What was your favourite trip? But more importantly: Where else have you been?

[qwimjim]

Ok, ok.....

I would book a trip to Egypt every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The Red Sea is God's aquarium. I've dived all over the world and there is literally NOTHING that compares to diving there.

That said, the most impressive dive I've ever made was in Lake Malawi. Why? Because I saw fish species there that literally don't exist outside of aquariums anywhere in the world.

In India I saw a Nautilus. it was in 8m of water against all odds. I also swam in a sardine swarm. It was one of the coolest animal encounters I ever had, and I grew up in the bush-bush in the Canadian Rockies in a place where the deer numbered more than the dogs and spent most of my fist 18 years living amongst the wild animals. It takes a pretty cool animal encounter to impress me.

In the North Sea I've seen some wrecks that made my heart race from excitement. I was on the team that discovered the E36, a submarine that had been lost for almost 100 years.

In Mexico we did a safety stop while a school of HUGE tuna swam past. You could hear them... .like ZOOF... ZOOOF ZOOOFF.... a couple of hundred HUGE tuna moving at frightening speed..... some of which were the size of small cars...... It even concerned me that one would hit me a full speed while I was hanging there.

So yeah. I really don't know which animal encounter rates higher than all the others. I said "I love them all" and maybe I really can't help someone pick their next vacation...... But I do love them all.

R..

Where in Egypt do you recommend? I did some diving out of Dahab and it was pretty underwhelming

 

[Thailand Divers]

By far the best is Similan Islands with Thailand Divers. The water is so clear that at 40 meters you can still see off to the distance. The trips are easy as you can book for as many days as you like, depart any day you like and return any day you like. There are many dive sites for all standards of diver. Warm shallow reefs covered in soft corals, Hawksbill turtles drifting by and even looking into the camera for you. Black and White tip reef sharks cruising the reef. Towering pinnacles with Oceanic Manta Rays cruising overhead. Huge Whale Sharks. 1,000s of small stuff too. Ribbon Eels, Sea moths, Sea horses, Ornate ghost pipefish. The list is endless.

 

[Rhone Man]

Fortunately I have a table prepared for just such an occasion.

Shockingly I now realise it has been over a year since I added a new destination.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Fortunately I have a table prepared for just such an occasion.

Shockingly I now realise it has been over a year since I added a new destination.

You ranked USVI higher than Dominican Republic. Why is that? Curious.

---------- Post added May 4th, 2015 at 09:52 AM ----------

Fortunately I have a table prepared for just such an occasion.

Shockingly I now realise it has been over a year since I added a new destination.

You ranked USVI higher than Dominican Republic. Why is that? Curious.

 

[Rhone Man]

I have dived DR twice. Once in Samana, which I wouldn't recommend to anyone except my mother-in-law, and once in Bayahibe, which was decent, but I thought overall USVI diving was better. More fish, healthier coral.

USVI does have slight "home field advantage" for me, in that when I dive over there, because I live close by I usually do the better sites, whereas when I travel to DR I am just another tourist going wherever they choose to herd us.

 

[Diver0001]

Where in Egypt do you recommend? I did some diving out of Dahab and it was pretty underwhelming

The more south you go, the better it gets. Dahab is like eating at McDonalds when there are much better alternatives available......

R..