Good diving?

[keesmon]

Did you consider Caye Caulker in Belize?
Pretty cheap diving, huts from $25 per night, chill atmosphere.
I've been twice and will go back every 3-4 years.

 

[jupitermermaid]

Feedback about live aboards?? We've thought about live aboards, cuz we just like diving

The Aqua Cat out of the Bahamas is a wonderful live aboard. Everything included, even private bathroom with toilets you can flush tp in! Great diving, but it's not drift. We have great drift diving right here in Florida if you don't want to travel out of the country.

 

[RussR]

There are tons of liveaboards - do a search here and you will get lots of good info. I have only done one in Thailand but it was perfect. Dive, relax, dive, relax, dive, relax - repeat for 5 days

Belize is not all blue hole - those reefs on the outer atolls (best reached by liveaboard imo) are spectacular. I know aquacat, peter hughes, blackbeards, and bunches others with lots of different itineraries to chose from in a lot of price ranges. If the flights weren't so much I would recommend asia while you have the chance before grad school.

do a search here on liveaboards and you will not be disappointed.

 

[robint]

Liveaboards are fantastic but a bit pricier than land-based. I have a couple of videos for you to check out:
This past year we did the Nekton Bahamas, Medio Reef:
here are a group of videos of mine: http://www.vimeo.com/album/18780


and here is what the House Reef at Buddy Dive in Bonaire looks like. You can see the easy entry and exit and the tons of fishlife!
[vimeo]3207050[/vimeo]

robin

 

[jrobo]

Hello, not sure if you went on your trip yet, but thought I'd share what I know. We sailed a bareboat charter down in the Grenadines. Picked up in St. Vincent and dropped off 10 days later at Union Island. Glenroy Adams and Grenadines Dive was who we hired for dives. He calls Union Island home, but comes from Bequia Island. The islands were fairly close and he would just come out to where we were, he' bring gear and we'd dive. Made it really easy!! Glenroy was FANTASTICALLY educated on the area and shared mass amounts of information before, during and after the dives. You can add a captain to a sail rental for a little bit more and go where you want. (We dove the Purina (WW1 wreck) and a reef off of Tobago Cayes)

Article: www .grenadinesdive.com/PDF/GlenroyAdamsArticle.pdf


Good luck, hope this helps!

 

[farsidefan1]

Easiest diving from land based resort has been Cocoview in Roatan. A bit pricier than Fantasy Island. I liked Bonaire but the shore entries were a genuine pain. I have a bad knee (football in my youth) but the dives off the resorts with stair exits and big step entries were fine. Unfortunately they are all situated quite close to each other so less diversity. For different stuff it was war against the shore. I won't be returning. To many other places to see that don't stress my old joints. Live aboards as noted are pricier but very convenient and usually get you to the best sites at the best times. Don't forget seasick medication if you have problems with it. Have fun

 

[scubamickey]

I prefer liveaboards. When you include the cost of diving, hotel, food, etc.. they are cheaper and just less hassle. Explorer Ventures is my favorite. The cost is pretty low and the destinations have been awesome. We're going to Bonaire next month for 2 weeks and that will be cheaper than the 2 weeks we spent on the liveaboard and landbased last year, but not by much. A difference of maybe $500-$800 total.

We found that when my husband started working on his Master's degree we actually needed 2 dive trips A 2 week one in the summer and a 1 week one in the winter. Along with diving a lot locally, that kept him sane. But his graduate school tuition is free so our situation is different.

 

[Louie]

If you're considering liveaboards - don't let the distance put you off right away - The Red Sea is an absolutely brilliant bit of diving.

As it is the European's back yard (think of it as their Cozumel), there are charters and packages going out of the UK. So if you can find a bargain flight to London, it may be a possibility.

Although my last Red Sea trip was several years ago (and I don't know what the state of the reefs is like now), the variety, health and abundance of sealife was breathtaking.