General Question about South-Pacific

[jasondcrawford]

I really hate that this question is so general, but here goes nothing. My wife and I have wanted to do another dive vacation for a while now, and are starting to plan for something next year. We're both completely flexible in terms of timing -- anytime between next June and December (2012).

My initial thought was another liveaboard down in the Caribbean, since we loved the one we did down in Belize, but she wants to do something in the Pacific so we can "see new fish". Generally speaking, 1) what are the cheaper places to dive at in the Pacific / Indian Oceans (including airfare), and 2) what are the cheaper times to travel, without running huge risks of getting a bunch of no-dive-days due to weather?

I know all I did was narrow it down to over half of the world, but it's a start! We can spend as much as we need to, but obviously would prefer to get a good deal, and since we've never been outside of the Caribbean one place will likely be as exciting as the next.

 

[Nflor001]

Take a look at Palau, Tropic Dancer or Palau Aggressor. Oct 16-23

 

[electrix]

They are almost begging people to come to Tahiti now check Tahiti Nui for airfare and deals, Moorea is much more reasonable than Bora Bora and you can rent a car in Tahiti and take the car ferry to Moorea you will not believe the size and quantity of fish you will see the Caribbean does not compare.

 

[jasondcrawford]

Take a look at Palau, Tropic Dancer or Palau Aggressor. Oct 16-23

I might just be terrible at finding flights, but the ones I saw were all around $2,000. Any suggestions on where to look or when to fly?

 

[jasondcrawford]

They are almost begging people to come to Tahiti now check Tahiti Nui for airfare and deals, Moorea is much more reasonable than Bora Bora and you can rent a car in Tahiti and take the car ferry to Moorea you will not believe the size and quantity of fish you will see the Caribbean does not compare.

Thanks! Those flights are a lot cheaper than the others I had seen -- makes the trip a lot more affordable.

 

[Nflor001]

I might just be terrible at finding flights, but the ones I saw were all around $2,000. Any suggestions on where to look or when to fly?

Flights from Chicago are around $2000. Just to let you know, Tropic Dancer and Palau Aggressor are offering 25% off special for that week.

 

[asha]

We recently did 18 days in Fiji (at wananavu) for less than we've spent on a week in the Caribbean. Air Pacific is no-frills, but has ~$1k flights from LAX to NAN.

 

[ColoDale]

When we looked into Pacific locations a few years ago we found Fiji to be much cheaper than others like Tahiti. Our trips are driven by diving first then accomodations then price unless we find a deal we just can't pass up. The Cook Islands didn't really make it on our list at the end for some reason or another. However you never know how prices change or when promotions come along, you could be in luck. Definitely check the airlines running out of your target locations as fares change. I noticed a lot more air/hotel packages out of Tahiti than Fiji when we checked. I would also recommend checking with local dive shops as some are also travel agents and can find great deals and can also comment on dive locations. These are not the LDS group trips. There are tons of islands to choose from and don't forget Great Barrier Reef.

Seasonal prices usually correspond to "dry" versus "wet" seasons but you can hit the edges of them and still get the lower prices or shop well. Your months are generally peak season (higher $) in the southern hemisphere but do overlap a bit. Given that tourism is down you might find a great deal.

If you want, you can get a dive atlas and peruse the Pacific island dive sites and put together a wish list if you get stuck.
Narrow down what you want then price it and ask more specific questions here otherwise you'll get a list of other people favorite places.
Not sure if you've done this yet, but have a look at the Pacific Islands subforum here for trip reports and associated comments for locations.

 

[jasondcrawford]

What are the more common discount flyers out to that area? I checked out the Air Pacific website and the prices are almost half what I had seen on Expedia.

I'm what they call a "newbie" when it comes to finding good flights:depressed:

Guess that's one advantage to starting the search a year in advance!

 

[ColoDale]

For flights, check the airline sites, check with the search engines like Expedia, travel agents (they still exist) and check packages with air included and back out the airfare if you can (and if you want to know). The travel agents may or may not charge a small fee to do alot of research for you. Some of the sites like Expedia sometimes run promotion codes for discounts. These you have to keep an eye out for but should be on the site somewhere.

Change dates in your searches. Change from the usual weekend days to mid week to other mid week days. There are days of the week where fares are less. Change the length of the trip from the usual 7 or 10 days to 8, 9, 11, etc to match days when airfare is less. This requires some flexibility.
Also check the airlines websites for packages as some do that as well.
At the time Air Pacific was the cheapest to Fiji. When we checked for Tahiti, Tahiti Nui had decent prices.

Awhile back, and I tend to believe it because it is what I would do, the websites for airfares were using cookies to track your requests so that the next time you checked the same dates, the price went up. I cannot confirm that they have stopped but clear your cookies in your browser before going back to the same site(s).

Search on airlines for a location, search each for cost and dates, make lists. The more you look, the more info you get. You will either find a deal or get tired of searching and settle on one. It can be a pain but can save you money. On the other hand, you can turn the hassle over to a travel agent - there are a few that specialize in South Pacific travel. Check for fees - searching and booking.

It is much easier if you know where you want to go which is difficult as we didn't quite know where we wanted to go. As soon as we knew it became much easier but it took investigation to eliminate other places.