Ideas of location with easy and colorful diving to take teens? Not fancy/reasonably priced?

[chillyinCanada]

The Cook Islands are not a bad idea...

There are more parrot fish in the lagoon around Rarotonga then anywhere else I've ever seen. The locals can't eat them because of ciguatera so they just prolierate. Several types of sharks, and turtles are abundant.

It's been a long while since I've been but I remember many different kinds of dives, different topographies. It was quite fun.

 

[PatW]

I recently dove in the Pacific for the first time. It was in Fiji. Fiji is a straight shot from LAX. I dove at Paradise Taveuni. Getting there was Orlando to LAX. Then a looong layover for the redeye to Fiji. We got into Fiji in the morning. Another layover for the puddle jumper to Taveuni (a 90 minute flight in a twin otter). We landed at the small airport in Taveuni. We were picked up by the resort. It was a 90 minute drive to the resort. So the trip was not to bad.

The grounds were above expectations. People there work cheap so the resort hires bunches of locals to give them jobs.

The diving there was interesting. There were more and healthier acropora corals than I expected. The reefs had some bleaching but much of it was in pretty good shape. Also the reef started at about 12’. The resort had a good shore give and you could poke around in the shallows and see quite a bit. There was not too much big stuff but quite a bit of small stuff. I found that even the small fish were a bit shy so I did most of my shooting with a 105 mm macro. There were 3 local species of damsel fish, a bunch of local butterfly fish, ribbon eels, some morays, grey sharks, a few turtles and some bigger stuff but I did not see too many large fish. But then again, I was fine with the small stuff so I might have missed them.

There are a number of places in Fiji that you can go to and some of them are relatively inexpensive. We did Taveuni. But on the big island on the north side are the Bligh Waters that are supposed to be good. On the south side (I forget the name) but there is an island group just a short boat ride that features reef diving and shark dives.

I know Fiji is not the best diving in the Pacific but it is easily accessible and many of the resorts are comparably priced with the Caribbean.

 

[cetacean]

I recently dove in the Pacific for the first time. It was in Fiji. Fiji is a straight shot from LAX. I dove at Paradise Taveuni. Getting there was Orlando to LAX. Then a looong layover for the redeye to Fiji. We got into Fiji in the morning. Another layover for the puddle jumper to Taveuni (a 90 minute flight in a twin otter). We landed at the small airport in Taveuni. We were picked up by the resort. It was a 90 minute drive to the resort. So the trip was not to bad.

The grounds were above expectations. People there work cheap so the resort hires bunches of locals to give them jobs.

The diving there was interesting. There were more and healthier acropora corals than I expected. The reefs had some bleaching but much of it was in pretty good shape. Also the reef started at about 12’. The resort had a good shore give and you could poke around in the shallows and see quite a bit. There was not too much big stuff but quite a bit of small stuff. I found that even the small fish were a bit shy so I did most of my shooting with a 105 mm macro. There were 3 local species of damsel fish, a bunch of local butterfly fish, ribbon eels, some morays, grey sharks, a few turtles and some bigger stuff but I did not see too many large fish. But then again, I was fine with the small stuff so I might have missed them.

There are a number of places in Fiji that you can go to and some of them are relatively inexpensive. We did Taveuni. But on the big island on the north side are the Bligh Waters that are supposed to be good. On the south side (I forget the name) but there is an island group just a short boat ride that features reef diving and shark dives.

I know Fiji is not the best diving in the Pacific but it is easily accessible and many of the resorts are comparably priced with the Caribbean.

Actually, Fiji is some of the very best diving in the Pacific, outside the Coral Triangle (Solomons, PNG, Philippines, etc.).

You mentioned you were diving the Tavueni area. The Somosomo Strait usually has some outstanding diving. Sites like the Great White Wall, Rainbow Passage, Yellow Tunnel, and Annie's Bommies are usually covered in soft coral... when dived at the right time - that soft coral is usually out filtering for food in the current.

I agree the number of critters in the Somosomo is not as high as you might find in the Solomons, PNG, or Indonesia, however there are other places in Fiji where you can find more nudis, etc. (even just on the other side of Tavenui, facing Matagi, etc.)

For bigger schools of fish (and just bigger fish) you need to dive places like the Bligh Water, Wakaya, or Namena (the latter being some of the best diving anywhere in the Pacific). Back before the last cyclone, when you could stay on Namena and dive it easily, we found some of the larger grouper were approaching the size (very similar to the large grouper you find of the Queensland coast.

 

[FreqFlier]

Nothing is inexpensive in Pacific especially considering airfare and jetlag (especially from East Coast) unless you can afford two-three week long trips (kinda beats the inexpensive part, doesn't it?).

I'd consider Caribbean for a while (Belize, Roatan, even Puerto Rico) until your youngsters get comfortable enough to consider LoB.

 

[cetacean]

Nothing is inexpensive in Pacific especially considering airfare and jetlag (especially from East Coast) unless you can afford two-three week long trips (kinda beats the inexpensive part, doesn't it?).

I'd consider Caribbean for a while (Belize, Roatan, even Puerto Rico) until your youngsters get comfortable enough to consider LoB.

@FreqFlier

I respect your opinion, but I disagree with the statement. I'm fully aware that being situated on the West Coast gives me a bit of an advantage going west, however if it's a well connected route (like NYC -Tokyo) as a first leg, the difference is only ~3 hours.

My point is mainly that diving in the Pacific (and the Coral Triangle) is significantly better than virtually anything in the Caribbean because of the delta in biodiversity (more flora and fauna), fewer divers, and in many cases, more authentic cultural experiences.

Just a small example to illustrate the point:
~65 species of hard coral in the Caribbean
~ 450 species of hard coral in the Pacific
(It is estimated that the Coral Triangle contains over 600 species of hard coral and soft coral)

This extends to fish life as well:
~ 1,700 species of fish estimated in the Caribbean
~ tens of thousands of species of fish estimated in the Pacific

Note: not all of these can be found at diveable depths, however the ratios generally hold true.

The Caribbean is beautiful, however it's like a pond. Very little diversity (relatively), overdived, and culturally not that interesting.

Getting to the Pacific, exploring different locations, etc. does take more travel time, however it's worth it.

My wife and I started in the Caribbean ~20+ years ago. We've only gone west for the last 15+ years (except for a couple of trips to the Red Sea). Still more places to dive...

 

[Tadpole Frogfish]

We just took our teens on their first dive vacation to Curacao and they absolutely loved diving and learning about reef creature behavior as much as we do! Other than the Carribean, we have explored Hawaii (diving pre-kids & snorkeling with kids) which we love.

For a future trip, we are interested in finding a location with species we haven't seen before, but I'm unaware of any budget friendly options on other Pacific Islands for a family of 4. I don't think they are mature enough for a live aboard...my dream is Raja Ampat someday when they are. We especially love shore diving since we can be on our own schedule but are open to ideas. Thanks!!!

Flying from east coast to the Pacific side of remote is remote and expensive. The diving in terms of species year round is definitely due decent consideration and you are right to plan.

Problem with Pacific diving aside from air travel is getting kids to enjoy drift diving via a laundromat of reef hooks, SMBs, choppiness at surface and problem solving safety.

I recently considered getting a DM in Raja. I looked into land-based operators on Kri prior to liveaboards. A lot of responsibilities are emphasized for DM training as oppose to Carribean resort DMs supervising bubblemaker students.

It's not good diving as much as a spectacle presents itself especially if the entire liveaboard has over 1000 dives at some destinations.

There are safer sites throughout SE Asia with restful activities like temples/markets. Diving rates decently on par with Carribean at superior quality in what is offered.

 

[cetacean]

Flying from east coast to the Pacific side of remote is remote and expensive. The diving in terms of species year round is definitely due decent consideration and you are right to plan.

Problem with Pacific diving aside from air travel is getting kids to enjoy drift diving via a laundromat of reef hooks, SMBs, choppiness at surface and problem solving safety.

I recently considered getting a DM in Raja. I looked into land-based operators on Kri prior to liveaboards. A lot of responsibilities are emphasized for DM training as oppose to Carribean resort DMs supervising bubblemaker students.

It's not good diving as much as a spectacle presents itself especially if the entire liveaboard has over 1000 dives at some destinations.

There are safer sites throughout SE Asia with restful activities like temples/markets. Diving rates decently on par with Carribean at superior quality in what is offered.

Umm... "reef hooks, SMBs. choppiness at surface..."

You clearly need to get out more. There are numerous dive sites throughout the Pacific that provide calm conditions for novice divers - most of the better diving in the Philippines would meet this criteria... as are a number of locations in Indonesia.

What was the point of this post?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Umm... "reef hooks, SMBs. choppiness at surface..."

You clearly need to get out more. There are numerous dive sites throughout the Pacific that provide calm conditions for novice divers - most of the better diving in the Philippines would meet this criteria... as are a number of locations in Indonesia.

What was the point of this post?

Then name them instead of criticizing the poster. There's no need for rudeness.

 

[cetacean]

Then name them instead of criticizing the poster. There's no need for rudeness.

Well... I kind of did (way up near the beginning of this thread). You then added that the Cook Islands might be a good addiiton, to which I agreed.