Thanks in advance for your patience with a long and meandering post. I know its a little pathetic to start thinking about the next next dive trip, when we are so excited to hit the Philippines in April.
However, we might be able to squeeze something in for early December this year (before the baby train!) and that leads me to start thinking about options. I have dug around a bit, but thought I would put it out there.
About us: Still pretty newer divers altho hoping to be around 100 dives when we return from PI (Anilao/PG) in May. We have been to Bonaire twice and really love the dive freedom, the abundance of fish life, the shallow, warm, easy diving. The food and setup are great. From Denver, its relatively easy to get to with United going through Houston.
Bonaire Pros:
-love the diving and still haven't hit many popular sites (not bored yet)
-easy to get to
-done 2x before so easy to plan and have expectations
Bonaire Cons:
- rainy season in December(went before in Oct and May/June), might be busy?
-done 2x before
-pretty much stuck with one week or two based on flights, somewhere in between is more ideal at this time of year
Based on this I tried to look at where might be comparably attractive to us at a similar price with better weather at that time of year. I think East Indo is out due to pricing of airfare. Came up with Thailand.
Thoughts? Seems like good choices would be Khao Lak combined with Andaman sea liveaboard - although I know its more pricey for Thailand it seems like from research that this is some of Thailand's best diving? Would probably be looking for 1-2 close locations for a 10-12 night trip ideally flying into Phuket.
I met a few people who have dove Thailand via Wicked diving and said they preferred Bonaire but I am not sure if that is just because of setup or the actual diving (back in 2011). It seems like Thailand diving is looked down on compared to Indo and PI, but I am not sure about compared to the Caribbean. Thailand's main con I see is the time to get there and back which I will see how much I mind that in two months when we go to PI. Also, I am unfamiliar with the area. Lastly, it sounds like the high season - maybe it will be too busy? The pros I see are chance to do a short liveaboard (never done one before), chance to see great soft coral, chance to go to a new place, and sounds like a good time of year for diving. Not sure but preliminary research suggests that I can probably do either 10-12 night trip to Thailand for about the same price as 14-15 night trip to Bonaire.
Love to hear from folks who have done both Bonaire and Thailand, folks who have done Bonaire in December (how bad is the weather), folks who have done PI and Thailand (how will they compare), folks who have lots of experience with Thailand and can tell me other pros/cons I haven't thought of yet. Also, if there is some other glaring choice in this price range, please let me know. Seems like the weather in Southern Leyte or Visayas can be dicey this time of year or might consider that, too.
However, we might be able to squeeze something in for early December this year (before the baby train!) and that leads me to start thinking about options. I have dug around a bit, but thought I would put it out there.
About us: Still pretty newer divers altho hoping to be around 100 dives when we return from PI (Anilao/PG) in May. We have been to Bonaire twice and really love the dive freedom, the abundance of fish life, the shallow, warm, easy diving. The food and setup are great. From Denver, its relatively easy to get to with United going through Houston.
Bonaire Pros:
-love the diving and still haven't hit many popular sites (not bored yet)
-easy to get to
-done 2x before so easy to plan and have expectations
Bonaire Cons:
- rainy season in December(went before in Oct and May/June), might be busy?
-done 2x before
-pretty much stuck with one week or two based on flights, somewhere in between is more ideal at this time of year
Based on this I tried to look at where might be comparably attractive to us at a similar price with better weather at that time of year. I think East Indo is out due to pricing of airfare. Came up with Thailand.
Thoughts? Seems like good choices would be Khao Lak combined with Andaman sea liveaboard - although I know its more pricey for Thailand it seems like from research that this is some of Thailand's best diving? Would probably be looking for 1-2 close locations for a 10-12 night trip ideally flying into Phuket.
I met a few people who have dove Thailand via Wicked diving and said they preferred Bonaire but I am not sure if that is just because of setup or the actual diving (back in 2011). It seems like Thailand diving is looked down on compared to Indo and PI, but I am not sure about compared to the Caribbean. Thailand's main con I see is the time to get there and back which I will see how much I mind that in two months when we go to PI. Also, I am unfamiliar with the area. Lastly, it sounds like the high season - maybe it will be too busy? The pros I see are chance to do a short liveaboard (never done one before), chance to see great soft coral, chance to go to a new place, and sounds like a good time of year for diving. Not sure but preliminary research suggests that I can probably do either 10-12 night trip to Thailand for about the same price as 14-15 night trip to Bonaire.
Love to hear from folks who have done both Bonaire and Thailand, folks who have done Bonaire in December (how bad is the weather), folks who have done PI and Thailand (how will they compare), folks who have lots of experience with Thailand and can tell me other pros/cons I haven't thought of yet. Also, if there is some other glaring choice in this price range, please let me know. Seems like the weather in Southern Leyte or Visayas can be dicey this time of year or might consider that, too.
