Need some vacation suggestions

[jiaochiang]

Sup everyone! I love diving, but haven't had the opportunity to for about 4 years now. I have 40-ish dives, most from training weekends and a few from a boat charter, and am SSI & PADI advanced certified + several specialties (DPV, deep, night, wreck, boat, navi, search). All my diving has been non-tropical, mostly off the Oregon and Dutch coast. 7mm wetsuits, 45deg water etc.... I've done a few dry suit dives too.

My co-workers have been telling me I am retarded for not taking my paid vacation days, so I have decided to take this opportunity to get back into diving, especially after I saw my sister's Australian SCUBA trip pictures (so jealous). Problem is I don't know anyone locally to go diving with, and I live in the damn Arizona desert.

So I was thinking I should go on some kind of group trip/package/charter deal. Meet some new people. I'd like to go somewhere tropical, but I don't really know where, or much about the good spots or deals, with high visibility and not too crowded with tourists and such. Caribbean? Hawaii? Guam? The Barrier Reef is probably a little pricey when you count the airfare.

Suggestions welcome!

 

[RickyF]

Cozumel, Roatan or come on here to Oahu and I'll dive with you! Cozumel has drift dives with amazing seal life and hard coral. Roatan is a beautiful soft coral and great for micro photography! Oahu, has the wrecks and plenty of turtles, eels and such. Roatan and Cozumel are cheaper than coming to Oahu. Just my .02

 

[cdemith]

Where in AZ are you? El Mar is a great shop in Mesa that also organizes group trips. One just left for Thailand. They have a number of others over the coming months.

 

[R-balljunkie]

thailand over bali...havent dove in the GOM/mexico.

if your gonna get out....go go go. whats a few hours sitting on a plane.

life is an adventure

 

[jbark]

From Arizona you might consider going to Loreto Mexico. I have not been there but that part of mexico is know to be safe, welcoming and my dive instructor has dove there and tells me the diving is pretty good in the area. being it's fairly close you might be able to grab a non-stop flight and keep the travel cots down. Local hotels should be economical depending on your needs.

it is at least worth 15 minutes googling and surfing travelocity.

Jerry

 

[WimW]

Personally, I have 'only' dived in the Red Sea (lots of places), Palau and Mozambique (Tofo), but I research potential destinations all the time. Of course it will depend on your preferences, e.g. do you prefer the big stuff or the small critters. I'm more into big stuff so for me Palau has been far above and beyond any other destination I've been to... Sharks and mantas galore, next to all the other stuff you would like in your tropical aquarium Barely any resorts there, most of the people on your plane will be divers. Disadvantages: airfare (maybe still reasonable form where you are, via Guam) and ridiculous prices for the diving itself and plenty of expensive permits - but then agian, tht keeps keep away the masses... If you're specifically into sharks I guess Guam may be even better.

Tofo calls itself 'manta capital of the world' but in a week's diving we did not not see one single manta. Bad luck, of course, but the number of sightings is declining at an alarming pace. Anyway, from your location this would be quite an expedition.
South Africa, Mexico (Cozumel and the cenotes), Maldives, Galapagos and Belize are some other highlights on my wishlist, as is winning the lottery

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Maui, even the Florida Keys if you are on a budget, will all offer you good ( in some cases great) diving. Cozumel would not be on my list, just because of the number of divers and boats. If the funds permit, consider A live aboard to the Turks and Caicos, or the Eastern Caribbean- Explorer Ventures runs a nice boat. In Roatan I am partial to CocoView resort- a good value and you will get in all the diving you can handle. Nice people there too. Get on line and start shopping! My recommendation- start with Explorer Ventures.
DivemasterDennis

 

[fjpatrum]

Just about every Arizona shop I know of from Phoenix south does trips to Mexico nearly every weekend. A great way to get to know people, dive some great (so I hear) sites and enjoy some time off. It will certainly be a little harder to find trips on non-weekends but you could always extend a few days on the back end and fly home instead of driving.

Other than that, if you're willing to fly to get there, most shops I've been in (everywhere) also have trips booked every couple of months from mildly exotic to around the world with prices to match.

 

[Capt Jack]

I would like to offer you some beautiful diving in the US. In the 1000 Islands in upstate New York on the St. Lawrence River is better known as the fresh water dive capital of the world! Here you have a 2-6kt current at all times and visibility is 40 ft on a bad day and 90ft on a good day. There are numerous shipwrecks that are buoyed to dive from and many dive boats including mine to take you to anyone of many that are available on the river. My website is Divestlawrence.com where you may contact me and from late May til October 1st I will schedule all your lodging needs and dive needs for you and all I need is to know when you would like to come here to dive and what wrecks you are interested in and how long you would like to stay. I will do everything to prepare your visit to this area. There are wrecks that you may dive at your own pace from shore and there are wrecks that start at 25ft off a charter boat to wrecks that are much deeper. Check out the wreck of the Keystorm and the wreck of the America on the web. There are also places of interest for the rest of the family too such as Singer Castle, Boldt Castle and Antique boat shows. If anything interest you I will be gald to answer any questions you may have. Hope this helps?