If you could only dive one place -- anywhere in the world -- for the rest of your life...

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GWG Dave

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Messages
14
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Location
US
# of dives
500 - 999
where would it be?

(please share a little bit about where you've been as well, for context purposes)

*****

I'm guessing that most big animal lovers will say somewhere along the Pacific Coast. Galapagos seems to be generally regarded as the best. Though I have heard that some people prefer Cocos, or even Socorro. I've heard nice things about British Columbia and the Channel Islands too, though, those destinations probably aren't quite on the same level.

I'm guessing that most people in general will say somewhere in the Coral Triangle. Indonesia seems to generally regarded as the best there; and Raja Ampat and Komodo seem to generally be regarded as the best in Indonesia. I've heard some people talk about places in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea as well in this regard. Malaysia and the Solomons you don't quite hear as much about.

I'm guessing that some people will say somewhere in The Pacific. Fiji. The Outer Great Barrier Reef. The Tuamotus in French Polynesia. Palau you hear sometimes. Hawaii I guess wouldn't be totally shocking to hear.

The Red Sea isn't typically talked about a lot as 'the best dive site in the world', but it wouldn't totally shock me if some people said somewhere there.

The Indian Ocean, seems to sort of be similarly regarded -- though I have heard that some people do really love the Maldives. The Seychelles too. The Thailand/Burma coast you hear nice things about. Ningaloo and some of the islands off the west coast of Australia as well (Christmas, Cocos/Keeling).

South Africa (the sardine run), Mozambique, Tanzania, etc... you hear some nice things about that too. But again, rarely is it talked about in the same light as the above regions.

Then the Caribbean you almost never hear talked about in that way.
 
Assuming your question is not a "money is no object" based question-

I was not overly thrilled with California diving (Catalina) but it may have been a bad day, and it was one trip. We have dove or snorkeled throuought the Carribean and our decision to retire in Cozumel has not changed. 80 degree water, excellent reefs, English speaking or my Spanish will get by, abundance of sea life, warm friendly people, easy access back to the US with many options per day in case of family emergencies, good medical care, modern relatively fast wifi, our cell phone work better there than in downtown OKC, cheap nice accommodations,GREAT FOOD, good weather (mostly), lack of serious crime, and I will say it again the friendly locals.

The down side would be the cruise ship travelers, and it looks like that will only get worse with the addition of a 4th pier (we used to be cruisers), but once the ships leave, the island transforms back to the place we love.

Every time we go someplace new, I am concerned we will like it more than Cozumel, but so far we find ourselves comparing that location to Coz. The Caymans, Jamaica, Honduras, Belieze, Playa Del Carmen, Cancun, Puerta Vayarta, and Catalina have all failed to change our minds. We have Cuba coming up in September and Greece the Spring of 2020.

Our last trip in October/November almost had me in tears the second we arrived and I was brutally depressed when we finished our last dive. Cozumel just feels like home and the place I am supposed to be. I have a stressful job and farm as well and I have never felt the weight of my world lift off my shoulders as much as I did on this last trip.

If the lottery comes through, my answer would be every place you mentioned and just have the jet fueled and ready when we decide to go. It's a big world and so little time to see it all (especially at 50)...but I still think the jet would be hangered at Cozumel.

Safe travels,
Jay
 
If money no object then I'd sail and dive around Indonesia until I expire.

I've dived in:
Scotland, Spain (Med), S. Africa, USA (FL only- BHB), Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia (700+ dives), UAE, Oman, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Australia.
 
Bonaire

Dominica, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Bahamas, Florida Keys, St. John and of course Bonaire many times.
 
We decided it was the Caymans, purchased a place, and now that's where I will be doing 95% of my diving for the rest of my diving life. The key to our decision was more about topside living. As far as diving goes, the actual location was less important than being underwater somewhere/anywhere, as long as the water was warm, the visibility good, there was abundant marine life and healthy coral, and a good place to get a beer after the dive. We visited many places around the world before settling on Caymans, and while the diving is great in many other places, I've never had a bad dive in the Caymans, and am happy just to get to get in the water as often I can these days regardless of location.
 
Browning Pass, British Columbia. It's like the other areas of the west coast of North America on steroids. Some of the walls have no place to put a finger with marine life stacked upon marine life.
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At the moment, Cozumel, for all the same reasons as @Jayfarmlaw. However, I haven’t experienced anything beyond Cozumel, Cayman, Roatan or the Keys yet, so my answer is not final!!!

I have not yet experienced a local people as friendly as in Cozumel and that counts for a lot!
 
There are a lot of great places around the world to dive, but not that many where I would want to live and grow old. I would rather live where I can dive anytime conditions allow than have to travel there a few times a year. Given these practical constraints, I would pick Carmel Bay.
 
Indonesia is my happy place. Big stuff, small stuff, spectacular colored super fishy reefs, beautiful topside, friendly people.

Where I've dived?
In the Caribbean, Utila, Cozumel, Little Corn Island. In the Pacific Palau, Monterey, and Guadeloupe Island. In South East Asia, Thailand, Sipadan, all over the Phillipines on multiple trips, and multiple trips all over Indonesia.

If find myself going back to Indonesia or the Phillipines the most often as I find the quality of diving vs the cost to be the best. This year no SEA for me it's been shark year, I just did Guadeloupe for Great White Sharks, and in January I'm heading to Bimini for Great Hammerhead and Tiger Sharks.

Where I still want to dive, Soccoro, Galapagos, Papua New Guinea, Fiji. There's others too but those are the biggies.
 
I was not overly thrilled with California diving (Catalina) but it may have been a bad day, and it was one trip.
I am fortunate to have a boat and live within an hour boat ride to Catalina. I still only dive there every four or five years. Most sites seem too sterile for my tastes. I prefer to see lots of invertebrate life. There are thousands of reefs on the mainland that I would rather visit.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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