Your dream scuba trip around the world

[choiahoy]

Want to daydream for a bit (and in the process, help me choose my 40^th birthday dive destination)?

List your fantasy ten week, ten stop scuba trip around the world. Only two rules –
- You must always be moving east from your point of departure.
- This is not a Top 10 scuba destinations list, so let’s please hold back on the negative comments. It’s SUPPOSED to be a very subjective and fun way to learn about some new places.

So to kick things off, here’s my trip. My lovely wife is with me on the trip, but since it’s my list she has no say. On her trip, I’ll tag along very happily and quietly.


Choiahoy’s dream trip departing from New York City -

1 - Bonaire – It is just a tiny bit east of NYC, so it’s fair game. We’ve been there twice in two years and love everything about that island.

2 - Malta – It’s on the list mainly because I just couldn’t justify passing over the entire continent of Europe. And I’m a sucker for ancient ruins. But I could see this stop getting bumped.

3 - Red Sea – Considering Sharm El Sheikh or maybe Dahab. Open to suggestions.

4 - Maldives – has been a long time dream.

5 - Indonesia – maybe Bali? Or a liveaboard? We haven’t done a liveaboard before and this might be a good place for our first.

6 – Phillipines – considering Cebu Island or perhaps a liveaboard?

7 – Palau – the pictures I see are jaw dropping. No way this one gets bumped.

8 - Hawaii – I have to visit my mom on this trip or she’d kick my ass. And we love every one of the islands, above and below water. It was a trip to Hawaii that made us decide to become divers.

9 - Galapagos – see number 4

10 - Mexico – I’m kind of cheating by lumping Cozumel and the Riviera Maya into one, but you possibly could do both in a week. We fell in love with diving the cenotes the last time we were there.

Maybe Malta gets bumped for Chuuk, the Great Barrier Reef, or Cocos Islands. Or Thailand or Fiji. Truly too many places.

Looking forward to reading your lists.

 

[RJP]

Only two rules –
- You must always be moving east from your point of departure.

-

1 - Bonaire – It is just a tiny bit east of NYC, so it’s fair game.

Once you head east and dive White Hole and Cai... how do you intend to get back to the airport?

 

[TMHeimer]

Indo Pacific where shell collecting is still allowed. This is the evolutionary beginning of molluscs so the area is by far the most diversified. Of course this would include such parts of the GBR.

 

[Centrals]

List your fantasy ten week, ten stop scuba trip around the world. Only two rules –
- You must always be moving east from your point of departure.
- ...........................

Assuming how to get there is NOT an issue!
1. Poor Knights
2. Yap
3. Chuuk
4. Pohnpei
5. Kosrae
6. Bikini Atoll
7. Socorro
8. Malpelo
9. Galapagos
10. Scapa Flow

I am not sure if Poor Knights is due east or west from Yap!

 

[rivers]

This is a tough one but...

1. I would start in Scapa Flow, and do a week's diving there.
2. Then I would move onto Norway and do some more wrecks in that area.
3. From Norway, I would move southeast to Malta for a bit of warm water wrecks.
4. Then off to Croatia for a bit more warm-ish water wreck diving in the Adriatic.
5. I'd probably head to Chuuk/Truk to do some more wreck diving.
6. After Chuuk, I'd head off to Espirito Santo, Vanuatu to hit up the SS Calvin Coolidge
7. Then I would head to the east coast US where I would hit the U-857 German U-boat
8. If I were suitably qualified at the time of this trip, I would also look at diving the U-869 and the Andrea Doria
9. Still heading east, i would hit Silfra in Iceland, because why the hell not?
10. And I would finish my trip off back in my home waters of the UK South Coast, and hit the usual suspects (Maine, JEL, Persier Kyarra, Salsette, M2, Aoelian Sky, and a few dives in Portland Harbour, gathering information and data for the Portland Harbour Wrecks Project.

 

[Centrals]

Indo Pacific where shell collecting is still allowed.

I don't think you are allowed to do that in Philippines.

 

[drrich2]

Well, I wouldn't head east. I'm in Kentucky, and not accustomed to looking at the world in that direction on a map. But you've got some good destinations laid out, so I might used a modified version of your list (some of these may not be in perfect order).

1.) Little Cayman Beach Resort, or the Cayman Aggressor with intent to dive Little Cayman. I keep hearing L.C. is the best Caribbean diving. Seems like a bucket list thing to do.

2.) Dominica - I keep hearing it takes awhile to get to, but has fine diving (good or great, depending on who's talking) & lush rainforest topside fun.

3.) Turks & Caicos via live-aboard (Explorer Ventures, likely since they allow & facilitate solo diving).

4.) Tiger Beach, Bahamas - for the tiger sharks.

5.) Red Sea - one of those 'I hear so much about it' destinations.

6.) For Indonesia, probably a live-aboard to Komodo. Cultural topside stuff isn't my thing.

7.) Philippines - perhaps a week each at 2 different places, or a live-aboard + a week of land-based. It's such a large area, seems like it'd be good to do a couple of different destinations to feel like I'd 'been to the Philippines.'

8.) Palau - one of the most talked up dive destinations on the planet. Seems to get more good press even than Papua, New Guinea, just going by # of posts & effusive praise, or at least that's my informal impression.

9.) Cocos Island - if I understand correctly, big animal action but warm water. Done by live-aboard. Warm water calls to me over cold, which is why I listed this instead of the Galapagos.

10.) Hard one. Was tempted to put Hawaii, but if this was a dream vacation with diving the main thrust - the great white diving off Guadalupe maybe?

All this assumes I didn't blow my ear drums out via all that equalizing 3 weeks into the trip. Or collapse from exhaustion from all that alternating plane travel & intense diving.

Want to know what I'd really do? I wouldn't hit anywhere near 10 destinations. I'd hit maybe 4 or 5, trying to use location to take advantage of reducing overall travel time. Maybe a Red Sea live-aboard, then a Komodo live-aboard, then 3 or 4 weeks on land in the Philippines since by then I'd be sick of living on a boat, then Palau (? live-aboard, land, or both?) ending with a Cocos live-aboard. If I had some time left, by the time you factor in travel, I might spend it on Dominica.

Richard.

 

[diver 85]

I don't think you are allowed to do that in Philippines.

EDIT-disregard my response---read it wrong,..........,--ooops(was thinking about Fiji-)........

 

[TMHeimer]

EDIT-disregard my response---read it wrong,..........,--ooops(was thinking about Fiji-)........

Either way--there are many places it's not allowed, thus my "dream" trip.

 

[choiahoy]

Want to know what I'd really do? I wouldn't hit anywhere near 10 destinations. I'd hit maybe 4 or 5, trying to use location to take advantage of reducing overall travel time.

I'm just casting a wide net. In reality, my birthday trip will be two weeks at one location.