For divers with 100+ dives - do you have a "happy place"?

[billmcentee]

My wife and I go on at least 3 Caribbean dives a year and so far Bonaire is still our favorite. We are going again in January (my third time, her second)! The weather is always great there, the people are nice, food is awesome and the diving is so easy.

Here are our runner up places to dive:

2. Little Cayman - Pirate’s Point Resort. Awesome diving and great food. Not much shore diving however.

3. Dominica - Caste Comfort Inn Resort Great shore dive from resort. Sitting in the nature hot springs on the beach between dives is fantastic.

4. Roatan - Inn of Last Resort - Have been a few times and want to try one of the other resorts. Which resort is better CoCo View or Reef House?

Also want to try this at some point:

VILLA at DUNBAR ROCK

Had anyone been here? This is off the coast of Honduras and staying at a resort built on a rock in a harbor looks cool!


We really, really want to do this:

Lembeh Strait + Bunaken Marine Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

But the total cost of the vacation would equal two separate trips to the Caribbean; let along the time it takes to get there and back. So we are holding off on it. Also, if the diving turns out to be far superior to the Caribbean, we don’t want to have Pacific envy for the rest of our diving lives.

My two cents.

Bill

PS we leave for Utila next week and are hoping that place becomes one of our favorites.

[catfish]

Lembeh Strait + Bunaken Marine Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

But the total cost of the vacation would equal two separate trips to the Caribbean; let along the time it takes to get there and back. So we are holding off on it. Also, if the diving turns out to be far superior to the Caribbean, we don’t want to have Pacific envy for the rest of our diving lives.

My two cents.

Bill

Been there, done that. The trip may be double the cost, but it's worth ten times that much. I laugh every time someone refers to some Caribbean destination as world class diving. Once you see what the other side of the world has to offer, if makes the Caribbean look like the local quarry. Save your pennies and your vacation days and make this trip, it will make you wonder why you ever wasted your time and money in the Caribbean.

[billmcentee]

Hey Catfish,

How do you handle the long flights and jet lag when going to the Pacific? We are in the Boston and the reason we go to the Caribbean is because we can get to most places there in under 6 hours. I'm too hyper to be able to sit on a plane for over 13 hours in order to get to the cool Pacific dive locations. I could do if we flew first class, but spending that amount of money for tickets feels kind of obscene. Also, it usually takes me a couple of days to adjust from jet lag (which I’ve learned when visiting Europe) and the thought of trying to dive in the middle of the day in Indonesia when my body thinks it's 2 in the morning doesn't sound like a relaxing dive.

We are planning on doing a Pacific dive in the next year or two, but in order to do it the right way, you need a minimum of 2 weeks off and it is hard enough getting a week off from work without them trying to contact my dive hotel. The internet is great, but I'm finding it harder and harder to locate dive destinations where they don't have it, so work can't reach me.

Bill

[tiretread]

Johnston Atoll. I got certified there and didn't realize I was diving in Eden until I dove other places. The coral reef there is magnificent. I wish it was still open because I'd retire from the Army and drive the old JI bus just to be in the vicinity of great diving.

[Tapas bali]

Bali for me.
I know although its very popular as tourism destination many people overlook this island as dive destination.

The reason behind this is:
It has everything for everyone: muck, wreck, coral, pelagic and all dive sites can be reached in about 8 hours of driving.

I think some reason why people overlook dive in this island is because some dive operators took divers to "not good but cheap" dive sites

[texas-buzzard]

For me, it is Bonaire with CZM a close second. We will be at RHR in Roatan Mar. 20. Maybe this trip will make no. uno.

[greylion]

I've been to Wakatobi in Indonesia, Hawaii, Bahamas, Caymans, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Playa del Carmen, Belize and Roatan, but I visit Cozumel over and over again because I love it. It's easy to get to, relatively inexpensive, safe, with fabulous Mexican food at the San Miguel restaurants and I find the locals some of the friendliest people anywhere. So yeah, that's my happy place. I love the easy drift diving too.