I hope that is not true - the Odyssey website clearly says that they provide doubles and rich O2 mixes for tec diving provided you have appropriate certifications and insurance. I'll be a little bit p1ssed if that turns out not to be correct...
flights to Truk/Chuuk
- Thread starter robint
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I hope that is not true - the Odyssey website clearly says that they provide doubles and rich O2 mixes for tec diving provided you have appropriate certifications and insurance. I'll be a little bit p1ssed if that turns out not to be correct...
They have doubles, O2 for any mix you want (but the higher mixes above the comlimentry 32% cost a little more) and they play by big boy rules. If you want to go deeper, its your choice. They are not the Scuba Police. I was with them last spring and it was one of the best trips of my life. Our dive on the San Fran Maru was at 165 feet, and I had a deco bottle of 75% O2 slung.
Phew! Thanks. I don't mind paying for the extra O2, but I really didn't want to miss the deeper wrecks. The suggestion that they may only allow deeper dives on special weeks caused me sudden panic...
That has to be a policy change in the last few years. They wouldn't mix tech and rec divers and were against using helium when I was there. It's good to know they've opened their minds.
I'd highly recommend you don't take the island hopper unless you plan on diving some of the other islands (Kosrae, Pohnpei). Fly from Hawaii direct to Guam, overnight, and you can take a Sat morning flight to TKK from Guam. It's a short flight. You at least get acclimated a bit on Guam and you dive that afternoon in Truk and all the next day before getting on the Odyssey in the late afternoon (that''s when the board the boat).
If you stay the the Blue Lagoon and dive with them the Odyssey is moored right in front of the hotel. They pull in on Sat night, depart the pax the next morning, and get the boat ready for the next trip all that day.
You also might want to check with Dianne at MDA for Odyssey pricing and the flights from Guam to Truk and back. They've got some very good rates.
If you stay the the Blue Lagoon and dive with them the Odyssey is moored right in front of the hotel. They pull in on Sat night, depart the pax the next morning, and get the boat ready for the next trip all that day.
You also might want to check with Dianne at MDA for Odyssey pricing and the flights from Guam to Truk and back. They've got some very good rates.
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robint
Contributor
thanks.... this isn't a trip we are doing this year, probably next year at the earliest. I am just trying to get all the info together since my hubby and our friend are both wanting to go there for some tech dives and I would rather stay on the outside of wrecks and shoot video.
robin
Not sure what routes are out of where you live, but here's a PM I sent to a fellow SB'er recently...
Arriving Early? There's a few things at work here, all related to Truk being further than far away...
- Limited airline schedules
- Jet lag from time zones
- Total travel time
Upshot was that for me, my choices were to arrive Friday morning or Sunday night, if I wanted to avoid landing on five islands between Honolulu and Truk. The Sunday night flight lands at 8pm, but Odyssey boards at 3pm. That's out. (More on that later) So I went for Friday AM arrival, which meant Newark-Tokyo-Guam-Truk.
It just happened to work out that happened to also be the best choice for flight segments, plane type, connect times, as well. Lastly, I was able to swing free First Class r/t tickets on that route as well for half as many OnePass miles as anything else. However, I picked it mostly based on arrival date/time. The overall key is getting to Guam such that you can take the quick-hop to Truk, instead of having to go all the way around the other direction or over-nighting in Guam. Depending on how you like to travel, that may be an option. Personally, I like to keep moving from plane to plane until I get where I'm going.
Really glad I I got there on Friday. Jet-lag/travel for sure, but I had a great time on land before boarding. Stayed at Blue Lagoon, since that's actually where Odyssey is moored. On Friday I just hung out on the beach with a book, walked around, had a few beers, went to bed. Saturday I did three dives with Blue Lagoon, Sunday same thing. When they found out I was on the Odyssey (for two weeks no less) they said "well, then we'll take you to wrecks they don't go to!" What could be better than that? Ended up just me and two other guys, plus two dive guides. Dive off small skiffs, but they're fine. 20-25min tops to most of the entire lagoon. You actually come back to the resort for surface intervals, so it's not as tiring - or even tiresome - as spending hours and hours on a little boat. You have breakfast, go do a dive, come back take a shower, have a nap, lunch, go do a dive, come back and nap...
So by Sunday afternoon I'd done six great dives, and was aligned with the timezone (sort of easy, as I traveled "against" the clock for 36hrs, so was back on my own timezone effectively) and not exhausted. Actually pretty well rested.
Not sure if you saw my Blue Lagoon review.
As mentioned, chose it mostly because that's where the boat starts - and ends - so just easier. (You'll stay there for the day until about 2am after leaving the Odyssey, as the departing flight to Guam is 3am.) Also had friends who said it was fine, and better than Truk Stop. Truk Stop is better if you're doing TMx, as they have helium. Or if you're doing all your diving land-based as they've supposedly got a better dive op. Truk Stop is right in town (if you can call it a town) and has no beach, just a dock. Blue Lagoon is no Ritz Carlton, but at least it's got a tropical resort feel. Witness the view from my window there:
As to boarding time on Sunday: the boat stays overnight Sunday at Blue Lagoon, doesn't move to first dive site until Monday morning. So they are running back and forth to airport until all hours picking folks up as they arrive. Landing at 8pm would have been no problem at all. Except those flights are always late apparently, or canceled altogether, because they are hopping through four other airports. Folks on that flight didn't board until 2am... and I can tell you they were zombies for the whole day Monday. They genuinely didn't enjoy any of the 5 dives at all that day, as they were so tired.
Perhaps through Manila would afford you more options to get to Guam, thus easier to Truk. I would think that getting their Saturday would be fine from a travel/jet lag time, and you could still do a few dives on Sunday.
No worries. On the Odyssey, you plan your dive and dive your plan. The max depth for any dive is the sand - or under the grates in the lower engine room.
cal776
Contributor
I took CO #958, the Sunday night flight from GUM-TKK, and it was fine. In fact, it made a tidy connection from CO #1, IAH-HNL-GUM. Had no problem getting up with everyone else on Monday morning for the first dive. There's plenty of time throughout the day to squeeze in a nap or two. No real reason why you need to board the Odyssey mid-afternoon; it's not like there's any Sunday diving on the cards.
Was saying that I had ASSUMED Sunday night arrival was out, not realizing that Odyssey boarding STARTED at 3pm, and that there was no reason to board any earlier than Sunday night.
That said, when that Sunday flight is late - and apparently it frequently is - it is WAY late. As mentioned, on my first week that flight didn't arrive until 2am.
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