Looking for family friendly Asian destination, not far from Hong Kong

[Ze_Abron]

Dear wisdom of the boards!

We live in Hong Kong with our 2 very young children (3 years and 4 months) and are looking for a dive destination for Nov/Dec this year, our requirements are:

• Good diving, maybe some free diving training opportunities?
• Not too expensive (flying kids and a nanny is $$$) but neither are we on a shoe string budget. But Palau is right out because of flight costs...
• Not too far (Philippines or Thailand or similar?) or not too many connections/buses/boats etc... Doing all this with a toddler is one thing, but with a baby is is HARD... So Malapascua while great, is out.
• Child Friendly resorts (ie: comfortable standard, not slumming it like i would if I were alone), but somewhere with a nice pool.
• 'Nice to haves' are: Wrecks, sharks, mantas, pelagics, turtles

I know that I am asking for the impossible, but if anyone can answer this one, this board can!!

Thx in advance all!

 

[Centrals]

Dear wisdom of the boards!

We live in Hong Kong with our 2 very young children (3 years and 4 months) and are looking for a dive destination for Nov/Dec this year, our requirements are:

• Good diving, maybe some free diving training opportunities?
• Not too expensive (flying kids and a nanny is $$$) but neither are we on a shoe string budget. But Palau is right out because of flight costs...
• Not too far (Philippines or Thailand or similar?) or not too many connections/buses/boats etc... Doing all this with a toddler is one thing, but with a baby is is HARD... So Malapascua while great, is out.
• Child Friendly resorts (ie: comfortable standard, not slumming it like i would if I were alone), but somewhere with a nice pool.
• 'Nice to haves' are: Wrecks, sharks, mantas, pelagics, turtles

I know that I am asking for the impossible, but if anyone can answer this one, this board can!!

Thx in advance all!

Wrecks, sharks, mantas, pelagics and turtles!!!!!!! Malapascua should fit the bill(except the turtles) but......
Some resorts at Anilao(Philippines) would fit the first 4 requirement but the place is well known for macro !!!!
Subic Bay is for the wrecks ONLY. However, there are plenty top side attractions for the kid. Stay within the Free Port. Air Phil Express and Cebu Pacific have direct flight to Clark(2hrs) and Subic is well under 2hrs away. BTW, Air Phil Express has the better flight schedule than Cebu Pacific.

Wrecks, shark, mantas, pelagics and turtles!!!! Sound like Palau and PNG.

 

[Bexny]

How about Koh Lipe in Thailand? It meets your first 4 requirements; as for the fifth, you'll have to keep your fingers crossed that the day you dive, you see a whale shark or manta!

The diving is good - beautiful soft coral gardens and lots of macro. There is a wreck and a couple of sites with better chances of seeing big stuff; turtles are also seen here. Relaxed dive scene, about 8 dive centers to choose from. Great thing about diving here compared to the more well known dive spots in Thailand is the lack of divers. Free diving training at Castaway Divers.

You can fly direct from HK to Langkawi (in Malaysia) and then take a 1 hour ferry ride to Koh Lipe. While it may sound more complicated to fly into another country, this is actually the simplest and quickest way I know of coming from HK.

Lots of child friendly resorts, a couple with pools (Sita and Z-Touch). Overall a very family friendly destination and does not have any of the sleaze (gogo bars for example) found in other parts of Thailand.

Feel free to contact me for more information!

 

[japan-diver]

Okinawa, Japan- got the first 4 no problem, a couple wrecks, lots of turtles, tuna, and mantas and other big pelagics are also seen that time of year.

 

[Quero]

There are nonstop flights from HK on Air Asia to Phuket, and there are hotels with kids' clubs, child minders, and such. There are also rental houses with full facilities available by the week. There's a drop-in play group called Rainbow Land that does daycare.

In response to your points:
• There's good diving, but it's all by boat and requires a full day out. You may want something that allows you to go back mid-day. It's possible to find speedboat dive trips that are shorter, but these are not common.
• There are a couple of well-respected free-diving schools on Phuket.
• Air Asia flies non stop from Hong Kong.
• International airport + taxi or your own rental car (recommended) would make the transfers painless. No ferries or buses or long car rides.
• Child-friendly resorts or rental villa; child care available.
• Marine life: we have some wrecks (one big one and a small one); turtles (not every dive); some sharks (not every dive); generally not many pelagics or mantas at daytrip dive sites though. There's enough good diving for several days without a lot of repetition. You could dive one day, stay land-based the next. You could also do daytrips to the Similans and Richelieu for more variety, though this makes for a longer day.