Where do you find your dive travel deals?

[GeoPowers]

Hi all,

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but couldn't find anything through a search. Where do you all find great deals on diving vacations? I'm looking for some Caribe/Mexico/Belize/Honduras diving for my wife and I, probably for January.


Many Thanks,

Frank

[Dirty-Dog]

My own method is to pick a handful of places we'd like to go. Then I start checking Orbitz & Expedia & such for good packages deal on flight and resort during the time period we plan to go. I try to narrow it down to 3-4 desinations and pick 2-3 resorts at that destination. Then I watch. I have noticed that the prices tend to be pretty stable, but that there will be periodic dips for 2-3 days at a time, for a substantial savings. I keep watching, and while I'm watching I research the dive ops in that area. E-mail with them helps me pick one. Further e-mail often helps me narrow down the resort choice further. By now, we have a destination, an op, and we're down to 3-4 resorts. So keep watching. When one of those dips hit, buy the package. After the flight and resort are booked (since sometimes dates vary slightly to get the best deal) I book the dive op.

Then all I have to do is wait impatiently... December 5th... hurry up!!!!

[Warhammer]

Call a travel agent, as they deal with travel every single day and would tend to be more aware of any "deals" that may be available. Generally, they shouldn't cost any extra, as they are paid a commission from the resort/vacation company/etc. A lot of them are now adding a small fee for airline tickets though, because the airlines stopped paying commission. The further in advance you book an airline ticket, the cheaper it will usually be. With resorts, plan to travel in the off season and not on holidays for the best deals.

[BDSC]

Hi all,

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but couldn't find anything through a search. Where do you all find great deals on diving vacations? I'm looking for some Caribe/Mexico/Belize/Honduras diving for my wife and I, probably for January.


Many Thanks,

Frank

This advice may not help you in the near future but over time it very well may. If you want the best dive vacation deals you can get just create your own. Here's how we have done it for the past several years.

We started out with four of us going on dive trips together and while on these trips we met some great new dive friends. So 4 became 6 which became 8 -10 and so on. We now have anywhere from 16 to 30 folks who dive together. Now not everyone goes on every trip but we have a good base to select from. What this has done is allow us to take advantage of the earned "free spots" and even at times commissions. We always take the free spots and any commissions and spread that savings over the cost of everyones trip. It can reduce the cost of a typical dive trip by several hundred dollars. I have the Aqua Cat booked for next 4th of July week and we were able to discount each persons cost by $415! That's a significant savings. What I have found is that in todays economy, many resorts will work with groups and you can really have some negotiating power if you bring a decent sized crowd. So just keep that in mind as you go forward. You usually only need 8 to 10 people to qualify for a free spot.

[GeoPowers]

Thanks, guys. I had thought that there were be a site or two that specializes in dive-related travel packages with or without air travel. I found a few, but they seems a little weak. I'll keep looking, thanks again.

Frank

[RoatanMan]

Dive Clubs work. We have joined a few of them over the years just to go on their trips- some clubs were 700+ miles away from our home.

[NCBabs]

another place to look on Scuba Board is the Scuba Market forum and scroll down to Trips and Market place, here are deals posted for travel in all areas.