldn't take pics. Well toss out you opinions options and advice. I will many more questions as time goes on but this is a start. Thank you for your time and help! Bill and DeeDee

 

[CptTightPants21]

What kind of budget per person are we talking about?

Have you done any research into Truk Lagoon aboard the Odyssey?

Nice rooms, good food, fantastic service. 3 or 4 dives a day, good viz, no currents a true bucket list trip to celebrate your 30th anniversary.

If you really wanted to make it an ultimate dive trip you could look at adding Palau or Hawaii along with Truk....

Scuba Diving Truk Lagoon Aboard Odyssey. The best way to explore Truk Lagoon in Micronesia

 

[WetPup]

If you don't love current, I'm not sure how much you'd enjoy Raja Ampat to be honest. Wakatobi can get a bit of heavy current too. Not really much beach to speak of in either destination either really. If you want the topside options if you don't feel like diving, maybe you could consider somewhere like Bali?

 

[Bali-Freak]

maybe you could consider somewhere like Bali?

Great idea

But probably best to avoid Nusa Penida if you don't enjoy currents. Although it's not 'currenty' every day at every site there it's quite hard to predict in advance and prone to sudden changes.

 

[Damselfish]

We have considered a live aboard but just don't know if we are that hard core. 3 maybe 4 dives a day is our max. We love diving but in the end it is also a vacation and we don't want to feel we have to go on a dive.

While many liveaboards offer up 5 dives a day, some are less, depends on the location and clientele. In any event it's rare for people to do all of them. Some boats give out a variety of humorous prizes at the end of a trip, often one will be a certificate to anyone who did all the dives, and that's typically 1-2 people. Night dives (actually all dives) tend to get more sparsely attended as a trip goes on, and many people simply aren't into night diving at all. People sit out all the time to rest their ears, get more hammock time, just don't feel like it, whatever. I've seen people do the first 2-3 dives each day then dive into a bottle of wine. I average something under 4, and the only thing that makes me feel I "have" to go is if the diving is really outstanding and I don't want to miss something. So if you do 3-4 a day you're plenty hard-core enough. And there's a chance you'll find you want to do a bit more than you usually do, simply because it's so convenient compared to most anything land-based.

Personally, I really like combining a liveaboard with some time on land to get the best of both. Plus it's so much nicer to get off the boat and go to a resort, than slog off to some airport early in the morning. Also easier to deal with packing.

I think if you haven't done it, someplace in the Indo-Pacific is a great idea for a special trip as the diving is generally so much better and different than Caribbean. However, if you don't want currents or muck, that's somewhat limiting as so many places in the region have plenty of one or both. (If you haven't done any good muck diving, which you haven't if you've stuck to the Caribbean so far, you may find you like it if you try it. There are places that have a mix so you wouldn't only be doing muck diving. The thing about completely avoiding "muck" and currents is, yes you will be able to to easily take pics of coral and the usual type of stuff that lives on a quiet reef. But you will never get to see - or take pics of - all the cool stuff that doesn't.)

 

[AlMitch]

I would highly recommend a LOB in Raja Ampat. It is mind blowing! It really is special. As mentioned above there really is no pressure to do all the dives, my wife only dived twice a day on many of the days. And used the rest of the time to read books and sleep and watch the incredible scenery float by. And WOW is the scenery in RA spectacular! Yes there is some current in RA BUT in all honesty it was really not that bad at all. In fact I only remember really struggling against the current badly on one dive and that was really the DM's fault for dropping us in at the wrong spot. The rest of the time it was generally pretty relaxing. And as they say the current brings the big birds (mantas) and schools of fish.

If you are willing to shell out for Wakatobi then that means pretty much anywhere in Indo is within your budget. As for LOB's there are many that are really luxurious, such as the Damai, Blue Manta etc etc I went on the Indo Siren and absolutely loved it.

If you insist on land side then look at places like Raja 4 Divers, Misool Eco Lodge or Papua Explorers etc etc.

Other resorts to consider are Gangga Island Resort which is off of Bangka Island, North Sulawesi. You could do a few nights at Siladen Resort near Bunaken and then a few days at Gangga and then be adventurous and try a few days at Black Sands Resort in Lembeh. Yes yes Lembeh = muck diving BUT seriously please just try it for a few days! Lembeh is INCREDIBLE especially seen as you are a photographer. The critter density in Lembeh is just insane. Every amazing critter you can think of. You will not stop shooting, the dive guide will literally take you from one critter to the next! Non stop treasure hunt.

 

[wildbill9]

Budget... well I would like to do it for 15k or so but I am willing to spend a few more bucks. Please sell us on muck diving. Wifey seems to think it is diving with dirty diapers and old Coke cans. Is the water clean and what about ear infectionso. I am open to most.anything but it's not all about me. Tell me about fuji....where, when, why.....

 

[Bali-Freak]

Wifey seems to think it is diving with dirty diapers and old Coke cans. Is the water clean and what about ear infectionso.

Hmmm ... that's not really the meaning of 'muck' in this context.

Take a look here for a better explanation: Muck Diving

I couldn't help noticing this sentence from that article, "Indonesia would have to be the top muck diving destination in the world, with so many wonderful dive locations, you'll have a hard time deciding where to start! " However that being said I wouldn't book a whole holiday based around muck diving if you have never done it before because it's not for everyone - personally I often have a hard time figuring out what the guide is trying to show me

 

[Damselfish]

"Muck diving" has nothing to do with dirty diapers, Coke cans, or dirty water. While you might find more trash than you'd like in some dive destinations around the world, that's not what makes something muck diving. It pretty much refers to diving in a plain silty/sandy environment - that's the muck - without much for structure where you might not think there is anything to see - where in reality there are lots of weird critters to be found. It's important to have a good critter spotting guide to get the most out of it, especially for your first dives in an area. Some things are easy to spot on your own, but it helps a lot to learn what you're looking for and where to find it. A magnifying glass that works underwater can be useful too. (Not everything is so small, but for some things it's nice to have.)

I never really thought about it before, but the term may be misleading to some. I wonder how many people don't want to try it because of the unfortunate name? I do agree if you haven't done it might be best not to plan a whole trip of it. Some people can't get enough of it but it's not everyone's thing. As much as I like the critters to be found muck diving, I prefer to mix it up.

 

[highdesert]

"Muck diving" has nothing to do with dirty diapers, Coke cans, or dirty water.

Oh, really?