4 day diving vacation???

[Airwin]

Hi,
I'm new to the group. Been diving for about 5 years. I go on an annual solo diving trip but can only leave the family for 5 days or so. I'm in Toronto, Canada. Have been to Cozumel and Jamaica the last few years and would consider Cozumel again but can't seem to find a 4 day trip. Also considering Florida keys but worried about the weather and Costa Rica but mixed reviews on diving. Would also do cancun... ideally a nice resort with a dive shop. Any suggestions? Looking to go in january

 

[northernone]

Would you consider putting together your own trip? Flights, per night all inclusive and 4 days diving. Cozumel is high on my list of recommendations.

 

[Dogbowl]

Easiest flight-wise would be to fly into Cancun. Air Canada and other airlines have multiple trips per week to Cancun from Toronto. You could either stay in Playa del Carmen and do some boat dives locally and cenote dives from there, or do the bag drag via ferry or puddle jumper to Cozumel.

I prefer Playa or Coz over the Florida Keys. Just a personal opinion.

Update: AC actually has DAILY nonstop flights to Cancun in January, and multiple fights to Coz.

 

[Hoag]

With only 5 days away from the family, it is tough. You are pretty much committed to non-stops out of YYZ. Even with that, you will likely only get in 3 days of diving. (Fly down 1st day. Dive days 2, 3 & 4. Fly back day 5.) Have you considered Nassau? Both Air Canada and Westjet fly non-stops YYZ - NAS. From there, you can book a nice hotel (I am staying at the British Colonial Hilton on my upcoming trip) and let Stuart Cove pick you up and drop you off at the hotel. You can make the arrangements with Stuart Cove ahead of time and then relax and let the trip unfold. As long as you are out of the water by noon on Day 4, you should be fine since most flights back to Toronto are in the afternoon. Depending on the days you select, however, you might end up flying Air Canada one way and WestJet the other,

 

[diver0008]

I'd say Cozumel or Grand Cayman. Quite sure Air Canada has direct flights to both in high season.

 

[LizSpinks]

If you're at all interested in cenote diving, you can fly direct into Cancun from YYZ. Stay anywhere along the Mayan Riviera (Cancun, Playa, Akumal, Tulum, etc) and get to plenty of cenotes quite easily. You can get a day of open water in too, but while fine, probably won't quite measure up to Cozumel. You may be able to find resort deals for that short length of time with expedia. (You may need to organize hotel transfers yourself, but easy with a google search.)

 

[drrich2]

Couple of options.

1.) Go do a specific dive that’s meaningful to you. Shark feed diving out of Jupiter, or a double dip dive on the Oriskany wreck are examples, but season matters and I’m not opining whether those specific ones would work for you. I think the lemon sharks are in Jupiter in January, so you could probably see the diving with an op. that doesn’t feed if that’s your preference. Visit Blue Heron Bridge for a dive while you’re in the neighborhood? Oriskany trips can get blown out by bad weather.

2.) Take the family in question to a place with diving plus other stuff. That way you don’t leave them so long at a stretch. Don’t take more people than you can pack into one hotel room and look for cheaper flights. Make it a week trip.

Richard.