Tropical but inexpensive diving vaca... is there such a thing??

[oly5050user]

Recently my buddy and I did 32 dives in 5 1/2 diving days.

PS - on the "cheap" end I've still not seen anyone beat our $14-total-for-lunch-for-the-two-of-us-for-the-week approach of buying a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of strawberry jam. Of course we blew all the money we saved having dinners at Papaya Moon, Wil's, Patagonia, Richards, etc

real men make 32 dives in 5 1/2 days ...
should have gone in the old days(early 70's) when the real men did not stay at a hotel..they brought a very small tent with them,walked to the beach from the airport and slept on the beach near wind sock..I am way too old at 57 to do that now..really like my comforts.

 

[tejasdiver]

I made my first trip to Bonaire in August, it was pretty inexpensive. Buy I only have Cozumel to compare to. Airfare was higher, but the diving was alot less $$. Also we rented a house, so we cooked about 90% of our meals, which saved alot of money.

 

[battles2a5]

Yep, I've had 30+ dives on both of my trips to Bonaire. I agree w/ RJP though, lots of good food that will throw your savings out the window. You can do it cheaply if need be. But the dive/ dollar ratio is hard to beat anywhere else.

Another few options woulde be Utilia (I think the ops there still offer 10 dive packages for $200). And I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Belize. You can fly into BZE pretty cheaply, take the water taxi to Caye Caulker, stay in a "rustic" place for $10/night, and dive your brains out.

 

[georoc01]

I found some inexpensive options in the West End of Roatan too.

I think you have to decide what is the goal of the trip. If a couple of dives a day will keep you happy, then places with boat diving like Cozumel and Roatan have good inexpensive options.

Clearly Bonaire is going to have a cost per dive price down just because of all of the great shore diving where you can get 4-5 dives a day in easily.

 

[Flightlead]

If you end up needing an extra body to make up a full contingent in a condo or house rental situation keep me in mind. I wouldn't mind a cheap week or two of solid diving, cooking at "home" in the eves, and keeping the costs down by filling up a house or condo with dive buddies.

PS I can COOK!

 

[scubalaux]

I have a lot to go over! This has been a HUGE help.

Thanks again
Sarah

 

[TSandM]

I don't know if you're set on the Caribbean, but Maui can be relatively inexpensive. You can find package deals with airfare, rental car and condo, and then you can shore dive your whole trip. We used to go out on the charter boats a day or two, but have largely stopped doing that, because you see pretty much the same critters you do shore diving, and it's far more expensive.

 

[StacyT]

Key Largo is always a good option as well. I am surprised no one else mentioned it. I enjoyed my diving there just as much as some of the more exotic locations that I have been to. Lots of sites for everyone from beginers on up.

 

[caymaniac]

If you find a really good airfare, you might try VRBO (vacation rental by owners). You can search the Caribbean as well as the world for a condo.

 

[Scuba Laura]

Why not St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands?!! Admiralty offers an All Inclusive Package, 5 nights/6 days meals, transportation and 8 tank dive package for $1250 a person. Diving is superp and untouched.