Planning an affordable diving holiday

[60plus]

Funchal, Madeira. Pestana Carlton or Quinta Penha Franca. Both hotels have dive operators on site that get excellent reviews on Trip advisor. Easy to check hotel prices on "Love Holidays" and both dive operators have their own website. I am returning again this Autumn when the sea is at its warmest, about 23 degrees.

 

[KathyV]

Hi all

I'm new to this site, so apologies if I'm posting in the wrong forum.

I'm want to plan a trip somewhere! Situation is that I'm an AOW diver, though not been for a while. I've joined a local club and am getting back into the swing of diving again, and love it! My daughter (age 12) is doing the OW course, she's a complete natural underwater and an extremely competent swimmer. We both go snorkelling in the sea when the sun comes out.

I have been diagnosed with cancer, so I'm a bit keen to do a dive trip with my daughter before I can't any more. Our key issue is budget - money is very tight at the moment due to reduced work hours. What I'm asking all you wise people for is advice on affordable venues.

First up, travelling is not an issue. In fact, if it has an element of adventure, all the better. It suits our lifestyle! Political climate is not a concern, nor is challenging travel. What I am looking for are recommendations for somewhere for a week's diving at a dive centre that can provide the gear and boats. Considerations price wise are:

• gear hire and dive cost
• accommodation
• living costs (food etc)

I have previously spent a week diving on Koh Tao which fits the bill very well. Are there any more suitable places that you think might work well for us?

Many thanks in advance, and I look forward to your suggestions.

cheers
Graham

I just remembered that a 12 year old junior ow diver will probably only be allowed to dive to a depth of 60ft, so I don't think that the liveaboard suggestions are a good idea for right now. I am sure that most dive ops will work with you to find the best options but it might be best if you could find a place where the reefs start shallow, around 30 or 40 ft. Little Cayman comes to mind but I am sure that there must be other options as well.

 

[Grazzum]

Hi everyone

Thank you all so much for all your suggestions. Great site! Plenty of foo for thought there, and it has raise some additional issues I hadn't thought of, such as possible limited depth dives for a 12 year old. I'll need to look further at that one.

Other stuff would be that school holidays are not an issue, we can go any time. Liveaboards, although lovely, are not my thing. I guess the price and depth issues nail that as well. Our budget is aimed at somewhere around £1,000 each, though accepting we may have to go to £1,200. That would be for diving, gear, acc., flights, living, insurance etc. Basically total budget. Oh - and I do like warm! Also, I'm allowing two weeks for the trip, so minimum one full week of diving and some days either side for casual travel.

I am soooo itching to get something sorted and go!

Many thanks again
Graham

 

[DuTemplar]

Travelzoo UK has some pretty good deals on it from time to time. Recent cheap packages to Cyprus, Malta, Turkey (it was a Black Sea resort that also had diving in the area), Egypt and Cape Verde come to mind. Finding a good deal to an area is a great start... Packages originating from here in Qatar are horribly overpriced, so I've been using some other sites as workarounds.

If you see a flight to Zanzibar, take it and hit Nungwi up.

 

[Edward3c]

Hi Graham,

Welcome to SB, a great resource of knowledge.

Requirements: adventure, kit supply, diving with your daughter.

Suggestion: ReefCI in Belize. They run conservation type holiday trips on a remote island. Unlike othe organisations they’re upfront about it. They can provide the kit and further training, if required. The only down side is their on the island Monday to Friday, so if doing more than one week you need to add in the cost of staying on the mainland weekends. However, you then have the opportunity to sightsee on mainland Belize.

I’ve been out with them a few times.

An alternative is DJL on Ko Lipe, Thailand I’ve just returned with an all in cost from Glasgow of £2k per person.

Is your new club a BSAC one? If so most also organise overseas diving trips.

 

[UFOrb]

Other stuff would be that school holidays are not an issue, we can go any time.

Ok, well that’ll certainly provide more flexibility in terms of suitable locations and should make flights and possibly accommodation cheaper if you go outside the school holiday times!
If you do head to SE Asia then bear in mind the monsoon season. The better diving in Thailand, for example, is on the Andaman side, but generally the best time of year to dive that side is in the dry season between Nov to April, with many of the best Andaman sites closed during May-Oct.

Also, in terms of diving costs, some dive centres will quote prices that include rental gear (usually offering a reduction for having you own). This certainly seems to be the case in Thailand in my experience. Other places will charge extra per item per day for rental gear.

With your daughter in mind, it may be an idea to go somewhere that has some shore diving. Shore dives also tend to be cheaper.

 

[UFOrb]

Here’s link to Bubbles resort, Perhentians that I mentioned in my first response: The Resort

They also do conservation work. The beach is used by turtles to lay eggs. Staff at the centre protect the eggs from poachers until the hatchlings pop out.
On our first night there we saw a turtle laying eggs out of season, so a wonderful surprise. The next night we helped release some hatchlings. Apart from the marine life, we also saw dusky leaf monkeys feeding in the trees, a flying lemur and monitor lizards around the resort.
The resort is on an isolated beach with the only access by boat. We spent around 4 nights there, then moved to the other side of the island for a few more days.

 

[divinh]

To me, it seems the bulk of your budget will go toward travel costs to get to the destination (like SE Asia), or spent less to get there (like Red Sea), and more for the accommodations and diving.

My experience with Koh Tao is $590 USD return to Bangkok from the US West Coast, then another $180 return to Koh Tao via flight/bus/ferry package ticket. The hostel was $8/day. Food was about $15/day. Boat diving, with gear included, went down to about $15/dive when I paid for a 10-day pass and did every dive offered, from 2-5/day.

My 16 day trip, inclusive of three days in Bangkok and World Nomad travel insurance was $1600 in 2018.

 

[KenGordon]

Hi everyone

Thank you all so much for all your suggestions. Great site! Plenty of foo for thought there, and it has raise some additional issues I hadn't thought of, such as possible limited depth dives for a 12 year old. I'll need to look further at that one.

Other stuff would be that school holidays are not an issue, we can go any time. Liveaboards, although lovely, are not my thing. I guess the price and depth issues nail that as well. Our budget is aimed at somewhere around £1,000 each, though accepting we may have to go to £1,200. That would be for diving, gear, acc., flights, living, insurance etc. Basically total budget. Oh - and I do like warm! Also, I'm allowing two weeks for the trip, so minimum one full week of diving and some days either side for casual travel.

I am soooo itching to get something sorted and go!

Many thanks again
Graham

Marsa Shagra scuba diving resort in Marsa Alam, Hurghada, Egypt

Fits the price etc. A downside might be what to do non diving either end. I think they do have some excursions but suspect they involve a lot of time in their bus. Best just to do more diving

 

[KathyV]

Hi everyone

Thank you all so much for all your suggestions. Great site! Plenty of foo for thought there, and it has raise some additional issues I hadn't thought of, such as possible limited depth dives for a 12 year old. I'll need to look further at that one.

Other stuff would be that school holidays are not an issue, we can go any time. Liveaboards, although lovely, are not my thing. I guess the price and depth issues nail that as well. Our budget is aimed at somewhere around £1,000 each, though accepting we may have to go to £1,200. That would be for diving, gear, acc., flights, living, insurance etc. Basically total budget. Oh - and I do like warm! Also, I'm allowing two weeks for the trip, so minimum one full week of diving and some days either side for casual travel.

I am soooo itching to get something sorted and go!

Many thanks again
Graham

Scuba can be an expensive sport, especially if (like many of us) you like to travel to exotic locations to dive; but you can always look for sales and other savings, travel off-season, etc.

Gear is expensive both to buy or to rent, but I'm guessing that young divers outgrow their gear pretty quickly. You might find some used gear at a cheap price for your daughter, and for yourself too, if you need new gear. Check with your local dive shop and online.

Some places, like the Cobalt Coast resort that I mentioned, require divers to have computers and will loan them to you at no charge - so that's one less expense.