What liveaboard would do if airfare was free

[khatley]

My wife and I have received round trip tickets anywhere american flies in n america and carribean. We are experienced divers but have pretty much always went to Coz and are looking for something different. We have both thought that a liveaboard may be the way to go. any suggestions would be appreciated...eventhough we have free tickets money is pretty tight so we are looking for something that is not too expensive.
thanks

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Kona Aggressor? If you are limited to America and Caribbean. If not, I'd say something in PNG, Indonesia, etc.

But if you want something different from Coz and are limited to America, I'd say Kona Aggressor. It's one of the cheaper Aggressor boats. I always do Hawaii land-based personally, because I love everything about Hawaii, but on the Agressor you could see some of the less-visited dive sites and a lot of the rarer fish. It would certainly be different from Caribbean.

There are a lot of Caribbean liveaboards that sound fun but they're going to have fundamentally the same fish life as Coz, and most many won't have diving as good as Coz. The Pacific, and especially Hawaii, is a whole other pool of fish, coral, etc.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[khatley]

Oh yeah, it is continental us, hawaii is not an option...probably sticking to Carribean. Doesnt have to be liveaboard but I think that will get me the most diving. My wife is a little nervous at trying something new. I was all sold on Bonaire and she was worried about shorediving when I was explaining the drive and dive options! For the money that seems to me the place to go as I can dive all I want but she is a little nervous but she did say liveaboard sounded fun so I am trying to find the best way for me to get a smuch diving as possible without spending too much.

 

[menemsha43]

Turks & Caicos Explorer or Aggressor. Diving is very good and these boats are not outrageously priced. They both have solid reputations I believe. I was on the Explorer last summer and really enjoyed it. American flies to Provo.

 

[Doc]

My wife and I have received round trip tickets anywhere american flies in n america and carribean. We are experienced divers but have pretty much always went to Coz and are looking for something different. We have both thought that a liveaboard may be the way to go. any suggestions would be appreciated...eventhough we have free tickets money is pretty tight so we are looking for something that is not too expensive.
thanks

A liveaboard will more than spend the money that you might be saving.

Most (above the level of row boats) cost $1600 to $2200 for a week.

(You can fly to Roatan and dive at the best AI for a week for 1700 dollars... and get 5 dives a day)

Most liveaboards are very easily accessed from the States, some putting in harboarge in the US, most are accessed by quickie charter drops in the Bahamas... many are included in the package price.

Turks/Caicos are not a bad idea. The most exotic? Well, you could do Tobago, I believe that Hughes still has one there, altho it would be a shame to miss the land based, but what they heck, I'll stay on point for once. Not for beginners.

Belize has a few liveaboards, my favorite, far and away is the Nekton. Easy breezy diving from any of them.

Other than that, they're all not worth spending a free airline pass to get to, cheaper to pay the freight.

Me? I'd do Roatan for the volume of diving, or maybe Bonaire for the ease of the shore dives or Tobago land based to get max value from the tickets. I have no idea where they go.

So, what are your real choices, limited by the airlines?

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

OK Continental US...I would do Bonaire...why is your wife worried about shore diving? I prefer shore diving myself, though it does take a bit more personal responsibility. The whole problem with Bonaire and the reason I haven't been is the plane fare. So, if the plane fare were free, Bonaire would be the one for me.

If I wanted to do liveaboard in the Caribbean, it would be Turks and Caicos Explorer 2. Explorer is cheaper than Agressor, but it's a newer boat. Sounds like a great time to me.

 

[Damselfish]

Liveaboards are great and you can certainly get to a number of them and other good diving locations on AA. The nicest ones aren't cheap though. Given the free tickets, I'd be tempted to focus on places (liveaboard or not) you want to go sometime where the airfare is normally expensive. That depends some on where you are and your profile doesn't say.

A liveaboard in Belize would be a good choice if you're ok with the fare, Nekton is least expensive. Or one of the Carribean Explorers. Also, Peter Hughes Wind Dancer is a pretty good deal, it does part of the year in Tobago (as mentioned somewhat more advanced diving) and the rest in Grenada/Grenadines. There is a much cheaper range of liveaboards below those, it depends what you can spend, and what you need for creature comforts and privacy.

From most places Bonaire is expensive to get to and you haven't been there so I think that's a strong contender. It can be pretty reasonable once you get there and it will be a very different dive experience than Coz. What worries your wife about shorediving? Note that you don't have to "dive and drive" in Bonaire. That's what everyone talks about but you can do lots of boat diving too and even boat dives in Bonaire are fairly cheap compared to most places. And if you stay on the water you can shore dive lots without going anyplace, just fall in. (In Bonaire I personally stick mostly to boats and shore diving at the hotel because I go places partly so I don't have to haul gear around like at home.)

 

[khatley]

We are from the N Dallas area. Shorediving does not have a divemaster and I tend to scare her. I like to swim through caves and find large fish and sharks and night dive and she likes Coz float along and let the DM point things out. I think it will just take some getting used to but I think she will eventually try most anything.

 

[Damselfish]

Hmmm, define large fish?

in Bonaire you won't find caves to swim through, or really large fish, and few if any sharks. Night diving there is great though, and most places it wouldn't be hard to find someone else to night dive with if you want. Shore diving from your hotel dock in Bonaire is so easy that it might be a good place for her to get used to the idea. Even though there won't be a divemaster, you will usually see other divers. Almost every hotel has a rope from the dock out and down the drop off so she won't feel like she will get lost if that is a concern. And once that dive becomes really familiar to her, maybe she would warm up to the idea of a night dive there. (Though there are the tarpon at night...)

now of course, it would be nice not to do too many things that scare your buddy until she gets her confidence up...

 

[PaulChristenson]

My wife and I have received round trip tickets anywhere american flies in n america and carribean. We are experienced divers but have pretty much always went to Coz and are looking for something different. We have both thought that a liveaboard may be the way to go. any suggestions would be appreciated...eventhough we have free tickets money is pretty tight so we are looking for something that is not too expensive.
thanks

Cat Ppalu

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