Since I'm off for four months, Carol's been hounding me to plan a warm water trip for this summer. She found an inclusive in Utila that she's into, but we're not limited to that. My interests are obvious. Wide angle and macro, reefs and fish. Love to see Whale Sharks if they're still around.
Our trip timing is pretty restrictive. The whole family's going, so we have to plan around the end of my teaching year (June 13) and my son Matt's finals at Davis (same day). He starts summer session on the 23rd, so June 14-22 it is.
Roatan, Utila, Bonaire? Any thoughts? Favorite resorts or dive outfits? Ups and downs of these and others? We've been to Coz twice, Grand Cayman, Maui twice. Would love to do South Pacific-PI, Fiji, etc., but the Flying times are so long that we'd be down to 3-4 days diving. Matthew is a new diver, about 10 dives past open water. His brother Aaron has about 30 dives and did fine in Coz and the Channel Islands. Carol and I have 300+ dives and are dive cons, training for Instructor certs.
parabolic
January 6th, 2008, 05:17 PM
Larry how about the Sea of Cortez?? Some of the best diving I've ever done has been out of La Paz, and that's only about a 3-hour flight from SFO. There are several good land-based operations in La Paz.
++Ken++
Larry C
January 6th, 2008, 06:12 PM
Larry how about the Sea of Cortez?? Some of the best diving I've ever done has been out of La Paz, and that's only about a 3-hour flight from SFO. There are several good land-based operations in La Paz.
++Ken++
I'll have to check that out. Thanks, Ken. Carol has been leaning toward Utila. Anyone have any experience with the Deep Blue Resort?
ohmdiver
January 6th, 2008, 07:21 PM
Why not do something a little diffrent? There are great intact wrecks in the St. Lawrence River that offer great photo ops too.
mjh
January 7th, 2008, 11:20 AM
You may want to take another look at Fiji. It is a direct flight from LA to Nadi you could be diving the next morning with a land op.
dbh
January 7th, 2008, 10:14 PM
Larry how about the Sea of Cortez?? Some of the best diving I've ever done has been out of La Paz, and that's only about a 3-hour flight from SFO. There are several good land-based operations in La Paz.
++Ken++
The Sea of Cortez far exceeded my expectations. There were more fish than I have seen about anywhere....and they were all in schools. Have you seen schools of Pufferfish???
I dove with Club Cantamar out of LaPaz. Although my gallery does not do the place justice:
http://www.myunderwaterworld.com/cortez05.htm
Dave
spt29970
January 7th, 2008, 10:22 PM
There are SO many places. Remember, 2/3 of the world is covered with water. If you ask 5 divers, you will get 10 suggestions (at least).
carriemak
January 7th, 2008, 10:34 PM
How about Little Cayman Beach Resort June 14 - 21? There is great diving, great service and great food. You would not be disappointed in any of it.
ce4jesus
January 7th, 2008, 11:29 PM
La Paz - water 65-70 degrees in the summer. Caribbean 82 degrees. Okay so I'm a WWW but I'll take the bath water and 80ft clarity of the Caribbean over the 40ft of La Paz. Larry, I've only been to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. In late June there are Whale Sharks just about an hour North of Cancun and its almost a 100% hit rate on finding them. The drift dives are fabulous but its a little tough on the photography because of the current. June is the month I usually go and the weather is typically mid to low 80s. You can usually find all-inclusives at like the Iberostar for around $900 bucks a head that includes all your diving. If you wait until July, there are some atypical deals that run 5-600 for a week with all dives included with air from Denver. Try Funjet Vacations or Apple Vacations. Either one has some good deals time to time.
My wife, children and I are trying to plan a trip to Bonaire. There's a new Delta flight which is going out of Atlanta. You rent a condo, a jeep and get unlimited shore diving at some house reefs. You dive on your schedule and I hear that the variety of stuff is outstanding. The only other place I'm looking at is Roatan however its a bit more rustic.
ce4jesus
January 7th, 2008, 11:31 PM
I've only dived Cayman once and would love to get back. Its a little pricier than Bonaire or the Yucatan.
merxlin
January 7th, 2008, 11:53 PM
I'll jump on the Little Cayman bandwagon. So much to see, so many photo ops. And the diving is easy. No big stuff though if thats what you want to see. And nothing much to do other than dive.
jigo
January 8th, 2008, 01:46 AM
if its whalesharks you want, you must try the Philippines. Donsol and Sogod Bay has assured sightings of whalesharks.
hammerhead man
January 8th, 2008, 08:45 AM
Larry, there are several places that I really like. First, Provinciales in the Turks and Caicos has excellent diving. You will see large pelagics (sharks, rays, turtles, possibly mantas and dolphins) as well as reef fish. We dove with Caicos Adventures and they were great. We stayed at the Sands resort and found it to be great. Second, a place I have not dove but am considering this year is Little Cayman, almost everyone that's been there likes the diving. Third, another place we are considering is Curacao. However, both Cayman and Curacao don't have many large fish. Regarding whale sharks, that is really tough unless you go to the Galapagos. We just returned from there and saw 12 whale sharks!!!!!
Regards,
Bill
carriemak
January 8th, 2008, 10:11 AM
If anyone is interested in Little Cayman Beach Resort the week of June 14 - 21, I have space available. We are not affiliated with a group, club, scuba shop or travel agency, just a group of older (55 +) divers that like to be catered to on a diving vacation!
Below is the link where I posted the trip. Hope it works!
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/travel-group-trips-cruises-dive-trips/195805-little-cayman-june-14-21-2008-a.html
Come on and join us, you won't be disappointed!
Carolyn
victor
January 8th, 2008, 11:27 AM
Larry
I would recommend Bonaire, Curaco for the following reasons.
1. Not too far to fly, you should be able to fly out on Friday night and be in the water before lunch on Saturday, no jet lag, easy connections out of Atlanta, Maimi, texas etc possibly even non stop.
2. Unlimited diving, as much as your dive computer will allow, shore dive twice a day off the house reef at Sand Dollar and most of the resorts, short boat rides to Kline Bonaire, rent a pickup and dive the more remote sites.
3. Fantastic for macro, fair for larger fish.
4. Great conditions for the Mathew and Aaron to get some dives under there belt. If they are into diving you can easily clock up 25 dives in a week.
5. Get a 2 bedroom apartment, but eat out most meals, then you can do everything at your pace rather than be tied into someone else's schedule.
Have a great time where ever you decide to go and post a report with some great pictures. :D
Since I'm off for four months, Carol's been hounding me to plan a warm water trip for this summer. She found an inclusive in Utila that she's into, but we're not limited to that. My interests are obvious. Wide angle and macro, reefs and fish. Love to see Whale Sharks if they're still around.
Our trip timing is pretty restrictive. The whole family's going, so we have to plan around the end of my teaching year (June 13) and my son Matt's finals at Davis (same day). He starts summer session on the 23rd, so June 14-22 it is.
Roatan, Utila, Bonaire? Any thoughts? Favorite resorts or dive outfits? Ups and downs of these and others? We've been to Coz twice, Grand Cayman, Maui twice. Would love to do South Pacific-PI, Fiji, etc., but the Flying times are so long that we'd be down to 3-4 days diving. Matthew is a new diver, about 10 dives past open water. His brother Aaron has about 30 dives and did fine in Coz and the Channel Islands. Carol and I have 300+ dives and are dive cons, training for Instructor certs.
Larry C
January 8th, 2008, 11:43 AM
Thanks to all who answered this post. Looks like we'll probably be sticking with the original plan for this year, but you've given us lots of future destinations, including a couple we hadn't thought about. Looking forward to the Bay Islands, and in the future hope to hit all of the above. One we hadn't considered is LaPaz. We might have to make that one of our more local destinations in the near future, since we're west coasters. PI, Fiji, T&C, Bonaire and Little Cayman, as well as possibly Curacao will certainly remain high on our list. Must...get...camera...ready.......:D Doubt I'll have the new one under yet, too many lenses, too little time, but have SP will travel.
Cecil
January 8th, 2008, 08:07 PM
What you people thinking? He has newbie divers and likes macro and wide angle. Only one choice, Bonaire.
hammerhead man
January 8th, 2008, 10:36 PM
Hmmmm, there are lots of places for newbie divers besides Bonnaire. Several have been mentioned on this site. The diving is good in Bonnaire but just as good or better at other places. Besides I'm not sure I would take my teenage sons to topless beaches. We stayed at the Plaza and there was a lot of that around (which surprised us because we were not aware of that before we went). Just my two cents.
dvrliz1
January 9th, 2008, 12:45 AM
Cecil....
I second that....
Hammer.....Plaza has a large Dutch clientele, where topless sunbathing is acceptable. The majority of the other resorts do not have topless sunbathing, though if there is that rogue couple of persons, it is not frowned upon. I have found that if there are quite a few American's around, the topless bathers are pretty good about covering up. The only TRUE topless and or bottomless beach on Bonaire is Sorobon and it is a Naturalist beach and provides privacy for its guests with high fences.
Liz
victor
January 9th, 2008, 04:23 AM
I am not sure your sons would agree with your analysis. :D
I'm not sure I would take my teenage sons to topless beaches. We stayed at the Plaza and there was a lot of that around (which surprised us because we were not aware of that before we went). Just my two cents.
Jim Ernst
January 9th, 2008, 04:29 AM
Since I'm off for four months, Carol's been hounding me to plan a warm water trip for this summer. She found an inclusive in Utila that she's into, but we're not limited to that. My interests are obvious. Wide angle and macro, reefs and fish. Love to see Whale Sharks if they're still around.
Our trip timing is pretty restrictive. The whole family's going, so we have to plan around the end of my teaching year (June 13) and my son Matt's finals at Davis (same day). He starts summer session on the 23rd, so June 14-22 it is.
Roatan, Utila, Bonaire? Any thoughts? Favorite resorts or dive outfits? Ups and downs of these and others? We've been to Coz twice, Grand Cayman, Maui twice. Would love to do South Pacific-PI, Fiji, etc., but the Flying times are so long that we'd be down to 3-4 days diving. Matthew is a new diver, about 10 dives past open water. His brother Aaron has about 30 dives and did fine in Coz and the Channel Islands. Carol and I have 300+ dives and are dive cons, training for Instructor certs.
Larry.
You are not capable of going do to your....... Um mental status.... Ya that is it... So I being such a great friend thought I would offer to help Carol out and do YOU the favor of going for you!!
What a great guy I am..... And I dont even mind doing it for you!!
Now what do ya think Buddy??:D
Larry C
January 9th, 2008, 11:17 AM
Larry.
You are not capable of going do to your....... Um mental status.... Ya that is it... So I being such a great friend thought I would offer to help Carol out and do YOU the favor of going for you!!What a great guy I am..... And I dont even mind doing it for you!!
Now what do ya think Buddy??:D:rofl3::rofl3::rofl3:
Jim, you're too kind. I know you'd miss all the sunshine and warm water that is summer in Monterey, though.
I am not sure your sons would agree with your analysis. :D:eyebrow:Mine either. Did I mention Aaron's 23, and Matt will be 21 a week before we leave?
