Dive "resorts" with dorm-style accommodations?

[drbill]

I enjoy dive travel as a backpacker, living in dormitory-style accommodations so I can spend my money on the diving itself rather than a fancy room in which my eyes would be closed most of the time anyway.

I am looking for dive "resorts" and operations with nearby dorm-style accommodations on the Caribbean. I plan a 3-4 month trip traveling to many different locations. Anyone have any recommendations?

TIA,

Dr. Bill

 

[EBS]

DB -

It's not the Carib., but you might think about a stop-over in NC's Morehead City. A few of the operators have bunkhouses (check out Olympus Dive Center for one).

Great diving. Vis and temps are great in-season. Waters almost always rough, as this area is on the southern end of the Outer Banks.

 

[Doc]

How about a rental space of a hammock? They got 'em in the West End district of Roatan.

Looking at Gran Roque (Los Roques, Vz), I would figure they gottem there as well, dunno.

 

[caymaniac]

Not the Carribean, but Australia would certainly fit your requests. We were in Cairns in June and July and will tell you that a very large percentage of people in Cairns were....backpaking and hosteling. Cairns was a great place to "base" from
and there was alot to do besides diving.
The rate of exchange was alot better than the Carribean, the big draw back would be the long flight

Dive dreams are wet dreams
Caymaniac

p.s. the diving was wayyyyy better there as well :boom:

 

[drbill]

Did the Cairns backpacking/hostel/GBR diving scene 2 1/2 years ago. It was great fun. Would love to go again and add the Coral Sea this time (not enough time last trip). Too bad more dive locations don't offer such reasonable accommodations.

Dr. Bill

 

[caymaniac]

drbill once bubbled...
Too bad more dive locations don't offer such reasonable accommodations.

Dr. Bill

I've never been to anywhere that had accomodations like Cairns except maybe places where there wasn't any diving. Jackson Hole is the only other place I've been in the U.S. that had the hostel- backpack thing, and then there's always Europe...
......but then that's no dive location.
Seems like Bonaire would be a canadate.


Caymaniac :boom:

 

[drbill]

I encountered hostels or reasonably priced backpacker accommodations in Thailand (several locations including Koh Tao and Koh Phi Phi), Australia, and Tahiti (Moorea).

I'm approaching the age where I'll need better quarters, but until then I intend to travel cheaply and see/dive more!

Dr. Bill

 

[Ian Binnie]

This is not the answer to the exact question posted, but you're probably better off in SE Asia for a long trip like that. Adequate and quite inexpensive accommodation can be found in most places, and the diving is generally far better and much cheaper than the Carribbean (except for the fish-bombed areas, of course). There seem to be a lot of safe and cooperative dive concessions run by ex-pats. Good spots that I been to include: Indonesia (Manado), Thailand (Similans and elsewhere), and Philippines (Bohol area). E-mail me if you want more details. My experience is that many places are "discovered" and then overrun by backpackers/cheapo tourists at internet speed (ie. Ko Tao, Thailand), so you have to be careful with older recommendations. If Asian Diver is still being published, that's a decent resource. I was quite impressed with Australia's Barrier Reef as well, but that trip (Mike Ball) was a whole lot more expensive. I recall that my per-dive cost in Bohol, in contrast, was about U.S. $15.

 

[scubajoe]

Utila has places like that. Lots and lots of backpackers there. And the diving is great too!

Joe