SPS Focused, Land Based, and Reasonably Priced

[TheFife]

I am looking to take a trip to see SPS corals, and I need help picking a location. For this trip, I am not looking for shipwrecks, soft corals, fish, whales, sharks, or blue holes. I used to be very involved in coral reef tanks, and I did a lot of hard coral (SPS) propagation. That is what I would like to see on this dive trip. That means traveling outside of the easily accessible spots in the Caribbean or in the USA.

Here are the basic parameters I am using for the trip:

1. Reasonable Travel Cost - I live in the midwest (Iowa), and flights to places like Raja Ampat are simply out of my price range. A $1500 plane ticket is about the upper limit of what I can swing.
2. Land Based - I get sea sick, and have had that ruin trips in the past. I know a live aboard probably offers a better chance at seeing the types of reefs I am interested in, but it just won't work for me. I'd prefer to keep boat trips to an hour or less.
3. Decent Accommodations - I will go with my non diving wife. We don't need the Ritz Carlton (and couldn't afford it anyway), but a safe place with air conditioning where she can relax by the pool or beach while I dive, is a must.

I Want This

And This

Not This (though of course its beautiful)

Any Suggestions? Fiji, Bali, someplace else?

 

[TheFife]

Any ideas? Is no one else into hard corals? Does the land based component make it impossible?

 

[Damselfish]

That pic reminds me of Apo Island in the Philippines. It's a longish boat ride from the Dauin/Dumaguette area, don't recall how long, maybe an hour or less. You could stay on Apo, but you'd still have to get there by boat. And it seems power and running water are luxuries there, never mind AC.