Hi everyone, I need a little advice
I live in Toronto so most of my diving here has been fresh water wrecks. I did a few days of diving in Dahab, Egypt and in Zanzibar, Tanzania on past trips but the diving was a tiny slice of a 4 month trip. I'd like to do some -diving- trips in the next year while my wife is on maternity leave.. I've done a lot of reading on here, it seems the best diving is from liveaboards but at this stage of my life that won't be possible as I travel with my wife, infant and mother and father (eager babysitters). We can't travel during the summer because of other commitments.. I'd like to go somewhere this winter and then again in the fall. So let me know what you think, these are what I've picked as winter options but feel free to suggest otherwise:
A. Head the the Bahamas for 7-10 days, in Nassau do the shark feeding dive, dive the ray of hope wreck, do the DPV wall flying dive, maybe check out pumpkin path and southwest reefs. Hop over to Grand Bahama, do a day trip to Tiger Beach, wreck dive Theo's Wreck and Sea Star II. I'm assuming the Bahamas would be enjoyable for my parents?
B. Take a 7 day Carnival Cruise to Roatan, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Belize City. Could dive in Roatan and Cozumel, get a taste for it. And do the sting ray dive and Kittiwake wreck dive in Grand Cayman, and check out the Mayan ruins in Belize. Then hop over to Nassau or Grand Bahama for 3 days of diving, shark dive, etc... None of us have ever been on a cruise though my wife and I have travelled all over the world, we avoid tours and always do it DIY so the concept of a cruise is pretty much the opposite of how we like to travel but at the same time I think my parents might enjoy it.. so if they're happy and I can get some diving in on the shore days plus a couple of days in the Bahamas aferwards it could be an ideal compromise for everyone
Hopefully it's not too much of a gong show to get in a nice two tank dive in Roatan, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Another plus is that it is a way for us to get a taste of a few different places in the carribean since we've never been anywhere down south.
And this what I've picked as our options for a fall trip:
C. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, for the beaches and diving but also for the great hiking on Kauai and the Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. I like how well rounded it is, we love hiking. The Manta Ray dive on the big island looks great, snorkeling with dolphins in Kealakekua Bay, etc.. and Kauai seems interesting with lava tubes and turtles, etc.. but the main diving draw is obviously Ni'ihau. Because we can't go in the summer and the Ni'ihau season is only may-oct basically the only time we could go is September. Hawaii seems like a place where everyone could have a great time whether they were diving or not. We could do this trip in the winter but it would mean missing Ni'ihau, which seems like a don't miss kind of thing? If we went all the way out to Hawaii we'd probably do 1 week Big Island and 1 week Kauai.
D. Cozumel. Everyone on here seems to agree Cozumel is where it's at in the Carribean if a liveaboard isn't an option. We'd go for 7-10 days. I like the variety of spending a day cenote diving on the mainland and the whale shark snorkeling at Isla Mujeres sounds incredible. It seems like if we're going to go out to Cozumel that it would be a shame to go and miss the whale shark season, because who knows when we'd get the chance to return. Whale shark season is June 1 to Sept 15 so we'd have to go in early September to see and do it all. But how would Cozumel be for the non divers in the group? I've read it described as barren vegetation wise? Like hawaii this IS a trip we could do in the winter but we'd miss the whale sharks.. which also seems like a don't miss kind of thing?
I know this is a long post but any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
I live in Toronto so most of my diving here has been fresh water wrecks. I did a few days of diving in Dahab, Egypt and in Zanzibar, Tanzania on past trips but the diving was a tiny slice of a 4 month trip. I'd like to do some -diving- trips in the next year while my wife is on maternity leave.. I've done a lot of reading on here, it seems the best diving is from liveaboards but at this stage of my life that won't be possible as I travel with my wife, infant and mother and father (eager babysitters). We can't travel during the summer because of other commitments.. I'd like to go somewhere this winter and then again in the fall. So let me know what you think, these are what I've picked as winter options but feel free to suggest otherwise:
A. Head the the Bahamas for 7-10 days, in Nassau do the shark feeding dive, dive the ray of hope wreck, do the DPV wall flying dive, maybe check out pumpkin path and southwest reefs. Hop over to Grand Bahama, do a day trip to Tiger Beach, wreck dive Theo's Wreck and Sea Star II. I'm assuming the Bahamas would be enjoyable for my parents?
B. Take a 7 day Carnival Cruise to Roatan, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Belize City. Could dive in Roatan and Cozumel, get a taste for it. And do the sting ray dive and Kittiwake wreck dive in Grand Cayman, and check out the Mayan ruins in Belize. Then hop over to Nassau or Grand Bahama for 3 days of diving, shark dive, etc... None of us have ever been on a cruise though my wife and I have travelled all over the world, we avoid tours and always do it DIY so the concept of a cruise is pretty much the opposite of how we like to travel but at the same time I think my parents might enjoy it.. so if they're happy and I can get some diving in on the shore days plus a couple of days in the Bahamas aferwards it could be an ideal compromise for everyone
Hopefully it's not too much of a gong show to get in a nice two tank dive in Roatan, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Another plus is that it is a way for us to get a taste of a few different places in the carribean since we've never been anywhere down south. And this what I've picked as our options for a fall trip:
C. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, for the beaches and diving but also for the great hiking on Kauai and the Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. I like how well rounded it is, we love hiking. The Manta Ray dive on the big island looks great, snorkeling with dolphins in Kealakekua Bay, etc.. and Kauai seems interesting with lava tubes and turtles, etc.. but the main diving draw is obviously Ni'ihau. Because we can't go in the summer and the Ni'ihau season is only may-oct basically the only time we could go is September. Hawaii seems like a place where everyone could have a great time whether they were diving or not. We could do this trip in the winter but it would mean missing Ni'ihau, which seems like a don't miss kind of thing? If we went all the way out to Hawaii we'd probably do 1 week Big Island and 1 week Kauai.
D. Cozumel. Everyone on here seems to agree Cozumel is where it's at in the Carribean if a liveaboard isn't an option. We'd go for 7-10 days. I like the variety of spending a day cenote diving on the mainland and the whale shark snorkeling at Isla Mujeres sounds incredible. It seems like if we're going to go out to Cozumel that it would be a shame to go and miss the whale shark season, because who knows when we'd get the chance to return. Whale shark season is June 1 to Sept 15 so we'd have to go in early September to see and do it all. But how would Cozumel be for the non divers in the group? I've read it described as barren vegetation wise? Like hawaii this IS a trip we could do in the winter but we'd miss the whale sharks.. which also seems like a don't miss kind of thing?
I know this is a long post but any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
