best bang for the buck dive trip

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lowlysubaruguy

Contributor
Messages
171
Reaction score
60
Location
The Gorge
# of dives
100 - 199
Hi first time post here. Im sure this has been discussed a lot but like most things in my life its complicated and usually a little different than mosts needs.

The Wife and I are new to diving I have enough experience to dive most any where she needs easy dives for starters,. I am about to begin a new venture with work and this may cripple any foreseeable trips for a while so we need to escape out of here in January or Feb its possible for up to 3 weeks I also have kids around take care of the house and critters so its now or to far in the future. We will be flying out of Portland Oregon if that helps for starters.

This becomes complex because money will be an issue if were not careful with our planning. I also have a friend in Sothern Florida who dives and has a decent boat which could play a big part. But with as much as three weeks we would most likely spend a week with him and a week or two elsewhere so we are not overstaying our welcome and getting to dive a few different places. I dove with him last year did a number of places from Fort Lauderdale to the lower section of the keys. And really enjoyed diving Florida and the Keys

We travel to Hawaii most of the time The Big island seems to be our favorite place to end up but have never actually dove there. I have been shopping for this dive vacation for a few months but time to book this is about to run out. And the math of it keeps coming up with some mixed results. It seems we can almost stay the three weeks On the Big Island with a lot of diving for the same or less than anything in the Caribbean even with my friends assistance for a week or more.

But one topic that I don't know enough about is possibly travelling farther and staying a little more third world ish. But I don't have a clue as to where to go. With three weeks someplace south Pacific or others may actually end up being about the same money wise if I had some input. I am a hard shopper not cheap on any level but vacations are short its hard to get time off so I really pack a lot into a vacation. The Big Island always has been excellent for every part of the vacation. While were not super athletic we get out of the car and walk till my wifes ready for me to carry her back and then go just a little deeper to make sure she sleeps well at night. LOL.

Before I get to long winded I will wrap this up thanks for your input and hope to glean a lot from this forum I have lurked her for a year or so but never posted before.
 
I'm not familiar with the logistics of a Hawaii dive vacation so I can't compare well with that.

I have to be budget minded, too. If I were setting up a trip right now, aiming for January or February when the Florida Keys may be cooler and the weather less trustworthy than I care to trust to, then I would seriously consider going to Cozumel and diving with Aldora and staying at their villas.

There are other Cozumel options that could be good. Aldora has a great rep. and big 120 cf steel tanks.

I've personally dove with Living Underwater before and loved it; out of loyalty and good prior experience I'd consider a package deal with them. Also have steel 120's and it's a good-service, small boat. I notice via Bay Adventures (I've no personal experience with them) I could book Hotel Cozumel (here's the page) at the non-diver rate, apply that $350 savings toward a Living Underwater package deal.

I've also considered heading to St. Croix & diving with Cane Bay Dive Shop, with an eye toward boat diving with some supplemental shore diving.

Airfare is a big part of my dive package pricing, but if you stayed somewhere 2 or 3 weeks, the airfare could be the same, so it averages out lower with the longer trip.

Some questions:

1.) Do you like to bang out 3 - 4 dives/day, or do 2 morning dives, then other stuff in the afternoon?

2.) Either of you air hogs who like big tanks (I love big tanks!)?

3.) Do you like all-inclusives so you don't need to head off to forage, or do you like meandering around town trying this & that?

4.) What other things, if any, do you guys want to do?

5.) Would you be shore diving in Hawaii, or all boat?

6.) I'm under the impression that Hawaii is a rather expensive vacation destination in general. Did your estimates factor in food costs and other miscellaneous expenses where cost might be high?

Richard.
 
"Best bang for the buck"?

Does that mean: 4 or 5 dives in a day?

Or does that mean 1 or 2 dives at $35 each offset by some low cost housing and eats?

You have to tell us something else, and since you say you've been "lurking" for a year, you must have distilled this out of the many many similar threads.... YOU have to tell us what your dollar range is. You know how much you want to spend.

Another imponderable: You, by now, understand what the costs are for airfare for Portland to... let's say... The Bahamas, Bonaire, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan. You might want to give us that research, or better and more simply state that this is not part of the equation for the discussion. But then~ you're talking Hawaii and other posters will take you further afield to the Souther Pacific.

...The Wife and I are new to diving I have enough experience to dive most any where she needs easy dives for starters...

Most any where? The world is your oyster.
 
I agree with the others. I live a bit north of you and have done 3 "warm" dive trips in the last 2 years, each a week long. First was the BI when we had about 12 dives. Next was Maui, and last (beginning of this month) was Bonaire. All were awesome and all were different.

I guess it depends on what type of diving you want. We mostly shore dive so that puts diving on our time/schedule. I don't have to deal with "other people", DM's, Shops, Timelines, ect. The two boat dives we have done were nice, but the cost/dive is not there for me.

BI was nice because it was our first outing for warm diving. We had to split the time with the kids since we too them too so we only got 7 dives in. We did 5 shore dives and a two tank boat dive for the Manta dive, a must do. We planning a "honeymoon" trip in June and right now we are leaning heavy on BI. I would like to go back now since we know way more about diving and would experience it in a very different way. I also have a good friend that lives there so that is part of the reason also.

Maui was awesome. This time we got 13 dives in and it was a pretty busy schedule doing that because of the distance between sites, if you want a variety. Basically hit up the dive shop, load up on tanks then head out. On Maui we never broke 37' since all the good stuff is in that range. That gives great bottom time on AL-80's. We did do one 2 tank boat dive out to the Pinnacles. Here is where cost/dive breaks down for me. 4 tank boat dive (2 people x 2 tanks) cost $300 basically. The other 22 dives for air and weight rentals cost under $100. Unless I need a boat to get to awesome things it is hard to pay for that cost. Many of the "boat" dives were moored where we dove.........

In Bonaire we did 20 dives the week we were there, and it was awesome. This time all shore dives and I wish we would have been there 2-3 times as long. The dive sites are close and easy to get to. The place we stayed had tanks right at the dock making it very easy. Other sites we just loaded up the truck with tanks and spent the day out diving. For me I did not care for the local food that much, but I am kinda picky. It will not stop me from going back though.
 
I get a little nervous when I read from a newbie with less than 25 dives state "I have enough experience to dive most any where." You may want to update your profile, or reconsider that attitude. I guess you both have DAN dive insurance, at least the middle plan if not the top?

Looking at January 5-February 5, with 18-22 nights away...

Cancun starts at $379RT with a lot of possibilities for 3 weeks, i.e. bag drag to Cozumel for great drift diving, ferry back to Playa del Carmen and a cheap Easyway car rental with FULL insurance to explore sites up and down the coast, Tulum area cavern dives, side trips to ancient cities worth seeing, and much more.

Belize city starts at $716, plus you'd need to get to Ambergris Caye or some other dive destination. The $300+ difference divided by a 20 days trip is only $15/day more for air, but that gives you a shopping idea. Driving to Seattle wouldn't save you anything.

Roatan starts at $641 from Seattle, $685 from Portland, depending on dates.

Bonaire starts at $731 from Seattle, $760 from Portland, depending.

Nassau starts at $453 from Portland, and there are other destinations in the Bahamas.

Tourist living & diving can be kept reasonable at various locations, but not cheap. Most bang for buck would be Cozumel and Mayan Riveria - and free shore dives can be fun at times along with $60 for 2 tank boat dives.

A triangle trip including Florida and Cancun would be more difficult to price. January 4, 13, and 26 starts at $637, so not too much more. Some other final destination would be much higher, but hard to cover all of the dates.
 
I was also worried I made my post new to the sport but can dive almost any where. My wife is green we will be looking for something thats not high skill level for most dives and only more advanced if I or both of us feel content and have others with us. Im pretty hard core about most things and adapt well. I hunt and fish some pretty harsh environments ( harsh isnt the word for it) and was born to be in the water. Why I waited so long in life to scuba dive I am not sure. With my wife along we wont be doing any advanced diving unless we find both of us are ready for it.

Airfaire may not be as big a factor with three weeks cost of the trip kind of averaging to a price range I can live with.
 
I understand the feeling. I have thought I could do almost any dive several times over the last decade, and survived all my learning experiences when I screwed up - but not everyone does. So much to learn, but I think I have a good start.

While $700 is twice as much as $350, yeah - for a 3 week trip, it's not that big of a difference. Most bang for buck is Mexico, but go where you want to.
 
Maybe I can add more to help you help me

Ok first I worried when I wrote new to diving and can handle most dives that this would be misinterpreted. My wifes green so we wont be doing any advanced diving unless we find ourselves comfortable with it at some point in the trip. Myself I am looking forward to diving with more skilled divers in the near future and will do so. Right now I would not mind diving with a group on this trip at least until we know some areas etc especially shore diving. But I also do not want to be limited to trainee diving if both of us feel comfortable at some point in the trip. With three weeks diving I imagine both of our skill levels should improve a lot.



Sadly the dive shop that certified us is headed to Bonaire in April but my time line is pretty much until the end of Feb so I have to do something now or put it off another year or more.

Were also not really the all inclusive types. While I haven’t crossed this off my list its not high on it for sure. We traditionally rent a house and cook 90% of our meals travel with lunch etc. One im half chef Tell and the other Im almost vegan so hotel living ends up with me eating boxed granola. I also dont go on vacations to be pampered I don’t mind some guy on a dive boat helping me put my tank on but I don’t need first class or want it. And I am also not cheap I just pack a lot into a vacation.

Money wise I love it if our costs were under $150 PP per day including lodging and food. Not including airfair. This might be low but there will be a number of days we don’t dive that we do things that might involve no more than fuel costs or a rental car. With three weeks I would assume we will do more than just go diving. Im also high strung I think they used the term HIGH ENERGY at least that’s what a lot of high energy people call me. Its getting softer as I get older but I still act like a drill sergeant pushing the forces forward towards enemy lines most of the time. So I am also not inclined to lay around on a beach for a large portion of my trip. Some love a vacation of laying around I fear places that leave you confined to a resort or what they have within a few miles of shore may bore me pretty easily.

The Keys are pretty attractive if the weathers right. Dive boats trips are affordable I love to fish and found charters pretty cheap not to mention I may fly fish for Bone fish or Tarpon from shore or even book a guide if there are any fish in at the time. I have some buddies who do this enough to help point me in the right direction. I did not find a lot of VRBO rentals in the keys but did rent a decent two bedroom hotel in Marathon last time there. Plus my buddy whos in Fort Lauderdale will be happy to take us diving for a fair portion of the trip. I also was thinking about a live aboard or trip to the Caribbean for a week during this if we do land in Florida.

Hawaii for us as just a vacation usually turns out to be cheaper than any where else. Even with air fair. Great lodging is affordable car rentals are cheap and the things we do on The Big Island involve gas and food for the most part. I have rented some flat out palaces to stay in for half the cost of really cheap hotels. 11 of us went for 12 days a few years back I rented this goliath house for $225 a day and it was really nice I mean really nice. Boat diving well its double or more of what it is in Florida or the keys which plays a big part. Shore diving is really weather dependant but we would pretty much dive when the current and waves permit it and do other things when it doesn’t. However tank and weight rentals there are more to weigh into the picture. I love The Big Island but also am really thinking of something new to us. Both of us have our own dive gear.

I thing about the Philippians or something like this I have heard diving and lodging can be very affordable and really good to but I have not found anything concrete to back this up. Or even Thailand. But I would not book a trip to someplace like this without some tips prior.

Maybe this may help you guide me in the right direction.


Ok first I worried when I wrote new to diving and can handle most dives that this would be misinterpreted. My wifes green so we wont be doing any advanced diving unless we find ourselves comfortable with it at some point in the trip. Myself I am looking forward to diving with more skilled divers in the near future and will do so. Right now I would not mind diving with a group on this trip at least until we know some areas etc especially shore diving. But I also do not want to be limited to trainee diving if both of us feel comfortable at some point in the trip. With three weeks diving I imagine both of our skill levels should improve a lot.


Sadly the dive shop that certified us is headed to Bonaire in April but my time line is pretty much until the end of Feb so I have to do something now or put it off another year or more.

Were also not really the all inclusive types. While I haven’t crossed this off my list its not high on it for sure. We traditionally rent a house and cook 90% of our meals travel with lunch etc. One im half chef Tell and the other Im almost vegan so hotel living ends up with me eating boxed granola. I also dont go on vacations to be pampered I don’t mind some guy on a dive boat helping me put my tank on but I don’t need first class or want it. And I am also not cheap I just pack a lot into a vacation.

Money wise I love it if our costs were under $150 PP per day including lodging and food. Not including airfair. This might be low but there will be a number of days we don’t dive that we do things that might involve no more than fuel costs or a rental car. With three weeks I would assume we will do more than just go diving. Im also high strung I think they used the term HIGH ENERGY at least that’s what a lot of high energy people call me. Its getting softer as I get older but I still act like a drill sergeant pushing the forces forward towards enemy lines most of the time. So I am also not inclined to lay around on a beach for a large portion of my trip. Some love a vacation of laying around I fear places that leave you confined to a resort or what they have within a few miles of shore may bore me pretty easily.

The Keys are pretty attractive if the weathers right. Dive boats trips are affordable I love to fish and found charters pretty cheap not to mention I may fly fish for Bone fish or Tarpon from shore or even book a guide if there are any fish in at the time. I have some buddies who do this enough to help point me in the right direction. I did not find a lot of VRBO rentals in the keys but did rent a decent two bedroom hotel in Marathon last time there. Plus my buddy whos in Fort Lauderdale will be happy to take us diving for a fair portion of the trip. I also was thinking about a live aboard or trip to the Caribbean for a week during this if we do land in Florida.

Hawaii for us as just a vacation usually turns out to be cheaper than any where else. Even with air fair. Great lodging is affordable car rentals are cheap and the things we do on The Big Island involve gas and food for the most part. I have rented some flat out palaces to stay in for half the cost of really cheap hotels. 11 of us went for 12 days a few years back I rented this goliath house for $225 a day and it was really nice I mean really nice. Boat diving well its double or more of what it is in Florida or the keys which plays a big part. Shore diving is really weather dependant but we would pretty much dive when the current and waves permit it and do other things when it doesn’t. However tank and weight rentals there are more to weigh into the picture. I love The Big Island but also am really thinking of something new to us. Both of us have our own dive gear.

I thing about the Philippians or something like this I have heard diving and lodging can be very affordable and really good to but I have not found anything concrete to back this up. Or even Thailand. But I would not book a trip to someplace like this without some tips prior.

Maybe this may help you guide me in the right direction.








 
When I hear the phrase "most bang for the buck" in relation to diving, my immediate reaction is Cozumel. Granted, I've never been to Hawaii (sad, huh?), but from what I've heard from others it is much more expensive (at least for diving and eating out). Considering the Caribbean, Cozumel, for my money, offers far and away the best combination of great diving, even for relative newbies (there are quite a few great spots that are perfect for easy drift dives), affordable dive ops, affordable lodging -- you can get a decent hotel room for as little as $25 a night, and any number of choices for less than $80 a night -- affordable dining -- you can eat for as little as $25 a day eating at the locally owned places, and eat well. Taxi fares may be an issue, but you can rent a car for as little as $35 a day, less with a weekly rate, and not have to worry about taxis. Diving is great in Grand Cayman, but food, lodging and diving will cost you 2-3 times what they will cost you on Cozumel.
 
Yes....... Bang for your Buck means going to Cozumel for most of us. It is high quality diving for low price. You can get anything from 4 dives a day packages to 2 morning dives per day for HALF the price of almost anywhere else. Diving ranges from Beginner to Advanced, but since it is all drift diving you follow a DM in small (8 diver max) dive groups. It can be the easiest diving as long as you understand how to do it and stay with DM.

check out some packages on the Dive Travel websites:
Scuba Diving Vacations - Caradonna Dive Adventures
Island Dreams Travel scuba diving vacations, cozumel scuba diving, dive travel, dive resorts, diving trips
Bay Adventures :: Dive Adventures and Island Vacations :: 888.599.3483


I have been to Hawaii and while I enjoyed it, the cost of diving, food, car, and everything on islands is HIGH. We got in only 2 dives per day for 5 days and the trip was double a trip to Cozumel where we can get in twice as many dives. We are NOT luxury lovers, so it isn't that we splurge on things, we just find that Cozumel is the best for us in many ways.

Other favorites are CocoView Resort Roatan (most dives possible on a trip other than a liveaboard), and Bonaire.

Check out all my trip reports and videos and photos on my website.
RnR Scuba

robin
 

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