Diving on a budget - your tips?

[ls1dreams]

Drive down to NC stay in the Olympus bunkhouse for less than $50/night. Walking distance to dive center and nightlife

Definitely have considered NC, but it seems most of the interesting dives are fairly deep wreck dives. Kind of want some more practice before getting into those.

 

[gypsyjim]

Definitely have considered NC, but it seems most of the interesting dives are fairly deep wreck dives. Kind of want some more practice before getting into those.

A wise diver knows and respects his limits.

 

[tkaelin]

From DC you have lots of options. I have done a number of long weekend trips due to work time constraints. GC is a good choice as you should be able to get good airfares on nonstop flights. I liked going down to GC and staying at Oceanfrontiers purchasing their dive package. You can get a lot of boat diving in a short period of time. You can do 2 tank am and pm for 4 dives a day. Rates are reasonable (not cheap) but you should be saving on airfare. Car, diving, breakfast all included and your room will have a full kitchen. OF is one of the best ops on the island and offer up some of the best diving.

 

[2airishuman]

Hi all,

While I'm not hurting for money, I like to save up my PTO for long vacations every year. I'm looking for ways to do some quick trips to dive on over 3-4 day weekends. Since it will be a limited amount of time, I don't want to spend excessive amounts of money on short trips.

Don't overlook local shore dives. They are a great way to build experience and skills without spending much money, and you can do them on a weekend or a weekday evening.

Rental car: Any locations where I wouldn't need one? Again as a solo traveler it means I can't split this expense with someone

Coz, GC, Bonaire, probably others.

- Diving: Not much I can do here, though I might be able to negotiate rates in advance online to get costs down or combine with housing. I do plan on buying my basic gear at least so I can avoid rental fees (mask/computer/maybe fins). Don't plan on purchasing a BCD/reg though.

Go to locations that have shore diving. It's cheaper.

I buy my gear used and service it myself. Not for everyone but it works for me.

Any housing tips? Or solo people on here that might want to do some short trips to split housing on a 3-4 day weekend to either the FL keys, cozumel, bahamas, turks & caicos, roatan, etc? Grand cayman is also a SW route but that location is pricier I think

Only advice I have is look to the off season. Generally the USA summer months are cheapest.

 

[KathyV]

If you can manage a week you might consider a Blackbeard's liveaboard cruise out of Nassau. There's no single supplement fee and it's only $995 for a week - and that includes food, accommodations, beer, wine, and rum punch, and up to 19 dives. The accommodations are very basic and dormitory style but it's a lot of diving for the money.

Blackbeard's Cruises - Scuba Diving Liveaboards at a fantastic price.

 

[diversteve]

It's not great diving - not bad but often not the clearest - but Myrtle Beach is about 6hrs drive from DC straight down I95. Coastal works out of the north end of town which saves another 30-45mins. vs. the other operator.

No flight restrictions and you should be able to find inexpensive lodging off the beach. I'd want a car but there are local shuttles for part of the non-dive activities. Myrtle Beach Scuba Diving - Coastal Scuba

There the further out the ride, the better the visibility - usually deeper also. The gulf stream warms the area from mid-summer on - I dove in a t-shirt. Occasionally on some of the wrecks there are Sand Tigers. Almost all wreck diving and since it's flat/sandy for miles all the fish life congregates around them.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Firstly, since we are in the same area so I would invite you to join me and my buddies for a North Carolina trip. People overlook NC as a dive destination but there is hardly a place in the world that combines big animals and wrecks in the same place like NC does. Accommodation is dirt cheap as well because we share rooms. For a 3 days trip NC is the best option.

If you are hell bent upon using air miles then Bonaire, Roatan and Cozumel are hard to beat. In Bonaire you do not need a boat so hotel and truck is all you will pay for. Happy Holiday Homes is one of the cheaper options there and they are pretty decent. You have to purchase a dive package will have tanks and stuff and you are set for a week. Roatan has options that are expensive like Cocoview and Anthoney's Key and then it has budget options like Splash dive inn for half the price of the above two. I have not been to Cozumel but there are people here who can explain the options in Coz better than I can.

Lets think of NC first.

 

[KathyV]

Don't overlook local shore dives. They are a great way to build experience and skills without spending much money, and you can do them on a weekend or a weekday evening...Coz, GC, Bonaire, probably others...Go to locations that have shore diving. It's cheaper...Only advice I have is look to the off season. Generally the USA summer months are cheapest.

I agree that shore diving is cheaper and builds great experience, but the OP will probably be traveling alone and will likely need to buddy up with someone for shore dives - and it isn't always easy to find a buddy on the spot. You also need to rent a vehicle to get the most out of shore diving and that adds some expense.

Also when traveling alone, the single supplements charged by many dive resorts and liveaboards can really increase the costs. OP, check out trips offered by local dive shops to see if you can arrange a trip and find a buddy - but they are usually week long trips.

We also like to travel during off-season because destinations are less crowded, prices are cheaper, and the water is warmer, but be aware that you run a higher risk of storms and hurricanes during the off season months. We buy trip insurance but that adds expense.

Far south in Bonaire and Curacao, there is less risk of a tropical storm - but that's a long way to go for a weekend - I suggest trying for a week if you are going to travel so far. Keep in mind that the "wait to fly after diving" rule will be in effect, so if you only go for 4 days you will spend much time traveling and waiting to fly and will probably only get to dive for a day or a day and a half, 2 days at the most.

 

[Nation of Heat]

It won't work for a long weekend, but if you ever have a week to spare....hard to beat Roatan for fantastic diving on a budget. The only part of Roatan that's expensive is the airfare....so if you've got miles for that, you'll be in great shape. In fact it's one of the best ways to use miles, as you can get a $600-700RT flight for 30-35K miles in most cases. Once you get there you'll find plenty of low cost hotels (Try Chillies, Arco Iris or Coconut Tree to start), cheap diving, cheap food and absolutely zero need for a car.

 

[Dan]

I spent last weekend in Jupiter to dive under Blue Heron Bridge (BHB) & 3-tank boat diving in Jupiter reef. I rent a tank from Force-E for $10 to dive under BHB. The boat dive was with Scuba Works to see Goliath Grouper aggregation, which usually happens around August- September. So you still have time to see them in the next 4-5 weeks. See my video of one of the reef, below.

Either Force-E or Scuba Works can give you their special rate if you stay in Best Western for $75/night including breakfast.