Vacation ideas ?

[Octopusprime]

Thanks everyone for all the feed back... My wife does not want to leave the USA ��since we are leaving the kids with the grandparents ��...

we we looked at the keys... Great diving but not the experiance the wife wants. Not to mention to far to drive and if we flew then I would need a rental car and I would be limited to the middle three days to dive.

My my wife has been looking and she is leaning to hilton head 3 nights and charleston 2 nights... I have found charleston scuba looks like they have lots of dives to pick from. I am into seeing cool sea creatures and wrecks. Any one dove in this area?

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 03:56 PM ----------

At most I will get in two 2 tank dives in... Any suggestions for charter company and sites to see?

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 03:58 PM ----------

How about Key West? The diving is perhaps better if you go further north along the Keys but Key west is loaded with shops, food places, etc. Couple of choices. Can fly to Miami and rent a car. About 2.5 hour drive or fly direct to Key West. There are dive ops in Key West. Great couple town with a bit of quirk.

Lots of nice places to stay along the Keys but less non-diving stuff to do. My wife does not dive. She really enjoyed a dolphin encounter. There are a couple of places. One at Duck Key and one in Key Largo, she did both.

Key Largo at the other end puts you one hour from Miami and all that means. for activities.

i would love to do the keys... The vandenburg is on my bucket list... To bad there is a missing diver down there right now... Missing since January 2nd.

---------- Post added January 25th, 2015 at 04:02 PM ----------

Charleston SC could be an option. One very long day or two easy days of driving with a stop overnight in Lexington or Knoxville. Plenty of deep south culture, old historical buildings/tours, Fort Sumter boat tour, Patriots Point Naval museum - the Yorktown is there. South Carolina Aquarium is interesting and locally focused for the most part - better than I expected for a town of that size. Nice beaches, Kiawah, Folly Beach, Seabrook Island, Isle of Palms and one more but they're not in town - up to 10-15 miles away in either direction. Charleston, SC | Official Site for Charleston Vacations & Charleston Tourism | Charleston Area CVB

There's also the slave plantation tours, harbor boat rides, local house tours, carriage rides etc. Foodies like FIG, Magnolias and SNOB (Slightly North of Broadway) I liked the more casual single owner places downtown - many with patios on the street. Some of them are around the old mall/shops downtown - I can't remember the name of it. Very pleasant area to walk around in. Plan on it being really humid in the warmer months also.

Diving is with Charleston Scuba to the south of town or Low Country Watersports in Mt. Pleasant. Diving is mostly wrecks off-shore or there's the Cooper River black water fossil teeth dives. We did get blown out one day with Charleston - mid-week in late June. I believe diving there is only spring-fall also so it wouldn't work if you're planning to go soon.

With only 5 days IDK if you want to burn two of them driving though. Another option would be to price Jet Blue, Spirit or Southwest (Midway) to West Paln, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami and see what you can put together there. Singer Island is nice but probably out of range. Lots of foodie options there though, just drive across the bridge from somewhere on the mainland. Maybe Jacksonville also - St. Augustine? Diving isn't so good in that area though - it's less seasonal though - I think they're diving now - they definitely are farther south. Jupiter Beach is supposed to be very nice also.

thanks charleston looks nice and my wife seams excited... Any recommendations for nice hotel in either hilton head or charleston? Also the plantation tour looks cool, and not to mention southern food and bbq.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My wife and I love Charleston as a weekend getaway kind of place, but I've never thought of it as much of a diving destination. I have heard about the sunken subway cars, which sounds kinda interesting.

Enjoy your trip. There's a ton of information on where to stay and eat on sites like Tripadvisor. The downtown area of Charleston is compact and walkable. Since it's your 10-year anniversary I would suggest staying in a B&B there.

 

[RJP]

Cornwall in the UK. Apparently some of the best diving the UK has to offer, plus loads to see and do, and beautiful beaches to relax on.
See:

Be a hell of a drive from Chicago.

 

[Octopusprime]

We are still in the early stages of planning... But my wife is interested in splitting up our 5 nights between hilton head and charleston. Everything I have heard Charleston is a 2/3 night place.

Looks like there here is some good diving... Sites & Rates - Charleston Scuba - Full Service PADI 5-Star IDC
most of it looks like 100 ft diving. The sunken subway cars sounds cool. Then maybe the researcher and y-73? Anyone dove there before?

 

[Steve_C]

Over the years I have had a number of international visitors who are looking for a place to go for a few days before heading back. I always suggest Charleston. Often they have not heard of it. I always get back raves on what a great place it is. For spending a couple days with the significant other it is an awesome place.

Personally for a day of diving I would be inclined to go up to Murell's Inlet which is south of Mrytle beach. It is about 1 hr 40 minutes away from Charleston. You dive with Scuba Xpress
Express Water Sports - Myrtle Beach Scuba, Parasail, Kayak & dolphin watch & Ocean Sightseeing, Banana Boat And jet skis rentals, Memorial at sea, yacht outfitters and provisioning, Fishing & hydro testing in Myrtle Beach area South Carolina 843-357- Wife goes to Brookgreen Gardens nearby. World class gardens and statues. You meet after the dive and have a late lunch on the waterfront in Murrell's Inlet. Great day for you both. I recommend all three parts of this day.

 

[diversteve]

There's a Doubletree in downtown Charleston. It's about a block from the "old mall" I mentioned above - City Market. I haven't stayed there. Interesting in that it's built behind the street so the only thing you see from the front is their entrance in between other shops. Charleston Historic District Hotel - DoubleTree

The break the budget 10 year anniversary special dinner is at the Peninsula Grill nearby. It's one of the best restaurants in the South - literally. https://www.peninsulagrill.com/

I haven't been to Hilton Head is decades so any recommendation would be meaningless. Generally there's the beach front resorts on the Atlantic side and golf course resorts across the road. Some of those are a short walk over. The less expensive hotels are on the road to the bridge to the island and aren't beachfront either. Here's a list: Hotels, Inns & Resorts on Hilton Head Island - the map at the bottom explains it better than I can.

It's a really excellent beach, powder white sand, sea grass growing all over and it's kept very clean by the tides.

The only diving in that area might be with Integrity Charters - he runs a fishing boat out of the harbor there but was trying to build a dive business a few years ago. He used to post here but hasn't for a while so maybe he gave up. Like Charleston all the diving is offshore at wrecks/ledges which attract the life. Even the Savannah operators go to Jacksonville or cave country to dive generally.

Drive over to Savannah one day - it's a very historic old town. Not too far - there was a couple of restaurants we liked there for dinner.

 

[rivers]

Be a hell of a drive from Chicago.

They have these newfangled flying machines called planes

 

[Doc]

Cornwall in the UK. Apparently some of the best diving the UK has to offer, plus loads to see and do, and beautiful beaches to relax on.

Be a hell of a drive from Chicago.

And it would be a shame to leave some of the apparently best beaches we have in the US, right there in Chicago.

They have these newfangled flying machines called planes

This too has caused an alarming dispersion of British divers who arrive in paradise only to drink all of the beer and then pronounce it unfit for consumption. (this new widespread airborne infestation was previously limited due to the Brit's access to their own in-country and locally manufactured "automobiles")

Whenever I hear "Cornwall", I think of .... FF to the 1:30 mark


Back to this thread.

BTW- Dump the non-diving wife. Cut your losses. Does she know about you wanting to "go pro"?

Oh look, the Chicago Dive Show... Feb 27 Chicago | Our World Underwater

 

[Octopusprime]

And it would be a shame to leave some of the apparently best beaches we have in the US, right there in Chicago.



This too has caused an alarming dispersion of British divers who arrive in paradise only to drink all of the beer and then pronounce it unfit for consumption. (this new widespread airborne infestation was previously limited due to the Brit's access to their own in-country and locally manufactured "automobiles")

Whenever I hear "Cornwall", I think of .... FF to the 1:30 mark


Back to this thread.

BTW- Dump the non-diving wife. Cut your losses. Does she know about you wanting to "go pro"?

Oh look, the Chicago Dive Show... Feb 27 Chicago | Our World Underwater

the wife knows about me going pro...lol. It works into her long term plan... She hates the snow and wants to move south... I told her it is part of my retirement plan... If I have certified a couple hundred divers I could make fun money in FL when we retire.... Or atleast dive for free.