Unexpected Cheap Diving Trip Needed!

[WaterDance]

Hello everyone!

Have some unexpected down time on our jobs and I wanted to fit in a scuba diving trip. My husband and I are PADI AOW, Wreck, Deep and Nitrox certified. We have been to Grenada, Isla Mujeres, Bonaire, Little Cayman, Roatan, Dutch Springs, and some cavern diving in Florida. We will return to a location we have dove before, but do like variety. Due to Uncle Sam being generous with our funds this past tax time we don't have a ton of cash to spend. Flying out of NYC. Have miles on American Airlines if that helps any.

Likes - Walls, Critters, Deep, Swim throughs, HOUSE REEFS
Dislikes - Children, Crowding, Large Hotels, Bad food.

Who has a good deal going? We don't want to be inundated with kids on break for the summer, or lots of people in general. Trying to stay 6 or 7 nights. Conflict dates - June 23, 26, and June 27. The rest of the month we are available!

Thanks in advance!
Susan

 

[Wookie]

You will find liveaboards comparatively cheap when compared to land based resorts for the amount of diving you can do and the relative scarcity of kids. Explorer ventures offers trips in the Turks and Caicos, Saba/St. Kitts, and the southern Bahamas (where you will fill your wall needs). I run to the Dry Tortugas, where your critter and beautiful reef needs will be filled, but we have no walls. When you actually sit down and compare pricing for land based vs. liveaboard, you will find that liveaboard is much less expensive than land based, but we don't have the nightlife, variety of restaurants, or squalling children you might enjoy on a land based trip.

 

[WaterDance]

I never thought a liveaboard would be inexpensive! Let me look into that today. thanks!

 

[diversteve]

You might like Deep Blue Utila. Although it's not whale shark season they do have a terrific summer deal - $1000pp all inclusive except alcohol in June, $850pp in July. And they do often see whale sharks at other times of year also.

Excellent diving too - as good as or IMO better than Roatan. Black Hills is one not to miss - it's a shallow seamount where a lot of big pelagics congregate. On the north side of Utila, Pinnacle and Duppy Waters were two great wall dives. At Pinnacle there's a swim-thru that pops you out on the wall at around 110'. There was also a very interesting dive just off the lagoon channel, sort of a steep sandy bottom - my first thought was - just an average dive - even the viz wasn't that great. Until Matt found the seahorse(s), and the Red-Lipped Batfish. And the 1/2 hidden Torpedo Ray. The dive staff at Deep Blue are excellent also, most of our dives were led by Matt - IIRC he's an IDC staff instructor also.

There's two dive sites accessible off their house reef - Pretty Bush and Labrynth plus one more a surface swim next door at Laguna Beach resort. 3 boat dives/day are included but your night dive counts as one 2 times per week. It's extremely quiet as it's away from town on a private peninsula across a lagoon channel.

Good food with multiple menu options - you select it in the morning. 10 rooms so 20 guests max. No one goes there unless they're staying/working there as all access is by boat. Due to cancellations there were 5 of us there two years ago - it was almost too quiet. Steve Fox is your host and is very accommodating. He posts here as Deep Blue Resort. There's free WiFi in the lounge/dining room - most activities take place there at night - there's a bar, pool table, computers. No TV IIRC but a DVD player. We were also able to get WiFi on the deck outside our room but were closest to the lounge.

The downside is that airfare might eat up some of your budget - for us it would have been quite a lot more than a flight to Roatan the previous year - But if you have the miles to get there you can fly to San Pedro Sula then down to Utila on a local flight. American flies into San Pedro Sula (SAP). Also you have to get there by about 1PM as there's no lights at the Utila airport - not much of an airport either...lol. Deep Blue will meet you there on arrival and take you to their boat in town for the 5min. ride to the resort.

Or fly to Roatan and take two ferries over - one back to the mainland (leaves at 2PM sharp) and the other will be waiting next door so transfers are as easy as retrieving your bags and walking across the parking lot. From Phx. we left here at 6AM and were at Deep Blue at 5PM their time. On the return we easily made a 1PM Roatan flight out. Details: Deep Blue Utila - swim with whale sharks at our all inclusive resort. Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras $100 r/t for both rides.

Also there's a lot of bugs. Sand Flies most nights as the back side of the resort/dive dock border the Mangrove lagoon. So don't forget the Deet. It's pretty much just like Roatan, with precautions you'll do fine.

All the rooms are ocean front and elevated so there's a good breeze at night. Plus you can hear the surf. There's a nice beach area but it's mostly coral/rock directly off shore so I don't think there's any swimming. They'll show you where to access the shore dive sites, you have to go out through a break in the fringing reef and return the same way. It's a big opening though. One of the sites must be fairly good as dive boats from town often moored there.

hth,

 

[diversteve]

If you can go June 2-9, Explorer is offering their NE Caribbean trip Explorer Ventures: Adventures in Liveaboard Diving at $400 off PP with their "water dragon" discount - not sure what that is. So $1495 plus fuel surcharges/port fees ($235?). They run St. Kitts, Saba, St Maarten on that trip. You fly into one airport and out the other, they turn the boat at each end. According to their availability chart it's still open also - http://www.explorerventures.com/pdf/FLEETSCHEDULE.pdf

We did Turks/Caicos with them 2 years ago, it was a great trip. Lots of sharks, big pelagics and practically every dive is off the Caicos wall.

Call the 800# and ask for Mary - she's great.

 

[Wookie]

I never thought a liveaboard would be inexpensive! Let me look into that today. thanks!

Most folks dont, and you need to do an apples to apples comparison. Folks go on liveaboards to dive, and quite frankly, that's the advantage. You'll find some quite spacious and confortable, some more for the weekend diver, but as far as dives per dollar goes, they are tough to beat. Most liveaboards offer 5 dives per day, which is good, cause there isn't much else to do besides bubble off the nitrogen from the last dive on the surface interval. That and eat. You won't find the variety of foods on a liveaboard you will at a resort, but it's all good, plentiful, and made in front of you. If you have a dietary requirement, most operators will be happy to meet it. True vegan and kosher are almost impossible, although the Nautilus Explorer in Socorro has a kosher galley. The diving tends to be spectacular, because the boats can go where the day boats can't.

 

[WaterDance]

The downside is that airfare might eat up some of your budget - for us it would have been quite a lot more than a flight to Roatan the previous year - But if you have the miles to get there you can fly to San Pedro Sula then down to Utila on a local flight. American flies into San Pedro Sula (SAP). Also you have to get there by about 1PM as there's no lights at the Utila airport - not much of an airport either...lol. Deep Blue will meet you there on arrival and take you to their boat in town for the 5min. ride to the resort.

Or fly to Roatan if it's cheaper and take two ferries over - one back to the mainland and the other docks next door to it so transfers are as easy as retrieving your bags and walking across the parking lot. From Phx. we left here at 6AM and were at Deep Blue at 5PM their time. On the return we easily made a 1PM Roatan flight out. Details: Deep Blue Utila - swim with whale sharks at our all inclusive resort. Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras

Thanks for this, the place looks fantastic. The travel will take some research.

---------- Post added May 22nd, 2012 at 09:57 AM ----------

If you can go June 2-9, Explorer is offering their NE Caribbean trip Explorer Ventures: Adventures in Liveaboard Diving at $400 off PP with their "water dragon" discount - not sure what that is. So $1495 plus fuel surcharges/port fees ($235?). They run St. Kitts, Saba, St Maarten on that trip. You fly into one airport and out the other, they turn the boat at each end. According to their availability chart it's still open also - http://www.explorerventures.com/pdf/FLEETSCHEDULE.pdf

We did Turks/Caicos with them 2 years ago, it was a great trip. Lots of sharks, big pelagics and practically every dive is off the Caicos wall.

Call the 800# and ask for Mary - she's great.

I'll call when I get off of work today. thanks!

 

[electrix]

Just got back from first our live aboard trip on the Belize Aggressor III a typical day was breakfast at 7:00, 1st dive, snack, 2ond dive, lunch, 3rd dive, snack, 4th dive, dinner, night dive, hot chocolate, sleep and repeat and the diving was great. From airport to boat less than 30 minutes, 2 1/2 hrs from DFW

 

[chauncy19]

WaterDance,
Curacao might be a fit. ALL West Apartments would be where to go. American Airlines FF gets you there. Admit I know nothing about live aboard's. But seems like Curacao would be "cheap" and All West is quiet and I'd think adults only kind of place (remote and no pool). Big issue I see is only critters on your list is solved by this island. Although the house reef I thought was great.

 

[scuba-trini]

You should also consider Tobago. The cheap fuel prices on the island result in lower prices for almost everything - accommodation, transportation, food, etc. You can find nice hotels that are small and quiet with dive shops either in house or nearby. The diving is also very good. Have a look at Blue Waters Inn. The food on the island is also pretty good.