Planning an affordable diving holiday

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If getting there is not a cost concern locations in the Philippines have very affordable rates for diving, accommodations and food.
 
I would head to Asia especially from where you are. Incredible diving and very reasonable prices for accommodations etc. For me a livaboard is awesome in a place like The Galapagos but not really worth it in other places. Your Jr diver will have different limits with a buddy or group with a DM than with an Instructor just as any other diver will. Most ops have At least some DMs that are Instructors so listen to them not random people.
 
The family and I went to Bonaire this past Christmas / New Years. We have 2 junior open water divers so the shore diving is ideally suited to their depth limitations. Most of the dive ops have packages that allow to to do unlimited shore diving and include a pickup to haul your gear. Boat diving is available too but the boats we went on weren’t any better than the shore dives. Seems like it was about 175USD for a week of unlimited diving so very reasonably priced. The water was nice and warm. The food wasn’t too expensive.
 
Scuba club Cozumel is running 5 nights of accommodation, 4 days of boat diving, unlimited shore diving, and breakfast and lunch included for $550 pp (or about £425). Flights to Cancun plus a bus across to the ferry are reasonable. Dinner on the island is cheap.

Thanks
Rick
 
Hi all

Thanks so very much for all your great suggestions. I've kept Google very busy following them up... It's tricky when there are so many good options.

So it looks like my daughter has decided on Thailand, and I suspect that decisions is heavily influenced by the availability of sticky rice. Really! Time to research the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand with a view of finding the best value, and also the best reefs. It would be good for her to dive on some before they all sadly die off.

Liveaboards are now definitely out, so boat and shore dives are the way forward. We'll also likely get some rock climbing in somewhere as well. We're really looking forward to this!

Thanks again
Graham
 
Sticky rice is great! :)

The Andaman Sea side goes into low season starting in April. Some dive sites close from mid-May to October for conservation.

Dive sites around Koh Tao are very quick to get to, especially now that there's a road that connects the two sides of the island. (Before, the boat would need to go around from Sairee or Mae Haad. The road just came in September last year. I was there when they were painting the lane lines!) There was one dive site that seemed pretty dead (lots of algae), as far as coral, but the others were okay. I met one person, not last year but another year, that rented a pad to do bouldering around the island. I have no experience with this.
 
I suspect that decisions is heavily influenced by the availability of sticky rice

I’m with her on that! Sticky rice with mango is the best dessert...ever! (Probably)

For rock climbing look at Krabi area, eg Railay or Tonsai beach
 
boat and shore dives are the way forward

Not a lot of shore diving on the Andaman side, and boat trips are mostly full days out. If you want amazing beaches and close by diving Koh Lipe may be worth checking out. The boat ride to the island can get very bumpy in monsoon season though :vomit:...
also, the diving is better further north up the Andaman coast in my experience, and not sure about rock climbing in that area.
 
Having just returned from my first cruise it might be something to consider. If you shop hard there are some great prices. I’m sure you could fit in a couple of dives . Pick a cruise with ports in places to dive.

I’d do a little research and find a cruise with activities your daughter will enjoy. I would never have thought a cruise would have been so enjoyable but I’m ready to book another one now. Just a thought any way. I would advise at least a week I know my wife would have stayed a second week if we had known in time to have booked it.

Being a cancer survivor myself I wish you the best from a level many will never understand.
 
Andaman side has a couple options but is seasonal dependent. Fortunately the seasons are opposite to the other side of the country so you have year round options. We did the similans area not from a liveaboard around April 2016. The diving was good. The similan islands themselves had great clarity and cool diving. It was a mix of reefs and limestone seascapes underwater. Fish life was good. We had a few trips to Richelieu rock and koh bon also. Koh Bon I wouldn’t do again. It is a ‘manta’ site but if there are none around it is pretty dead. Richelieu rock was awesome when we didn’t have poor visibility, but i wouldn’t do it on a basic OW. The top of the rock starts around 7-8m and a lot of the area is well below 18m. These two sites are also longer boat rides. It is nearly 90 minutes to the rock and 75 to koh bon. The similans are around 45-60 depending on which site you are diving.

If you decide on andaman coast, look into a 3-4 day liveaboard out of Phuket. They do short trips and it will save you a lot of boat travel time. You’ll dive twice as much at least for those days.

Rick
 
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