diving holiday destination recommendation

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zap123

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Hi,
I'm a disabled diver planing a diving holiday and was wondering if anyone has a destination recommendation. I only have 7 completed dives. I need som assistance when diving and am therefore looking for a divecenter with expienced helpful staff. I do not require any special accommodation. I want to travel somewhere with nice beaches and that is warm this time of year and low living costs does not hurt:D I've already dived in Thailand so would like to try somewhere new.

Thanks for any help.
 
Hi, Zap:

We need a little more info. to help you. Scuba Board features an international membership, but seems to be 'U.S.-centric,' so recommendations often center on what's easily accessible from the U.S. unless we know you're from somewhere else. If you've got only 7 dives, and you've dove Thailand, then I'm wondering if you are based onside the U.S.

Even in the U.S., a person in Georgia & one in Washington may find practical reasons to choose different destinations.

I need some assistance when diving and am therefore looking for a divecenter with expienced helpful staff. I do not require any special accommodation.

Clarification may help. Are you wanting some assistance getting into the water? Or maybe to don & doff your BCD/rig. in the water, & have staff pull it onboard so you can climb the ladder to exit without having to bear that weight? What do you need helpful staff to help you with?

What kind of diving do you prefer to do? Coral reef? Warm water? If you only have a basic OW certification, that may limit what trips some operators will take you on.

Richard.
 
Some Caribbean options. My criteria is known to be HSA friendly, host regular trips of that nature or have HSA certified Instructors on Staff.

Divi Flamingo on Bonaire - currently undergoing resort renovations (still open) so no idea how that affects dive operations currently. There aren't a lot of great beaches on Bonaire either.
DiveTech/Cobalt Coast on Grand Cayman. Although the resort itself has a marginal beach, Seven Mile Beach is a few miles away.
Taino Divers on Puerto Rico - don't know much about them.

Lahaina Divers on Maui is another option. I believe most of their staff are HSA certified instructors - they also lead dives. Maui and low cost diving are not often used in the same sentence though. Great beaches though...

A few more potential options: HSA - Handicapped SCUBA Association
 
Hi, Zap:

We need a little more info. to help you. Scuba Board features an international membership, but seems to be 'U.S.-centric,' so recommendations often center on what's easily accessible from the U.S. unless we know you're from somewhere else. If you've got only 7 dives, and you've dove Thailand, then I'm wondering if you are based onside the U.S.

Even in the U.S., a person in Georgia & one in Washington may find practical reasons to choose different destinations.



Clarification may help. Are you wanting some assistance getting into the water? Or maybe to don & doff your BCD/rig. in the water, & have staff pull it onboard so you can climb the ladder to exit without having to bear that weight? What do you need helpful staff to help you with?

What kind of diving do you prefer to do? Coral reef? Warm water? If you only have a basic OW certification, that may limit what trips some operators will take you on.

Richard.

Thanks, I only have ow certification. I'm from Norway but im open to a long flight i have to be to get the warm weather i want. As for what kind of diving i think i prefer coral reef. diving with sharks wold be a plus. im open to going anywhere warm with excellent diving and good beaches.

---------- Post added February 22nd, 2015 at 05:28 AM ----------

Some Caribbean options. My criteria is known to be HSA friendly, host regular trips of that nature or have HSA certified Instructors on Staff.

Divi Flamingo on Bonaire - currently undergoing resort renovations (still open) so no idea how that affects dive operations currently. There aren't a lot of great beaches on Bonaire either.
DiveTech/Cobalt Coast on Grand Cayman. Although the resort itself has a marginal beach, Seven Mile Beach is a few miles away.
Taino Divers on Puerto Rico - don't know much about them.

Lahaina Divers on Maui is another option. I believe most of their staff are HSA certified instructors - they also lead dives. Maui and low cost diving are not often used in the same sentence though. Great beaches though...

A few more potential options: HSA - Handicapped SCUBA Association

Thanks, how is the diving in these places are they a favourite of none disabled divers aswell?
what place of those mentioned has the best diving?
 
May I suggest the east coast of the UAE or Oman? Warm this time of year, plenty of things to see, reasonably priced and plenty of dive centres to chose from (some of them with very experienced staff).
 
Thanks, how is the diving in these places are they a favourite of none disabled divers aswell?
what place of those mentioned has the best diving?
The first two certainly are. Bonaire is the #1 Shore Diving location in the Caribbean. Since it's a smaller island with limited flights, pretty much everyone you meet at the resorts, restaurants etc. is a diver. It's almost exclusively macro diving, you won't see any sharks, maybe a few rays, lots of turtles and tarpon but instead seahorses, frogfish, lots of eels etc.

The entire island is the Bonaire Marine Park and there's no rivers so no run-off resulting in very clear water most of the time. It's also oddly more of a desert (sand, cactus etc.) than you'd expect. Since the reef in many places is right up against the shore line, entries can be more difficult over the ironshore if shore diving. Most dive resorts also have a dive dock with flat wide stairs for access to named dive sites. From Europe KLM flies direct weekly. Bonaire Offical Site - Top Destination for Diving and Eco-Activities

Grand Cayman is also a tourist destination known for diving. It's also known for great beaches and is a large cruise port. Caribbean Diving Vacation, Cayman Islands | Dive Cayman indicates how focused on diving they are. They recently put down the Kittiwake wreck for diving and most dive operators pick up at hotels along Seven Mile Beach - which is a really nice one in most areas, powder white sand, clear blue water. No diving off the beach, the reef is too far out. There are some shore dives - most are on ironshore cliffs but all have dive docks/steps/ladders for water access. Visibility while diving on Cayman can exceed 200' and you can access the North Wall from shore (and Divetech) which drops several thousand feet in some areas. Cayman Islands Tourism, Official | Cayman Islands

I don't know Taino other than by reputation. Except they're on the south side of Puerto Rico which is one of the better dive areas. And much quieter. San Juan is not known for good diving on the north side.

Diving on Maui is also excellent - lots of larger pelagic life - sharks, Manta rays, turtles everywhere. Maui is also a primary U.S. non-dive tourist destination so although there must be over a dozen dive operators, it certainly has a lesser focus. I wouldn't for example be able to suggest a bar on Maui frequented by divers yet on Bonaire or Grand Cayman there are several. And I go to Maui fairly often.

There are two All-Inclusive dive resorts on Grand Cayman - Cobalt Coast or Sunset House. There are about a dozen waterfront dive resorts on Bonaire - Plaza Resort is the only AI but all of them bundle room/diving/truck rental/breakfast in a dive package deal. There's also about 1/2 dozen resorts on Maui with their own dive shops on-site but most of the dive boats leave from one of 3 harbors nearby so you're expected to show up there.
 
Thanks for the information. Bonaire seems like a great option. The UAE or Oman is easier to get to however if the diving and facilities are better in the caribbean...

Does anybody know how the diving in the UAE compares to Bonaire?

By the way I need assistance with the equipment and getting in and out of the water. I need to take the bcd of in the water and someone to lift it out. Do you guys think this influences were I should go?
 
It does. While you can boat dive in Bonaire, the overwhelming appeal of the place is 24/7 all-you-can-dive 'buffet diving' anytime, anywhere, without having to adhere to boat schedules. The shore entries at many places would be difficult. Some resorts, like Buddy Dive Resort, have house reefs with ladder entry/exit, but sticking to such places might constrain you a bit.

Curacao is said to have shore diving more more sandy beach entries, but longer swim outs. Haven't tried it, but there are a number of threads on it.

I don't think any of the places recommended so far are specific to disabled divers. I've been to Bonaire 8 times. While Grand Cayman is popular, people often claim neighboring Little Cayman has either the best or amongst the best boat diving in the Caribbean, and speak highly of Little Cayman Beach Resort. If I were looking at a Cayman's trip, and mainly wanted to dive (not do much topside), I'd check out LCBR based on a wonderful reputation.

Richard.
 
Anyone know if Bali is any good for diving compared to the places mentioned. I only ask becuse there are three divecenters there specializing in disabled diving.
 
You might check out the web site for the Dive Pirates organization, see the link below. They take divers with disabilities on trips to locations around the world; so it is likely that any of the dive operations they use will have an efficient set-up and experienced staff and that may work for you.

I know that the Dive Pirates take an annual trip to one of my favorite locations, the Brac Reef Beach Resort on Cayman Brac. It's a small, quiet island with beautiful reefs and a clean, small, all-inclusive diver-dedicated resort with great food and a nice beach. My husband and I are getting older and we can use some assistance and the Reef Divers operation has been great for us. They handle the equipment and help us to gear up and get back on the boat. We are okay in the water, but if you need assistance in the water you should talk to them; I think that they would work with you.

The same family owns the Little Cayman Beach Resort and they use the same dive operation. The reefs off Little Cayman are even better (some of the best in the Caribbean IMO) but it's more expensive and the resort fills up quickly so you may not be able to get a reservation at the time you would like to travel.

You didn't say what else you are looking for in a dive vacation location. If you like night life, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions then you won't find them on the Cayman Brac or Little Cayman but these things are abundant on Grand Cayman, and they have a world-class beach on GC, too. But it is very expensive and the diving isn't as good as the smaller sister islands (again IMO) but you can get some nice dives and there are a lot of operators to choose from. I am sure that others on this board can advise you about the best dive operation options.

My husband and I like to spend 2 weeks in the Caymans, the first week on GC snorkeling and maybe doing a few dives and enjoying the island and the second week on CB or LC diving.

Check the water temp for the time of year that you will be traveling. If you go further south in the Caribbean during the winter months the water is usually very warm all year long. We usually go to the Caymans in late October or early November and the water is in the mid-80s f (or 29 C) but it would be colder (probably in the 70s F, about 25 C) during the winter. Good luck!

https://www.divepiratesfoundation.org/index.php

---------- Post added February 22nd, 2015 at 08:54 AM ----------

...By the way I need assistance with the equipment and getting in and out of the water. I need to take the bcd of in the water and someone to lift it out. Do you guys think this influences were I should go?

That's exactly the same kind of assistance that we need too, and it is automatically included in the dive services offered by Reef Divers at the Brac Reef Beach Resort and Little Cayman Beach Resort. You won't have to ask for anything special.

When you check in you will find a numbered net bag in your room for each diver. Just put your gear in the bag and set it outside your door at the requested time and they will pick it up, take it to the boat and set it up for you. You won't have to handle your gear during the rest of the week - unless you prefer to set up and manage your own gear and then they are happy to accommodate you.

We have found that it works well to let them do the heavy work and then we inspect our gear carefully on the boat. They are professionals and we've never had a problem - and we have taken 3 trips with Reef Divers.

When you are ready to dive, you carry your mask and fins to a seat at the rear of the boat and they bring your tank/bcd/regulator and help you put it on. Then you stand up and step into the water. When the dive is done, you can hand up your BCD and tank and climb up the ladder. I have also seen divers request to sit on the edge at the back or side of the boat when they help you with your gear so you can slip into the water without standing up.

When the diving day is done, put your fins, and mask in the net bag and carry it off the boat with you. They will handle your heavier gear. You dunk the net bag in the rinse tank and hang it on a hook in the gear storage room to dry; then just rinse and hang up your wet suit and carry any thing else (computer, camera, dive log) back to your room. It couldn't be easier and it is a standard part of their "valet dive service" so you don't have to ask for anything extra.

Since you are new diver, I don't know if you have your own gear yet? But Reef Divers wants to make sure that every diver has a functional computer so they provide them free of charge. We have our own (older) dive computers but we always take one of their computers as a back-up. Just a nice little extra.

Regarding Bonaire, we love Bonaire and have taken several trips there over the years - but the last time we were limited to boat dives and shore dives from the house pier - and even that was difficult because we had to carry our tanks and gear to the end of the pier and gear up by ourselves. Then climb up a long ladder back onto the pier and carry our gear back. We also had to carry our gear on and off the boats, and we had to carry our empty tanks off the boat, too. That's a lot of schlepping for senior divers.

In our younger days, Bonaire was easy and great, and we loved driving down the road with a load of tanks in the truck looking for shore dive sites; but now it's not so easy any more. Also, you are a new diver so I think that the "total diving freedom" of Bonaire might not be the best thing for any diver that hasn't had much experience yet.
 
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