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Rochester_Smitty

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Location
Rochester Hills, MI
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I am new to diving and will be obtaining my OW certification within a few months.

My wife and I will be having our 5th wedding anniversary next April and I would like to take her somewhere nice, maybe an all inclusive (maybe not). I would like the trip to be around a week long where I can dive in the morning and then spend the rest of the day with her. I am getting her to try snorkeling so we can do that in the afternoon so she feels I am not abandoning her.

I would like to know what everyone thinks would be a great place to go and why. Or is there a great travel company you work with that can tailor something for us.

Thanks!!
 
That is a little bit wide open and will elicit some really wide ranging answers.

Do you have any distance or price limits?
Are you interested in exploring a different culture a bit when not diving?
When not diving do you two want to be active, hiking and biking and zip lining? Or would you rather lay by the pool reading a good book?

Without knowing more people can recommend anything from Ft Lauderdale and the Keys, to Southern California, to Cozumel, or the Cayman's, or Fiji, or any of a hundred other places with prices ranging up to many thousands of dollars.

I am not a travel agent per se, but I do represent a great resort in Fiji and can help you with that area of the world. Just PM me if you are interested in that. Otherwise, you might want to think some more about what you two would be looking for and give the posters here some parameters to go by.
 
Hawaii sounds like good option for you. Lots of great topside activities to do with the wife. I'm partial to the Big Island, but you really can't go wrong with any of them.

St. Lucia is also a terrific island. Good diving in the south, lots to do on land in the afternoons. My wife and I stayed at Rendezvous Resort, near Castries. I'd highly recommend it, with the caveats that they mostly dive up north, which isn't as good as the diving in the south, and they don't have snorkeling right off the resort (too sandy). But it is an excellent resort, with a full slate of activities throughout the day and terrific food. Even better, look into somewhere like the Anse Chastanet resort, which is located at the south end of the island on a great reef. Good snorkeling and diving down there. Haven't stayed at the resort, but it gets good reviews.

I haven't been there, but it sounds like Grand Cayman might be a good option, too.

James
 
We really enjoy Maui. Great diving but also many land adventures to take part in as well.
 
Budget and travel time limitations would likely have a big impact on your decision. I am partial to Cozumel for great diving, great food (at the restaurants, NOT at most of the All-Inclusive Resorts), and value. If cost is a consideration, my opinion is that Cozumel could be your best value. I don't think that Cozumel could be said to have a lot to do topside, but there is snorkeling, beach clubs, Chankanaab Park, and other activities that could keep you busy for a week. I'd also suggest that you keep the wife happy by taking a day off from diving, take the ferry across to Playa Del Carmen, and rent a car to go down to Tulum to see the Mayan Ruins, or spend the day at Xel Ha. Grand Cayman is beautiful, but a lot more expensive. St. John's VI is beautiful, and there is a lot of good snorkeling in the National Park area, but is also going to cost more than Grand Cayman, and IMO, the diving is disappointing compared to Cozumel. I would NOT recommend St. Thomas (disappointing diving, expensive, and kind of grungy, unless you opt for a high-end All-Inclusive resort), and I've never been to St. Croix or the British Virgin Isles, so I really can't offer an opinion. Some people might object to Cozumel because it is all drift diving, but there are numerous dives that are very easy for beginners, and, once you get used to it and stop fighting the current, it is some of the easiest, most relaxing diving you can do. And Cozumel has, in my humble opinion, some of the best diving anywhere - great visibility, lush colorful reefs, amazing coral formations, and lots of interesting sea life. Hawaii is probably the best choice for range of topside activities, though I've heard that the diving can be more advanced than you might be prepared for. I don't think a newly certified diver really ought to be diving into lava tubes until he's got a lot more dives under his belt. Hawaii is also almost certainly going to be one of the more expensive options. There are lots of other choices in the Caribbean. Personally, given the travel time involved, I wouldn't spend 14 hours in the air to get to Fiji unless I could stay there two weeks, but that's your call.
 
Hi Rochester Smitty,

Take a look at Roatan & the Bay Islands while you're checking everything out. The diving is superb & the snorkeling just as good, it's rated as some of the best in the world. Roatan has accommodation at every level from hostels to high end resorts & the diving is probably the least expensive in the Caribbean. April is a great time to come here, the weather is excellent, it's our favorite month of the year. There are at least 30 dive operators on the island & dozens of resorts and Roatan has some of the best variety of things to do other than diving of any place in the Caribbean.

The biggest challenge our guests face is trying to balance diving with sailing, exploring, relaxing, and taking part in the many activities available. Even with all that, many people come here for a week & leave with no idea that 2/3 of the island is still undeveloped jungle and once you leave the tourist zone in the West End of the island you can spend days exploring the East End of the island, where much of the area does not even have roads & is only accessible by boat. The locals commute from village to village through channels cut through the mangroves, it is a complete contrast to the modern resorts & restaurants of the West End of the island.

We have traveled to many places in the world for both diving & non-diving vacations and have found few places that compare when it comes to a vacation that both the diver & his/her non-diving spouse will enjoy equally. It would be very difficult to find a better place to spend the morning diving & the afternoons snorkeling or land exploring. I have been diving since 1974 but my wife only started diving in 2005 and was very nervous at first, she didn't think she was going to get through her OW course! Now we are both PADI Instructors so anyone can catch the bug, they just need a gentle introduction to our great sport.

If you take a look at our website Zeppelin Dive & Sail | Roatan Live Aboard Sailing & Diving Charters it will give you a good starting place for information about Roatan & all the island has to offer. Even if you have no interest in our services please feel free to contact us with any questions about Roatan & the Bay Islands at zeppelinsail@gmail.com. We are more than happy to help anyone with questions about the area and we know almost all of the resorts & dive operators here & will give you our unbiased opinion. We are here to spread the word about what a great place Roatan is & welcome everyone to come & see for themselves.
 
Hi Rochester!

My boyfriend and I own a little scuba diving shop in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. We offer custom and personalized diving packages and courses, and can accommodate for your wife's needs to snorkeling. You can take a look at what other costumers had to say about us on TripAdvisor Blue Life - Playa del Carmen - Reviews of Blue Life - TripAdvisor

We both understand how your special other can feel when you leave for a full day of scuba diving. We can help you out with everything in the area, from hotel, transportation, restaurants, etc...

The Riviera Maya is a perfect place to vacation. Here you will find hundreds of miles/kilometers of white sanded beaches and turquoise waters.
here are thousands of activities to choose from to satisfy even the most adventurous appetites. Here you can find theme parks, ATVs, scuba diving, snorkeling, cave tours, parasailing, kite surfing, ancient Mayan ruins, and much more. It all depends on what kind of vacation you are looking for. There are a bunch of all inclusive options, beautifully situated along the beach.

If you do decide to come to this paradise we will be more than happy to help out with your vacation.
In the meantime, have a great time during your OW course. I am sure you will enjoy every bit of it and you will soon become addicted to the water.

Safe dives!
 
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