suggest your favorite dive destination...help me out!

[BabyDuck]

i'm posting this here because i don't want to pre-pick a place by posting in the caribbean section, for instance. i want it to be an unbiased start. i also don't want to wade through all the info on the internet - and why should i? i have you!

so, i'm playing fantasy vacation, but might take it real in a year or two. the rules are - relatively easy to get inexpensive flights from nc (connecting to nyc or miami, etc, is acceptable). either a dive-focused resort with lots of other relaxing things to do (or stare at and do nothing) or perhaps a liveaboard. but probably not a liveaboard, because i'm thinking of somewhere to dive 2-3 times a day but not feel i've wasted my money if i don't get-all-5-dives-in-every-day-omg-i'm-a-slacker-divedivedive. island not necessary, coast ok. good food, relaxed atmosphere, no need for hot nightlife, no need for great shopping. family friendly ok, prefer not a hot honeymoon location so low pda quotient. no need for the most up-to-date facility, but don't want it to be a crappy dump. some spa type stuff might be a nice extra (massages, for instance) but lack isn't a dealbreaker. safe. inexpensive but not necessarily cheap - good value for the money. oh, and no need for good selection of rental stuff. we travel with our gear. larry also wants lots of boobs, and cavediving, but i'm overruling him this time.

whatcha got? write an essay, an homage to your 'secret' spot you're about to spill to the world.

 

[Doc]

larry also wants lots of boobs....

That's either any Pod People Dive-op or Hedonism II, what kind of boobs did he have in mind?

.... relatively easy to get inexpensive flights from nc (connecting to nyc or miami, etc, is acceptable).....inexpensive but not necessarily cheap....

What's inexpensive? Seriously - Any post such as this is meaningless unless parameters are defined.

 

[cardzard]

Marcy just join the Invasion.... Think Mega-Dive for a week without the camping.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/invade-bonaire-2013/437012-invade-bonaire-2013-package-deal.html

 

[freewillie]

One of my all time favorite vacations (and my family's as well!) was our trip to the Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos. There are other Beaches Resorts in Jamaica as well but the T&C is the newest. It is an all inclusive resort with food and alcohol as part of the package. Scuba diving is one of the inlcuded activities and you can do 2 tank morning dives and 1 tank afternoon dives. You can dive every day if you want, no limit to the number of times/days.

It is not necessarily "inexpensive" but is a good deal when you include eating, alcohol, and diving. My wife was a little shocked at what I paid for 2 boat dives in Maui and 2 boat dives in Kona for me and my daughter on our last vacation. The only reason we didn't dive more was that was all my wife was willing to let us do! And our restaurant bill for family 5 and grandma really added up!

It is primarily a family resort, very low PDA quotient. Very family friendly. Full service spa available. Nondiving family can enjoy the many pools with swim up bar. There is an English pub with pool tables. Other activities include hobie cats and windsurfing.

My kids are still asking to go back, especially my teenage daughter who got certified at the same resort! The only downside I can think of is that you are required to dive with a dive master. The resort caters to vacation resort divers. Generally 6 -8 divers to one DM. They are usually pretty good about pointing out interesting things to see. On a dive boat there will be beginning warm water vacation divers using all resort provided gear to hard core divers with their own gear.

 

[TSandM]

We had a fabulous time in Australia, and I would love to go back. We went to a place called Byron Bay for our diving -- it's a pretty little resort town, with a beautiful beach. We stayed in a very reasonably priced B&B called Planula Lodge, and dove with SunDivers. The only thing I'd worry a little about is that they had a 45 minute absolute limit on dive time, which I think would drive me nuts now. The diving was fabulous, with tons of different critters and huge schools of fish, and it was easy -- a ten minute boat ride from the shop. Byron Bay had a lot of restaurants to choose from, from inexpensive burger-type places to fancy hotel-based feasting.

Australia is probably not the easiest place to get to from NC, and Byron Bay is not the easiest place in Australia to reach from outside the country, but it sure was fun. And you have the advantage that everybody speaks your language (more or less, anyway) and the food and water are entirely trustworthy.

The other place we went that I loved was Lembeh, where we stayed at Kungkungan Bay Resort, but there is really not much to do there but dive.

 

[diversteve]

A nice thing about Provo (T/C) - besides the outstanding wall diving, Grace Bay Beach, spas, restaurants etc. is that it's a 3hr non-stop flight from Charlotte on USAirways. IDK where Beaches dives - I've heard it's the NW Point area - but the better diving is off West Caicos or French Cay - about a 45min. ride. There's also both an Aggressor and an Explorer liveaboard if you decide to go that route. It is pretty expensive but there are cheaper accommodations, either condos on Grace Bay - vrbo.com lists some - or there's a Comfort Suites near some of the shops/restaurants in Grace Bay - just not waterfront.

Curacao also hits just about everything on your list. Insel Air is starting a direct flight from Charlotte - it's much cheaper to fly/stay there than Turks/Caicos. Nice beaches, same excellent shore diving as Bonaire but it's farther to drive between sites. Accommodations in all price ranges and almost every resort has an on-site dive operator - so do most of the beach entry shore dive sites all along the west side of the island. There's an AI (Sunscape Curacao Resort) east of downtown, a dive resort (Lions Dive) and other nice properties including a Hyatt Regency (called Santa Barbara Resort now) and a nice Marriott (Resort/Emerald Casino) in Piscadera Bay - a resort area 10mins. west of downtown. If you want quiet, Lodge Kura Hulanda or All West Apts. in Westpunt are 45mins. from town and on one of the best shore dives on the island. www.curacao.com has details on everything. Larry gets part of his wish also as the Dutch girls sunbathe topless at several locations.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

i'm posting this here because i don't want to pre-pick a place by posting in the caribbean section, for instance. i want it to be an unbiased start. i also don't want to wade through all the info on the internet - and why should i? i have you!

so, i'm playing fantasy vacation, but might take it real in a year or two. the rules are - relatively easy to get inexpensive flights from nc (connecting to nyc or miami, etc, is acceptable). either a dive-focused resort with lots of other relaxing things to do (or stare at and do nothing) or perhaps a liveaboard. but probably not a liveaboard, because i'm thinking of somewhere to dive 2-3 times a day but not feel i've wasted my money if i don't get-all-5-dives-in-every-day-omg-i'm-a-slacker-divedivedive. island not necessary, coast ok. good food, relaxed atmosphere, no need for hot nightlife, no need for great shopping. family friendly ok, prefer not a hot honeymoon location so low pda quotient. no need for the most up-to-date facility, but don't want it to be a crappy dump. some spa type stuff might be a nice extra (massages, for instance) but lack isn't a dealbreaker. safe. inexpensive but not necessarily cheap - good value for the money. oh, and no need for good selection of rental stuff. we travel with our gear. larry also wants lots of boobs, and cavediving, but i'm overruling him this time.

whatcha got? write an essay, an homage to your 'secret' spot you're about to spill to the world.

Baby Duck. I am going to suggest something way out of the ordinary. Since you are also on the East Coast, we are not far and you guys may be able to join me on this trip. I am planning to drive from Northern Virginia to across the border into Canada and then getting on a car ferry to cross into NFL and Labrador. It will be a long scenic drive and will end in the northern most area of Canada along the East coast reachable by road. From there I plan on diving the Labrador current where you can dive amid floating icebergs and humpback whales. This place has some really cool ship wrecks. Check this out ...

Home

 

[RSF]

Grand Cayman. 365 dive sites and a few great operators (best I've ever been diving with). I'm going back to Grand Cayman for my 40th just because I want to dive with this one dive outfit there -- living the dream divers. They have a great dive boat that could easily carry 20 divers but the limit it to 8. Just booked for August and understand they're taking delivery of a new boat that will take out a max. of 6. They pick you up from your hotel and will set up your gear and get you set up for your dive. Effortless. Fantastic. What diving should be and not outrageously priced. There are also a few really nice resorts on the island to chill at between dives. While the diving is reasonable, GC is a little pricey. If you want any more info key me know. Happy diving!

 

[TSandM]

It occurs to me that another place to recommend VERY highly is God's Pocket resort at the north end of Vancouver Island. The scenery is spectacular, and one can see dolphins, whales, rafts of sea otters, and bald eagles from the resort or the boat. We had otters in the bay during breakfast! You can kayak or hike from the resort -- the forest is mossy and damp and fertile and a bit spooky, and very beautiful.

The diving is unreal. The walls are covered in color that puts the tropics to shame. You can dive with sea lions, or in a cove with thousands of hooded nudibranchs.

The resort itself is wonderfully comfortable and hospitable, and the food is amazing.

It's not terribly EASY to get to, but very manageable. It's not cheap, but it's special. We might even join you!

 

[Kevrumbo]

Using USA Territory of Guam as your hub, island hop across tropical Micronesia/Oceania/Australia/SE Asia.

Easy "Beginner Itinerary" to start: The incredible walls, corals, schooling big fish/pelagics/sharks & drift dives of Palau, then Guam hub, and finally to the beautifully soft coral adorned Truk Lagoon WWII Wrecks in Chuuk. No currency exchange needed -all use US dollars. Flights are easy to book online with United Airlines out of mainland Pacific Gateways such as San Francisco/Los Angeles -or even Denver to Tokyo whenever they get that Dreamliner 787 fixed. And if Larry really wants to see lots of boobs, then add a stopover to Yap (for the Manta Rays too!). Whatever is left in the travel budget, add a couple days stopover in Oahu/Pearl Harbor/Honolulu-Waikiki Beach on the way back to the mainland to gradually "re-acclimatize" back to hectic urban life. . .

Palau Visitors Authority - About Palau
Federated States of Micronesia - Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae
Guam travel guide - Wikitravel

Spa stuff in Palau:
http://www.palauppr.com/spa-en.html

http://www.samstours.com/
http://www.dive-truklagoon.com/