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dirtfarmer

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Location
Northern California
# of dives
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Each year the non-diving wife and I take a month long vacation in January.
We like beaches, good food, are ok with staying at isolated resorts but prefer having a choice going out to eat.
Our budget tops out around $200/day for lodging,food,drink. I can add in diving costs.
We don't spend our time in one area and usually go to two or three spots.
For diving I prefer high quality diving, I'm a photographer and shoot both macro and wide angle. I love coral and muck and long dives 60 min or more and small groups. The wife loves it when I have short boat trips so I'm not gone all day. I will for a week or two dive my but off doing 3 dives a day, but again the wife does like it when I'm not gone all day. The second two weeks I like to be able to dive once or twice a day when I get bored, and this is where short trips really count.

So here's where we've been.
Bali 2x's (Tulamben-Lembongan-Gili's)
Philippines 3x's (Dauin/Apo-Alona-Siquior-Anilao- Malapascua-Sipilay)
Thailand 2x's (not a ton of diving here- a Simillan liveaboard- before the bleaching event and Koh Tao ( no on this not good enough diving and way to many crowds in the water),and a dive to Sail Rock off off Koh Phangan)

On my own solo trips I' done
Palau
Sipadan
Bunaken
Lembeh 3x's
Komodo liveaboard 2x's
(and by next Jan will have done Raja Ampat liveaboard)

I'm thinking Thailand on the Andaman side, we were do to go to Koh Phi Phi the year of the Tsunami, but she's never been there I've been to Koh Lanta and Koh Mook before on my own before I was certified. I am reticent about Thailand due to the bleaching, I've heard the coral above 10-15 meters is dead and that would make the dives on the short time.

Or how about off the beaten path in Indo or Malaysia?
 
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Try Apo Island and Puerto Galera (especially Verde Island) in the Philippines and Pulau Weh in Sumatra, Indonesia :)[h=1][/h]
 
If you want something really different.. If you want to check out Sumatra and Weh add on a few days at the private island off Sumatra from Padang called Cubadak - not r4 diving standards but long dives and you will almost certainly be guaranteed be the only diver in the water. Thailand corals seem to be recovering pretty well after the 09/10 bleaching event - if you base yourself in Krabi not Phuket you have a lot of options for dining and topside activities and shopping if your wife is into that. Phi Phi islands are close by. PG and Verde Island good diving pretty crowded.

Not sure about Alor in January but its great diving.
 
Thailand corals seem to be recovering pretty well after the 09/10 bleaching event - if you base yourself in Krabi not Phuket you have a lot of options for dining and topside activities and shopping if your wife is into that. Phi Phi islands are close by. PG and Verde Island good diving pretty crowded.

Not sure about Alor in January but its great diving.

If we would do Thailand we would probably stay on Phi Phi then Lanta then thinking about Lipe. 12 years ago I spent some time on Koh Mook and did a snorkling daytrip to the Taruotao marine park and really snorkeled some really beautiful area's there. I wish I knew exactly which island I found the best, I think it might have been Koh Nagai as there was a spot with a channel between two islands. I also think there was some good coral off Koh Kradan.
Any one have the downlow on Lipe-Kraden-Nagai?

I'll also look into Palau Weh and Alor.

Keep the suggestions coming I really appreciate it.

Keep the suggestions coming people I rally do appreciate it
 
I also travel with a non diving wife.

- She likes Alor because of the beach, the atmosphere and the owners of Alor Eco Divers, though there is nothing else to do in Alor but anyway January is not the season for.
- She hated Weh because we traveled in Ramadan time, I hated it too : I think Weh should rather close for that time of the year since anyway tourism comes in a second priority. Not been very impressed with the diving too, January may not be ramadan this year but it should be a little rainy : dry and sunny season is april to august.
- Koh Lipe is (was last time I went was Xmas 2008) a very nice island with the best beaches along the Andaman coast, resorts have grown up a bit then and the dive is OK not the best compared to Hin Daeng or hin Muang for instance. But for a week break on Xmas holiday it's great. Besides that, probably the best whole grilled groupers we ever had for 5 days in a row : the thais definitely know how to cook
- She hated Puerto Galera with so so beach, old sex pervs hand in hand with underage filipinas all around (even though there is thread about PG in the Philippines board where some of the PG defenders argue that sleaze is "everywhere", argument that I find stupid but to everyone their own. ).
- She liked pretty much Dauin and Alona in Panglao, even though you're a bit tucked into your resort in Dauin.
- she loved island hopping in Maluku, Ambon is a bit boring but spending the new years day on champagne and grilled lobster on Molana island was absolutaly fantastic, though it takes a bit of knowledge of the place to organize it.
- Weirdly she liked Raja Ampat because of the sheer beauty of the nature, though it comes out very expensive for a non diver.
- something out of the way my wife loves : Reunion island, where the diving ranges from tame to interesting (whales though not the season, great macro from shore, but needs to be ararnged outside dive centres). Nature is fantastic, trekking, volcanoes, great surf, gourmet food (it's french) then you can hop to Mayotte, one of the remotest french regions where it is said that the diving is good, better than Reunion.
- Then you could also try south Pacific, Fiji is fantastic for non divers, people hospitality and the Yasawa beaches, though the best diving is not where the best beaches are. Vanuatu is second to none when it comes to local culture.
 
I agree with a lot of what Luko has said. My perspective as a solo traveller is always pretty..selfish LOL!.

I looked into (and will get to) the reunion - madagascar - mayotte - comoros option and there is an indian ocean airpass available that will lessen your airfair costs. Bucketlist trip for me.

Still in the south Pacific have not dived Fiji but would also suggest Vanuata (side trip to Tanna to see the volcano erupting) with lots of culture and the wreck of the Coolidge.

Uepi in the Solomon Islands is gaining lots of fans and PNG is always awesome.
 
Truk Lagoon is by far the best wreck diving site in the world. Great coral and fish life too. Good visibility in season and no current at all. But this is a diver-only destination and nothing for a non-diver to do except eat, read and sleep.
 
I looked into (and will get to) the reunion - madagascar - mayotte - comoros option and there is an indian ocean airpass available that will lessen your airfair costs. Bucketlist trip for me.
I am not sure Comoros is worth though, from the feedback I had it doesn't seem that interesting in terms of diving and looks difficult to arrange.
Mayotte which is the only Comoros island who chose to be fully part of France recently, is in that regards much easier to go and to organize diving.
 
I
- She hated Weh because we traveled in Ramadan time, I hated it too : I think Weh should rather close for that time of the year since anyway tourism comes in a second priority. Not been very impressed with the diving too, January may not be ramadan this year but it should be a little rainy : dry and sunny season is april to august.

- She hated Puerto Galera with so so beach, old sex pervs hand in hand with underage filipinas all around (even though there is thread about PG in the Philippines board where some of the PG defenders argue that sleaze is "everywhere", argument that I find stupid but to everyone their own. ).
.

Weh has some great diving just off shore. Tons of macro for photos right off the beaches, just get a tank and kick out to 40 feet or so. Dive all day. When we went, it had a cast away remote feeling. It was peaceful and beautiful.

In Puerto Galara - To avoid the girl bars of Sabang, head towards little/big laguna beach. Sabang does have the girl bars but for the most part they are easily avoided. Asia divers is a great shop.
 
I am not sure Comoros is worth though, from the feedback I had it doesn't seem that interesting in terms of diving and looks difficult to arrange.
Mayotte which is the only Comoros island who chose to be fully part of France recently, is in that regards much easier to go and to organize diving.

This is part of the reason its still on the bucketlist Luko - trying to get hotels let alone dive ops to make contact has been a real hassle. Ive had some interesting emails back from that part of the world trying to plan a trip - apparently the hotel I liked in Nosy Be ''went on holidays'' during cyclone season - where does a hotel go on vacation?

Thanks for the heads up on Mayotte, if its easier to organise will look a little closer when my funds recover.
 
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