Dive cert. vacation

[outofofficebrb]

Budget friendly is important when you calculate flights lodging food and dive lessons. Hoping to keep the budget around 5000

Oh GOSH you will definitely come under that in Bahamas. We went for 10 days to Bimini, Grand Bahama, Freeport and did 6 days of diving (including tiger sharks at Tiger Beach and hammerheads in Bimini!). All in with airfare out there, puddle jumpers between the islands, food, drink, accommodations was $2K from California. Your diving expense will be a fraction of ours so I think you could do it WAY under $5K. And for the record....$5K is not my idea of budget but I am poor after all this diving.

 

[EricTheDood]

All in with airfare out there, puddle jumpers between the islands, food, drink, accommodations was $2K from California.

$2K for one or two people?

 

[outofofficebrb]

$2K for one or two people?

One. If only! Tiger Beach runs $400-550, hammerheads run $300. $700 for the two shark days alone per person was a chunk of the budget. So, if you back that out, it was about $1,300 a person for 10 days of hotel, food, lodging, airfare, and 8 tanks. Not bad, right?

 

[Youssef ElNahas]

Egypt will also definitely cost you under 5k. The currency was recently devaluated so everything is much cheaper! Tickets may be expensive but the course will only cost you ~€300 each including equipment and everything and the accommodation is essentially free if you don't insist on staying in a 5 star resort.

You can also easily arrange trips to Cairo, Luxor or any other city without coming close to exceeding your budget, or even Jerusalem and Petra in Jordan if you'll be staying in Sinai

Tourism used to be a large chunk of our economy but was badly hit after the revolution of 2011 and a lot of people's livelihoods depend on it. If you'd be interested I can help with recommending instructors, accommodation and dive sites

 

[FinnMom]

Gee, I absolutely love the Fla Keys even as a beach location. I also very much like being where there isn't 1500 other people on the same beach. I think you should go to the keys; so beautiful, so much history, watch people fishing on the old bridges, see people feeding tarpon from a dock, maybe go fish for your dinner, maybe take her out snorkeling or on a glass-bottom boat. The Keys are a really nice place!

I also can second that Egypt is very nice, but in all honesty flying that far from the USA to do only shore/day boat diving would break my heart. On the other hand your wife might enjoy the sun and scenery on a liveaboard, esp one with a jacuzzi (Emperor Elite for example). If she snorkels , she too might esp. enjoy a St Johns/Deep South trip.

 

[Chavodel8en]

For good budget diving + beach, the Yucatan is an option - Cancun, Playa del Carmen or anywhere along the Maya Riviera (Akumal, Tulum), depending on what level of development you prefer

Cozumel is of course the nearby premier dive destination, but your wife needs a beach -- for these same reasons (my wife is also a non-diver, budget), we chose Cancun & PdC for our last vacation. Both areas have nice beaches. Also, if you have extra days, you can visit ruins (Chichen Itza, Tulum, Coba, etc) or swim (or even dive) in the cenotes

Airfare has been cheap - We paid $450 round trip per person from Oakland in Dec. And you can always find budget lodgings throughout the Maya Riviera. There's also a lot of vrbo (short-term rental of individual homes/ condos, etc).

I only had I day of diving each in Cancun & PdC -- although it was more advanced diving. The marine life at the Cancun sites were especially nice - hopefully its the same at the OW sites. I cant really comment accurately on PdC diving (I didn't have great dives, but maybe due to other factors), but the beach and the town is much nicer than Cancun. I noticed in both locations there was a lot of certifications going on.

I would also plus one on Hawaii being an option, if flights are cheap from Wash, although lodging & food will be more expensive than the Yucatan. The diving Ive done off Oahu was very good. If you want to get away from Waikiki you can get a vrbo elsewhere on the island, as there are no hotels. However, if you do that, you'll likely need a car.

Hope you enjoy your certification!

 

[j_t_sloan]

For good budget diving + beach, the Yucatan is an option - Cancun, Playa del Carmen or anywhere along the Maya Riviera (Akumal, Tulum), depending on what level of development you prefer

Cozumel is of course the nearby premier dive destination, but your wife needs a beach -- for these same reasons (my wife is also a non-diver, budget), we chose Cancun & PdC for our last vacation. Both areas have nice beaches. Also, if you have extra days, you can visit ruins (Chichen Itza, Tulum, Coba, etc) or swim (or even dive) in the cenotes

Airfare has been cheap - We paid $450 round trip per person from Oakland in Dec. And you can always find budget lodgings throughout the Maya Riviera. There's also a lot of vrbo (short-term rental of individual homes/ condos, etc).

I only had I day of diving each in Cancun & PdC -- although it was more advanced diving. The marine life at the Cancun sites were especially nice - hopefully its the same at the OW sites. I cant really comment accurately on PdC diving (I didn't have great dives, but maybe due to other factors), but the beach and the town is much nicer than Cancun. I noticed in both locations there was a lot of certifications going on.

I would also plus one on Hawaii being an option, if flights are cheap from Wash, although lodging & food will be more expensive than the Yucatan. The diving Ive done off Oahu was very good. If you want to get away from Waikiki you can get a vrbo elsewhere on the island, as there are no hotels. However, if you do that, you'll likely need a car.

Hope you enjoy your certification!

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about Mexico because of the low rates but is it safe ?

 

[j_t_sloan]

Gee, I absolutely love the Fla Keys even as a beach location. I also very much like being where there isn't 1500 other people on the same beach. I think you should go to the keys; so beautiful, so much history, watch people fishing on the old bridges, see people feeding tarpon from a dock, maybe go fish for your dinner, maybe take her out snorkeling or on a glass-bottom boat. The Keys are a really nice place!

I also can second that Egypt is very nice, but in all honesty flying that far from the USA to do only shore/day boat diving would break my heart. On the other hand your wife might enjoy the sun and scenery on a liveaboard, esp one with a jacuzzi (Emperor Elite for example). If she snorkels , she too might esp. enjoy a St Johns/Deep South trip.

What beaches did you like it the keys? We usually like to try to stay at a vacation rental house or condo with quick access to a beach. i've only been to Key Largo for a snorkeling trip and didn't have any time to explore check out beaches. I'm totally with you on the uncrowded part...

 

[Streydog]

I am heading to Roatan on Saturday, Where I am staying offers a 7 night stay plus OW certification for just over $800 tax included. That is with AC as a single. Not a fancy AI though and airfare, which is quite high, is not included. Flight expense would be hard for a large family.

Best bang for the buck I have found is Cozumel. Fly to Cancun for best airfare then stay in hotel in town. Sure the beaches are not like Playa but there are some decent beaches and the diving makes up for it. There are a few miles of "secluded " beach on the back side of the island. It is hard to say what is safe, I feel safer walking around Cozumel in the middle of the night than I do many cities in Texas during the evening.

 

[j_t_sloan]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Leaning heavily towards the Bahamas right now. Looking at Nassau or Freeport. Which one has better diving ?