Where Should I Go?

[Mergulhador do Delray]

I am not sure where exactly to post this, but I decided that the people here would be experienced throughout the region including Mexico and the Caribbean. Thanks in advance.

This year (as the other years since the pandemic begain) looks to be quite busy with little to no availability for vacations or really even long weekends. So I will continue with my current pace of going to Florida for 2 weekends every 6 weeks or so to keep up on my diving and training. But next summer is a different story.

Come the summer of '23 I am planning to take 6 to 8 weeks off for R&R. And I started think that I could spend most of that time going to some of the places I read about here. With Airbnbs relatively affordable, the options are there. But where? The whole time in one place seems a little restrictive. How would you guys, who know these places, split it up.

By the time I do this I will be AN/DP and Trimix. So I hope to be able to do some technical diving along with what looks to be some fascinating rec diving. I also have an interest in starting cave around that time, so that puts Mexico at the top of the list, but I don't want to spend the entire time in one place. I am also thinking that CCR might be a good thing to start at that time too, given the ability to concentrate on it fairly intensively.

So do any of you guys have a suggestion as to how to break this up? Or would you simply stick around in one location (even if that meant, for example, moving by 100 miles or so). Liveaboards are certainly not out of the question, but I think I would want to do 2 consecutive weeks . . .

Thanks.

 

[scrane]

If I had 6-8 weeks with enough money to back it up there's no way I would spend my time in the Caribbean. Indonesia here I come!

 

[drrich2]

This year (as the other years since the pandemic begain) looks to be quite busy with little to no availability for vacations or really even long weekends.

What sort of vacations? If you're after a liveaboard in a limited market, then yes, it could be booked up aways out. But if you're schedule if versatile, I can hardly imagine Cozumel or Bonaire are booked solid. It depends on where you want to go and stay, and when.

Come the summer of '23 I am planning to take 6 to 8 weeks off for R&R.

That's a long time. If you intend to spend that long a time intensively diving, a key question is can your ears handle that? So far, mine have been 'tested' 12 continuous 4 dives/day days in Bonaire, 48 dives. On a live-aboard, 27 dives in a week. I don't know what the limits are, much less yours. You may or may not want to budget yourself a few days here and there to let your body recover from diving.

The whole time in one place seems a little restrictive. How would you guys, who know these places, split it up.

A big question is how expensive is airfare where you're going? For some destinations, airfare is a big part of the trip budget, and spending 2 weeks instead of 1 cuts averaged trip cost - Bonaire is like this.

I have no tech. diving training or experience. People do tech. diving in Bonaire, St. Croix and Roatan that I've heard of from others. Mexico you know is known for cenotes.

A little preliminary brainstorming:

1.) Start in Cozumel, diving for a week. Then maybe switch to the mainland for cenotes for a few days?

2.) Spend a week in Roatan (CocoView Resort? Maybe take the lion fish hunting course) or Belize, for more Meso-American reef that's not drift diving.

3.) Little Cayman has at times been held up as the best diving in the Caribbean, with Cayman Brac very close (albeit a bit deeper). If you really want to experience what others talk about, at some point, you're gonna want to go. A week at Little Cayman Beach Resort would be good.

4.) A week on Bonaire and maybe take an SDI Solo Diver course there offers another form of diving, shore diving, and expands your options.

That's 4 weeks. But I've got another idea for the rest of it. While you've got the time and you're expanding your scuba horizons, hit one 'far flung' exotic destination. There are many options - the Philippines, Raja Ampat, Komodo, Bali, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Palau, Fiji... I'd narrow it down to the Coral Triangle destination options, and that's considered in this thread -

Your Opinions on Comparing First Timer Coral Triangle Destinations?​

But let me narrow it down a bit. @Trailboss123 posted a trip report:

Trip Report – Philippines – Puerto Galera – El Galleon/Asia Dives – April 1-14, 2019 – by Trailboss123.

From what I recall reading, it's a cheaper option than a stay at the Atlantis Resort. The Philippines is vaguely analogous to the Caribbean, on the other side of the world, with a very different mass distribution amongst islands and Coral Triangle lifeforms instead of Caribbean. There is technical diving in the Philippines. Puerto Galera seems to be a popular starting point for Philippines diving, for good general coral reef diving.

 

[Damselfish]

I agree if you have that kind of time, heading to Indonesia, Philippines, other Pacific for at least part of it is certainly something that should be considered. Maybe some cave/tech time in Mexico then head to the Pacific.

But if you want to make this just a Caribbean hopping trip, you might also take into account a bit what destinations in the Caribbean you can fly or even ferry between, without returning back to the US (especially Miami!)

If I was taking a long trip I might consider island hopping in Micronesia etc. but I don’t know the status of those flights and think some of those places are still closed or not good to go. Or what happened to any dive ops. But I’ve done alot of the mainstream places so that’s appealing to me.

 

[Mergulhador do Delray]

Thanks for the ideas!

Airfare really isn't an issue if I start planning this now. I have more points than I need to do trips to here and also off to Indonesia if the bug strikes.

I know it's a long time. And I am sure that I will take breaks frequently. It isn't a race or a challenge, just a chance to dive, which I enjoy, without the pressure of packing it all in because of time limitations

 

[Mergulhador do Delray]

What sort of vacations? If you're after a liveaboard in a limited market, then yes, it could be booked up aways out. But if you're schedule if versatile, I can hardly imagine Cozumel or Bonaire are booked solid. It depends on where you want to go and stay, and when.


That's a long time. If you intend to spend that long a time intensively diving, a key question is can your ears handle that? So far, mine have been 'tested' 12 continuous 4 dives/day days in Bonaire, 48 dives. On a live-aboard, 27 dives in a week. I don't know what the limits are, much less yours. You may or may not want to budget yourself a few days here and there to let your body recover from diving.

A big question is how expensive is airfare where you're going? For some destinations, airfare is a big part of the trip budget, and spending 2 weeks instead of 1 cuts averaged trip cost - Bonaire is like this.

I have no tech. diving training or experience. People do tech. diving in Bonaire, St. Croix and Roatan that I've heard of from others. Mexico you know is known for cenotes.

A little preliminary brainstorming:

1.) Start in Cozumel, diving for a week. Then maybe switch to the mainland for cenotes for a few days?

2.) Spend a week in Roatan (CocoView Resort? Maybe take the lion fish hunting course) or Belize, for more Meso-American reef that's not drift diving.

3.) Little Cayman has at times been held up as the best diving in the Caribbean, with Cayman Brac very close (albeit a bit deeper). If you really want to experience what others talk about, at some point, you're gonna want to go. A week at Little Cayman Beach Resort would be good.

4.) A week on Bonaire and maybe take an SDI Solo Diver course there offers another form of diving, shore diving, and expands your options.

That's 4 weeks. But I've got another idea for the rest of it. While you've got the time and you're expanding your scuba horizons, hit one 'far flung' exotic destination. There are many options - the Philippines, Raja Ampat, Komodo, Bali, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Palau, Fiji... I'd narrow it down to the Coral Triangle destination options, and that's considered in this thread -

Your Opinions on Comparing First Timer Coral Triangle Destinations?​

But let me narrow it down a bit. @Trailboss123 posted a trip report:

Trip Report – Philippines – Puerto Galera – El Galleon/Asia Dives – April 1-14, 2019 – by Trailboss123.

From what I recall reading, it's a cheaper option than a stay at the Atlantis Resort. The Philippines is vaguely analogous to the Caribbean, on the other side of the world, with a very different mass distribution amongst islands and Coral Triangle lifeforms instead of Caribbean. There is technical diving in the Philippines. Puerto Galera seems to be a popular starting point for Philippines diving, for good general coral reef diving.

This is awesome. Just what I was looking for.

 

[Damselfish]

I doubt all the liveaboards are booked either. Even now I see the occasional deal week for Caribbean liveaboards, and they don’t seem to book out as far ahead as some other plavces. I suspect some of the more popular liveaboards in Indonesia may be tough, because they are often booked years ahead by groups anyway, and a lot of those trips have been rebooked, or people have credits to use. But sometimes they can’t. It may be harder, but I think there will still be openings to be found.

 

[drrich2]

By the time I do this I will be AN/DP and Trimix. So I hope to be able to do some technical diving along with what looks to be some fascinating rec diving.

Okay, neither tech. diving nor really deep wrecks are my thing, but what keeps popping into my head after reading you mention that...have you heard of an exotic tropical destination called Truk (actually Chuuk) Lagoon?

If you want a once in a lifetime bucket list tropical destination where technical diving know-how may enhance your experience, and if you happen to be a big fan of historical 'real' wrecks (as opposed to those deliberately sank as artificial reefs), well, I thought I should mention it.