10 to 12 days cruise from end of january till end of february

[Freewillow]

Hi,

I am going to a liveaboard cruise twice per year but always during the winter. I hate the long and humid winters we have here in Belgium :depressed:and need to cut it with two sunny diving vacations :cool2:. Sofar we love to go to the red sea in November/December. It is a very cost effective destination for us, Europeans. The best cost effective cruise in February is clearly the Maldives for us, but we have been there 4 times. So I am looking for an alternative to the Maldives that would not cost an arm and a leg in the period end of January till begining of March at the latest. Thanks for any help/suggestion :kiss2:

 

[Hintermann]

Raja Ampat liveaboards are typically 10 to 12 days and January is not a bad time to go. (It might cost you an arm but I think you'll have a leg left for finning )

 

[Shasta_man]

The thing that put me off of winter trips is you end up traveling with a bunch of people who are sick and unconcerned about basic hygiene on a multi-thousand dollar trip which can be rendered useless by any problem with your sinuses. Kinda nerve wracking. Hope all of your trips are successful!

 

[Centrals]

1. Palau
2. Dive safari in Philippines(Sea Explorers)
3. Similan in Thailand and flight to Bankok/Phuket should be relatively cheap given the political turmoil over last couple of yrs.
4. Truk Lagoon(wrecks dive only).

 

[MichaelWallentin]

With so many destinations and different LOB's to choice from, it's hard to give you more specific advises based on your information'. Give us an idea of you budget (liveabord only) and be aware that air flights to some destinations does cost an arm and a leg. Tell us what you like to see. Manta Rays & Whale Sharks or Frog Fish and Sea Horses (or both). Diving in Thailand and to some part Burma is cheap but has been better. Raya Ampat and Komodo is getting more and more populare and the availability of boats getting bigger. Palau and Truk Lagoon are costly to fly to from Belgium. Consider the Carrabien as well. They are pretty unknown for the majority of European divers.

Michael