AggieDiver
Contributor
Help!
I am starting to gather up some ideas for a 20th anniversary trip with my wife sometime around August 2015. I have always had a desire to dive the South Pacific after many years of diving the Caribbean. The problem has always been lack of vacation time or lack of available funds (or both). Right now, looking into 2015, I think we might have both at the same time for the first time in a long while. Let me preface what we would prefer by saying that our favorite place in the Caribbean is Little Cayman Beach Resort, because of how professional and well equipped their dive operation is, how easy the diving is, and how quiet and peaceful the island is. We are not the type looking for casinos, dancing, barhopping, etc. nor are we the type who thinks it is fun to sit on the beach elbow to elbow with several hundred of our newest acquaintances.
With that in mind, I am looking for recommendations for places that meet some or all of the following preferences:
Land-based - I unfortunately get seasick fairly easily, and don't want to spend my 20th anniversary trip puking over the rail of a liveaboard and not sleeping well.
Great Diving - I don't want to travel around the world to see the same thing that we can see with a 2 hour flight to the Caribbean. I don't need to see something spectacular on every dive, but I have always heard how lush and healthy the reefs in the South Pacific are compared to the Caribbean and would like someplace that exemplifies that. Seeing a Manta or two to get that off my bucket list wouldn't hurt either.
Easy Diving - I don't mind some current and drift diving, but my wife is a photographer, and I am her faithful spotter, so we would prefer places where we can dive our own pace and not be rushed to keep up with a group. I am also a bit of an air hog at times, so places where you can see the good stuff without spending the entire dive at 80-100' would be preferred. I don't mind going deep or diving in heavy current for one or two dives to see something special...but don't want to spend 7-10 days of diving doing that for every dive.
Relaxing - I would prefer an all-inclusive resort with a beach. We both work hard stressful jobs, so getting to lay around in a hammock or beach chair in the shade and read or just do nothing after the diving is done is something we both really cherish in a vacation. We both do sometimes like to snorkel off the beach or dive dock, so a place where that can be done would be awesome. Isolated is good too. I really detest sitting in a hammock trying to fend off beach vendors trying to sell me stuff. I love seeing local culture, but I am just not the type that wants to spend every night going into town looking for a place to eat and worrying about how much a meal will cost.
Safe Dive Operation - I know that any time you travel to a remote island, you can't expect a fully staffed hospital in the dive shack. But what I would like to see is a dive operator that believes in safety and has all the equipment one would expect in working order, as well as staff trained to use it. The Reef Divers operation on Little Cayman is the model of this in my mind, although I am not sure anybody in the world is as committed to safety as they are. If there is somebody in the South Pacific who is, I would like to know about them!
Good Food - We are not picky or pretentious about our meals, but would prefer some place all inclusive with a decent selection of food to choose from.
Air Conditioning - Unfortunately, I have Multiple Sclerosis, and one of the curses that comes from that is a low tolerance for heat. I can deal with it on dive boats and to some degree while laying around on the beach...but at some point I need to just be able to get inside and cool off for a bit.
Affordable - We will have a reasonable budget, but we are flying from the states, so a significant chunk will go for airfare. We would prefer to find a place that meets all of the preferences above , but can make some concessions to get most of what we want if we can avoid spending a fortune to get it. I want this to be a special trip, but I don't want to spend the next 20 years of our marriage trying to pay for it.
So there it is...any thoughts on where to start looking? I have heard good things about Wananavu and Wakatobi, but don't really know much about how well either of them meet our preferences. Where else are we missing? Who else should I look into? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
I am starting to gather up some ideas for a 20th anniversary trip with my wife sometime around August 2015. I have always had a desire to dive the South Pacific after many years of diving the Caribbean. The problem has always been lack of vacation time or lack of available funds (or both). Right now, looking into 2015, I think we might have both at the same time for the first time in a long while. Let me preface what we would prefer by saying that our favorite place in the Caribbean is Little Cayman Beach Resort, because of how professional and well equipped their dive operation is, how easy the diving is, and how quiet and peaceful the island is. We are not the type looking for casinos, dancing, barhopping, etc. nor are we the type who thinks it is fun to sit on the beach elbow to elbow with several hundred of our newest acquaintances.
With that in mind, I am looking for recommendations for places that meet some or all of the following preferences:
Land-based - I unfortunately get seasick fairly easily, and don't want to spend my 20th anniversary trip puking over the rail of a liveaboard and not sleeping well.
Great Diving - I don't want to travel around the world to see the same thing that we can see with a 2 hour flight to the Caribbean. I don't need to see something spectacular on every dive, but I have always heard how lush and healthy the reefs in the South Pacific are compared to the Caribbean and would like someplace that exemplifies that. Seeing a Manta or two to get that off my bucket list wouldn't hurt either.
Easy Diving - I don't mind some current and drift diving, but my wife is a photographer, and I am her faithful spotter, so we would prefer places where we can dive our own pace and not be rushed to keep up with a group. I am also a bit of an air hog at times, so places where you can see the good stuff without spending the entire dive at 80-100' would be preferred. I don't mind going deep or diving in heavy current for one or two dives to see something special...but don't want to spend 7-10 days of diving doing that for every dive.
Relaxing - I would prefer an all-inclusive resort with a beach. We both work hard stressful jobs, so getting to lay around in a hammock or beach chair in the shade and read or just do nothing after the diving is done is something we both really cherish in a vacation. We both do sometimes like to snorkel off the beach or dive dock, so a place where that can be done would be awesome. Isolated is good too. I really detest sitting in a hammock trying to fend off beach vendors trying to sell me stuff. I love seeing local culture, but I am just not the type that wants to spend every night going into town looking for a place to eat and worrying about how much a meal will cost.
Safe Dive Operation - I know that any time you travel to a remote island, you can't expect a fully staffed hospital in the dive shack. But what I would like to see is a dive operator that believes in safety and has all the equipment one would expect in working order, as well as staff trained to use it. The Reef Divers operation on Little Cayman is the model of this in my mind, although I am not sure anybody in the world is as committed to safety as they are. If there is somebody in the South Pacific who is, I would like to know about them!
Good Food - We are not picky or pretentious about our meals, but would prefer some place all inclusive with a decent selection of food to choose from.
Air Conditioning - Unfortunately, I have Multiple Sclerosis, and one of the curses that comes from that is a low tolerance for heat. I can deal with it on dive boats and to some degree while laying around on the beach...but at some point I need to just be able to get inside and cool off for a bit.
Affordable - We will have a reasonable budget, but we are flying from the states, so a significant chunk will go for airfare. We would prefer to find a place that meets all of the preferences above , but can make some concessions to get most of what we want if we can avoid spending a fortune to get it. I want this to be a special trip, but I don't want to spend the next 20 years of our marriage trying to pay for it.
So there it is...any thoughts on where to start looking? I have heard good things about Wananavu and Wakatobi, but don't really know much about how well either of them meet our preferences. Where else are we missing? Who else should I look into? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
