Diving Location Suggestions for January-February

[rebeccascritchfield]

My husband and I are new certified open water divers - 8 dives certified for a year. We would like to plan a week dive vacation in late January or February 2009 from the U.S. to someplace warm. We've already been to Belize (that's where we've been certified). We have also been diving in the Bahamas and St. Lucia (just a discover Scuba 25 footer on our honeymoon which is what hooked us). I'd like to go some place new --- although I am fully convinced we haven't experienced all the diving these lovely places have to offer.

We are considering a liveaboard to maximize diving time. It sounds like this is a really fun, simplified way to go. Right now I am really interested in Turks and Caicos. Does anyone have any suggestions for travel agents or companies we should talk to? Has anyone been on a liveaboard in TC who can give a testimonial?

I have some concerns about the liveaboards. Can the body really handle 5 days of diving with some days consisting of 4 to 5 dives? I am concerned that I'd be knackered by day 2. Also, is the boat constantly moving? Do they normally dock at night so it feels like you are on land? We just did a dive in North Carolina and all divers were seasick in the 4 foot swells. I know the water is much calmer in the tropical areas. If anyone can describe what it is like on a liveaboard I would really appreciate it.

Here are my questions:
1. Suggestions for locations for Jan/Feb diving
2. Description of liveaboards experiences in general, Turks and Caicos in particular. Is a liveaboard a good idea for new divers?
3. Referrals for companies/travel agents who specialize in scuba diving vacations and/or liveaboards.
4. Tips for saving on airfare (packages?) I know T/C airfare from Washington, D.C. is running about $750 USD now. Not sure if that is typical for that area.
5. Anything else you think we should consider

Thanks in advance... this is something I want to research well before jumping on the first thing I see. We are willing to pay for a nice boat and good service, not necessarily looking for "budget" travel. But we want the trip to be money well spent.

--- Rebecca

 

[robint]

I have a couple of suggestions for you...

Liveaboard, Jan-Feb...
check out the Nekton St. Croix itinerary.
Nekton Diving Cruises - Comfort, Stability, Worldclass Diving
fun boat with a fun crew, very stable boat = seasickness is minor if at all on their boats due to design. We have done 2 trips on Nekton boats and loved them. Fly into San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Explorer Ventures: Adventures in Live-Aboard Diving boats get good reviews. Not quite as stable (anti-seasickness) as the Nekton boats but still great. They have boats in Bahamas, T&C, and Saba that would meet your needs.

The swells you experienced in NC diving are not the norm for liveaboard diving. The boats are usually moored in areas away from any "weather". Also, you can dive as much as you want or as little. On our last Nekton trip we had several couples where the wives only did 2 dives per day but the husbands buddied up and did 4-5. No big deal. I did 4 dives per day and sat out a couple of night dives, my hubby did them all. We never got bored. If you can do nitrox, do it... we truly feel it makes you have more energy diving day after day.

Other options: Jan-Feb can be iffy weather at many locations around the Caribbean. I would check out Roatan, Utila, Curacao, and Bonaire. The first two are the least expensive choices. Good-great diving at all.

 

[tadeotadeo]

Other options: Jan-Feb can be iffy weather at many locations around the Caribbean. I would check out Roatan, Utila, Curacao, and Bonaire. The first two are the least expensive choices. Good-great diving at all.

You can ad San Andres and Old Providence to this list of place to check into in Jan and Feb. It can be a bit windy during these months but with dive sites surounding the these islands there is always a place to dive. Sorry no liviboards on ether island.

 

[BiancaC]

Rebecca, you're asking the right questions.
1. Hurricane season's over then, but it's usually windier. The whole Caribbean is good then,
beginning of the "dry" season. Bahamas probably a bit cold.
2.Liveaboards are great, but I would recommend to gain more experience before you go, to maximise the experience. Get an Advanced and Nitrox certification before you go.
The body can handle the 5 dives a day, especcially on Nitrox.
Nobody can predict the sea, but there is medication against seasickness.
3. You have Nekton and Agressor already, add Dancer Fleet - Peter Hughes Diving for liveaboards.
Landbased you can look at Caradonna Caradonna Dive Adventures - Dive Travel and Vacations, Maduro Welcome to Maduro Travel, Inc., Undersea Adventures Neal Watson's Undersea Adventures - Bahamas and Caribbean scuba diving resorts
4. Book airfare as soon as possible direct, agents usually don't get commissions anymore from the airlines, so you pay extra for the service. Only some still have good bulk contracts.
5. Grenada ( I have to say that)

 

[lucidblue]

Maduro Welcome to Maduro Travel, Inc.,

Either Maduro is having major problems with their websites or they are gone. The Welcome to Maduro Travel, Inc. site still comes up, but if you try to click into madurodive.com or any of their other sites, an error comes up that says "The URL that you requested does not have a website associated with it." I was on the site yesterday and sent a request for a quote and today the site is gone. I haven't received a response to my quote either. Hopefully, they are just experiencing site issues... I was really looking forward to hearing if they had any great deals for my next trip.

 

[Doc]

Their 800 327-6709 phone number works.

 

[lucidblue]

Their 800 327-6709 phone number works.

The site is back up today too. Glad it was just web issue.

 

[WOODMAN]

You might want to consider the Turks & Caicos Explorer out of Providenciales if that area is attracting you. It is a great boat for the money, and not much different than the Aggressor boat of the same location for a lot less cash. The Turks & Caicos is mostly wall diving, however, and if you want more diversity (especially as relatively new divers) you might want to look at the Bahamas Explorer based out of Georgetown on Great Exuma island. I like this boat, and have commented extensively on it here in the past. I am also a great fan of Explorer Ventures (did you notice?) and no, I don't work for them. The Nekton boats are also a strong possibility, although I don't have any direct experience with them (We will be correcting that little detail in 2 weeks) As to whether you can handle a liveaboard, this is something that you can only find out by experience. This has been discussed here ad nauseum, and there are tons of threads on this subject for you to peruse. As you might suspect, we are great advocates of liveaboards, and have only rarely had trouble with sea sickness. My wife is more affected than I, and likes to depend on Meclizine as a prophylactic measure. You can dive only what you feel capable of handling, and we usually sit out at least one dive daily (at least, my wife does. I am a bit more of a hot dog). But whatever, don't let your newness to the sport deter you. This is a great way to gain experience in a variety of diving situations. Good luck! Woody