Bazaruto? Pemba? Maldives? Mauritius?

[sbloomer]

Hi all

Thinking about a diving trip next year, my (non-diving) wife and I are looking at a 6 to 10 day Indian Ocean island holiday.

My first thoughts were Bazaruto, but given our budget of R25000 (about US$4000) I was thinking of expanding the possibilities to maybe Pemba, the Maldives, the Seychelles or Mauritius.

While Bazaruto is probably first prize in terms of value for money, I was wondering if anyone had any comments on the other areas.

Thanks

 

[AndyT]

Hey Simon

Ever considered somewhere like Croatia . I did quite a bit of investigation and it sounded quite reasonable - will post you a link ot two when I can find them.I am considering going there myself after my November Moz trip .

Safe Diving

Andrew

 

[sbloomer]

Hey Simon

Ever considered somewhere like Croatia . I did quite a bit of investigation and it sounded quite reasonable - will post you a link ot two when I can find them.I am considering going there myself after my November Moz trip .

Safe Diving

Andrew

Never considered going diving there I must say....

I have contacted Hartleys and Simply Bookings and await their responses. I think Bazaruto or Zanzibar are top of our list. My wife doesn't dive and we have a pretty limited budget, so its a case of maximizing value.

Are you driving to Moz?

Simon

 

[AndyT]

Yup - going via Komatiepoort - leaving about the 17 th.
Probably staying at Tofo .


Andrew

 

[robcap]

I've been to Pemba in 2002.
I stayed at swahilidivers lodge. Wonderful atmosphere. Diving is AMAZING there.
Few people, warm water, good visibility. Misali Island is a must, and then the East Coast!!!!
BUT, there is not much to do for a non diver in Pemba, apart fighting moquitos )
I would choose Zanzibar. Maybe diving is a little less exciting but there a lot of things to do and to visit during surface interval.
Anyway give a look to www.swahilidivers.com

As far as Croatia is regarded, well I go there 2 per mont, so feel free to ask questions...
ciao
rob

 

[Washy]

Hi all

Thinking about a diving trip next year, my (non-diving) wife and I are looking at a 6 to 10 day Indian Ocean island holiday.

My first thoughts were Bazaruto, but given our budget of R25000 (about US$4000) I was thinking of expanding the possibilities to maybe Pemba, the Maldives, the Seychelles or Mauritius.

While Bazaruto is probably first prize in terms of value for money, I was wondering if anyone had any comments on the other areas.

Thanks

My wife an I learned to dive in Mauritius back in 2002. The island is very dependent on weather. Jun - Sep is a very changable time and the island gets a lot of storms. It rained constantly for two weeks (except for two days) when we were there in early July.

Diving aside for the moment, there is nothing apart from hotel resorts and sugar cane on the island. If you're the sort of holiday-maker that doesn't mind been stuck to your hotel whilst the staff do a bit of Cruise Ship karoke, you may find the lack of life outside of the hotels unimportant.

The South East coast suffers with harsh winds. When we were there, they closed the diving and all water sports and we finished our OW class on the otherside of the island just to get the requisite dives.

We were being task loaded with out new OW skills, so you could argue that I really wasn't paying that much attention to the fish, however:

Inside the barrier reef, vis is good, but the hard corals grow up to the surface, meaning snorkelling is a better option. Outside the reef, the currents are strong and the swell can be vomit inducing on bad weather days. Marine life is good though, I recall my log book being crammed with names from a 'Naturalist Dive'. From what I've seen about the Maldives though Mauritius is far, far behind both as a dive locale and a luxury resort.

Of the dives I've done since, I rate Bali, Cayman and Cozumel above Mauritius.

Have a good time!

 

[scubashooter]

I'd consider the Maldives first. If you want a nice resort to go with good diving, you cannot beat the atolls of Maldives for value in the indian ocean. I've been to Soneva Fushi, Kuredu and the Banyan Tree resorts. Cheapest is Kuredu but the wife will love Soneva or Banyan and won't miss you while you're underwater!
Seychelles(Aldabra in particular) probably has a bit better large creature list but that's liveaboard stuff. Never been on a resort there.
I agree with Zanzibar (particular Mnemba) as a great place for non-diving spouses too on a budget.
Diving in Croatia is more for wrecks. Fished out in many places and biodiversity is not great.

 

[sbloomer]

Well, we've settled for Pemba, and are in the throes of booking...
We'll be staying at Manta Reef Lodge about which I've heard lots of good things, the least of which is the fact that there are only 10 cabins....

We'll be there around the 13th January...

Thanks for all the advice, especially to Beck (aka wandernsoul)... On your advice, Tracey has been extremely helpful and very professional.

 

[wandernsoul]

Good to hear Tracey's helped you with your plans Simon. I am sooooo looking forward to my trip!! Bummer, I'll miss you by just about a week..... Let's hope we both have amazing dive and travel stories to tell once we return.

Cheers,
Beck