Retirement kick off.

[Sask]

Dye your hair silver blue, change 3 lanes at once with no signal, buy a stack of Lotto tickets and move to Hobe Sound Florida just down the road from West Palm Beach / Jupiter. It's cheap and predictable viz diving. All the Canada folks are here already !!

I think the water is a bit too chilly in January & February. All the Toronto folks are there, looking forward to no more Centre of the Universe peeps in my retirement lol.

 

[Sask]

Does your wife dive? I have two affordable suggestions on this side of the world but Don't go to Roatan if she doesn't,

On Roatan you should be able to rent a house for around2/3rds of your budget. The farther from the beach the cheaper. Boat Dives (it's all boat diving should be under 10/$300 if you book 2 months worth or so. Food can be street food to obe of the best restauarnts in Cental America - Ooloothoo.

It's a tropical island but I did not think the market prices were terrible - there are 2-3 large food stores in the French Harbor area, If you stay in/near the West End you can walk to everything except the markets and cabs are cheap. You could probably arrange for a daily pickup if you are a little inland - we had a van driver who picked up our group anytime we wanted to go across the island, I'd look in two areas, The West Ebd or Half Moon Bay on the linked websites. West Bay would also work. there's less there bu the beach is nicer. There's a daytime water taxi between the 2 areas - they're about 3 mi apart. With a car Sandy Bay Rentals are an option. You'll see alot of Lawson Rock properties which is a bice, newer community but about 5 miles up the coast from everything.
Long Term Rentals - Roatan Vacation Rentals & Property Management
Roatan Property Management and Vacation Rentals | Roatan Property Management and Vacation Rentals
I rented Sea Lodge from them. Nice house great kitchen about a 10 min walk to the West End. No beach it's on the ironshore.


Again Don't consider it if your wife does not dive - most of the non-dive attractions are pretty weak and she'll be bored,

Downsides for us from the west US - Flights are unreasonably high - around $800 rt.

And there is a kot of BUGS eveywhere, Mosquitoes, Sand Flies, Sand Fleas (they bite) and some I've never seen b4 caught in the bug zapper. DEET (Deep Woods Off) worked for us,

My other suggestion is Curacao. It's below the Hurricane Belt so you can go all year. To save money there are 60 shore dives along the west coast, most are nice beaches with on site dive shop and some food option. Downtown is the famous shopping area (there's two) nice restaurants all over and good markets including an outdoor one that sets up along the south side of the harbor in Willemstad.

Much of the better diving is in the quieter west side and you will need a car. Flights for us were very reasonable compared to other Carib destinations. www.curacao.com lists everything,
My buddy's wife was a native. she kept her house when they moved here. 3BR in a neighborhood about 5mi from downtown. Sherents it for $1500/mo. to along term renter. Some of the "Resort" areas like Lagun. Coral Estates, or Westpunt (about 45mins away) are very quiet at night yet all have dive operators.

I didn't word that well I guess, my wife will more than likely work one year longer than me and as she doesn't dive I thought a long stay dive trip would be a good plan. I hav e spent a couple of weeks in Curacao and 100% go there but I don't think my budget would work unless I found a smoking deal on a car and accommodations. I have been to Roatan as well, never considered it but I will add it to my list to research. Thanks a lot for the great input.

 

[SandyRobinson]

Any thoughts on Cozumel? You could break it up with a trip to the Tulum area for some cenote diving (and training if that is an interest) or a long bus ride to Belize. If your wife flies down for a visit, you could also meet in Cancun. Enjoy retirement!

 

[KathyV]

What other types of things do you enjoy on vacation? Do you like restaurants and beaches and seeing the sights or are you mostly interested in eating, sleeping, relaxing, and diving? Are you open to renting a car or do you want to be within walking distance of most things? What airport do you fly from? What water temp are you looking for in a winter vacation?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Any thoughts on Cozumel? You could break it up with a trip to the Tulum area for some cenote diving (and training if that is an interest) or a long bus ride to Belize. If your wife flies down for a visit, you could also meet in Cancun. Enjoy retirement!

I second this.

 

[Doc]

....of taking 6 – 10 weeks don’t need a JW Marriott....Budget between $5-10,000, any suggestions?

Once we get through your algebra, the very simple goal is: $1,000 per week, including food, bed and diving. That would be $145/day. You might get to walk past a Marriott carrying your luggage from the airport.

Diving costs, as we see from above (both real-life experience and internet exploring expertise), will cost you (with tip), maybe like $4o if you go super cheap. So, if you bang out 3 dives a day, that leaves $25 day for room and board.

Time to rethink your retirement plans. Dive for the next two years that she is still working, have her send you money.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I think he could do it in Bali.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Time to rethink your retirement plans. Dive for the next two years that she is still working, have her send you money.

Such partners exist in anything besides my fantasies?

Sir, if your wife agrees to such decadent enablement, I tip my hat to you but even more so to your wife.

Of course she could be smart about it... Send you on your way and then abandon your ass. That's what mine would do.

 

[diversteve]

Since you've been to Curacao/Roatan -Keep looking. Those are probably the least expensive options in the Caribbean that I know of.

What about Mexico. There seems to be a lot of Canadians in Cozumel on SB so I'm guessing reasonable flighs to both - I've seen WestJet mentioned. Coz is excellent diving and you could also make your way down the mainland diving along the way. There's a ferry from Coz to Cancun Plya so that should be reasonable. I believe flights to Cancunare more reasonable also - there's a lot of info on the "bag drag" from the Cancun airport to Coz in the Cozumel forum.

Plus see the Mayan ruins at Tulum and dive there as well. Even dive some Cenotes along the way, my buddy did from Cancun and they picked him up. And see the better ruins inland on non dive days.

I could also see the South Pacific, maybe Thailand but flights might take a bigger chunk of your budget.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Such partners exist in anything besides my fantasies?

Sir, if your wife agrees to such decadent enablement, I tip my hat to you but even more so to your wife.

Of course she could be smart about it... Send you on your way and then abandon your ass. That's what mine would do.

Sorry to hear that