What was your favourite trip? But more importantly: Where else have you been?

[Hintermann]

Cozumel and Belize have great diving.

Agreed. Actually, one can do those desinations together....I did a couple of years ago. Went to Cozumel first and after a week of diving there, took the ferry to Playa del Carmen and caught the luxury bus to Chetumal. There I had a pre-arranged taxi driver waiting to pick me up at the bus station and drive me over the border into Belize and onto Belize City to catch the Aggressor Liveaboard. It was a great trip.

 

[qwimjim]

I would consider my most recent diving holiday to Bali (land based) and Komodo (liveaboard) as perhaps the best dive trip to date.

The other places that I have been to are:

- Great Barrier Reef - Liveaboard
- Phuket (twice) - Liveaboard & land based
- Bermuda (Liveaboard - no longer operational)
- Red Sea (Northern Wrecks & Reefs) - Liveaboard
- Red Sea (Elphinstone,, Daedalus & the Brothers) - Liveaboard
- Red Sea (Rocky, St Johns, Zabargad & Fury Shoals) - Liveaboard
- Maldives (twice) - Liveaboard
- Malta & Gozo - Land based
- Cozumel (twice) - Land based
- Philippines (Borocay, Coron Bay & Apo Reef) - Liveaboard
- Turks & Caicos - Liveaboard
- Belize - Liveaboard
- Sipadan - Liveaboard
- Truk Lagoon - Land based and Liveaboard
- Fiji - Liveaboard
- Cayman Islands - Liveaboard & land based
- Bali & Komodo - Land based and Liveaboard

To come:

Raja Ampat - Liveaboard (November 2014)
Socorro - Liveaboard (May 2015)
Bonaire - Land based (May 2015)
Bali - Land Based (September 2015)
Wakatobi - Liveaboard & land based (October 2015)
Bay Islands - Land based (April 2016)

That's it. I'll retire from diving after the Bay islands trip.

wow thats quite a list! a couple of questions if you have the time:

1. what was it about bali and komodo that made it your favourite?
2. what would your #2 and 3 trips be since you've done so many
3. how was raja ampat? where does it rank?
4. why are you retiring?
5. how come you've never been or have plans to dive in the galapogos?

 

[Hintermann]

wow thats quite a list! a couple of questions if you have the time:

1. what was it about bali and komodo that made it your favourite?
2. what would your #2 and 3 trips be since you've done so many
3. how was raja ampat? where does it rank?
4. why are you retiring?
5. how come you've never been or have plans to dive in the galapogos?

The Bali part of the trip was land based at Tulamben and I dived with Liberty Dive Resort. Nice accommodation, in-house restaurant with good food and excellent 1-to-1 dive guide and best of all, great dives under superb conditions. Lots of critters and the Liberty wreck.
The Komodo side of things included a supeb liveaboard in Mermaid I, a de-luxe room for myself, great crew, good food and 27 great dives. Some of the muck-diving at night was unbelievable eg at Bima Bay.
Overall, everything went well and so I gave it #1.
#2 would be Maldives and #3 Turks & Caicos with Raja Ampat #4 IMO. Please note that this is NOT a claim that diving in T&C is better than RA but just that I enjoyed the trips in that order. While T & C cannot match RA for coral and smaller critters, it had far more sharks and other pelagics, more exciting diving (especially at night) and probably the best liveaboard crew that I have dived with on the T & C Aggressor.

Before I go into why I am retiring, there has been a change in my plans and I am no longer going to the Bay Islands. Instead, I split that time into a trip to the Philippines (Anilao & Tubbataha March-April 2016) and Red Sea (2 liveaboards north & middle back to back in July 2016) after which I am hanging-up my fins for good. The reason is that from then on my wife and I plan to do all the land based holidays that we have postponed since the dive bug bit me 10 years ago. This includes the Inca Trail in Peru, Madagascar, Asian Silk Route, the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer train jouney etc. We won't have either the time or money to do both activities. That was a promise I made to wife in 2006 and I intend to keep it.

I looked at Galapagos. Apart from being way too expensive, the trips got filled-up very much in advance. I have settled for the "Mexican Galapagos" where I am going in May. But Galapgagos remains on our list for a land based visit.

 

[qwimjim]

The Bali part of the trip was land based at Tulamben and I dived with Liberty Dive Resort. Nice accommodation, in-house restaurant with good food and excellent 1-to-1 dive guide and best of all, great dives under superb conditions. Lots of critters and the Liberty wreck.
The Komodo side of things included a supeb liveaboard in Mermaid I, a de-luxe room for myself, great crew, good food and 27 great dives. Some of the muck-diving at night was unbelievable eg at Bima Bay.
Overall, everything went well and so I gave it #1.
#2 would be Maldives and #3 Turks & Caicos with Raja Ampat #4 IMO. Please note that this is NOT a claim that diving in T&C is better than RA but just that I enjoyed the trips in that order. While T & C cannot match RA for coral and smaller critters, it had far more sharks and other pelagics, more exciting diving (especially at night) and probably the best liveaboard crew that I have dived with on the T & C Aggressor.

Before I go into why I am retiring, there has been a change in my plans and I am no longer going to the Bay Islands. Instead, I split that time into a trip to the Philippines (Anilao & Tubbataha March-April 2016) and Red Sea (2 liveaboards north & middle back to back in July 2016) after which I am hanging-up my fins for good. The reason is that from then on my wife and I plan to do all the land based holidays that we have postponed since the dive bug bit me 10 years ago. This includes the Inca Trail in Peru, Madagascar, Asian Silk Route, the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer train jouney etc. We won't have either the time or money to do both activities. That was a promise I made to wife in 2006 and I intend to keep it.

I looked at Galapagos. Apart from being way too expensive, the trips got filled-up very much in advance. I have settled for the "Mexican Galapagos" where I am going in May. But Galapgagos remains on our list for a land based visit.

Thanks! One final question if you have the time I'm not so much into critters/macro, I've only got 100 dives under my belt and what I'm looking for is big stuff, lots of fish/biomass, underwater spectacle, and sensory overload. I've only really been to Cozumel and the Caymans, and while it was nice it didn't blow me away. I liken it to skiing on the East Coast, it's nice and all, but skiing in Whistler and Switzerland blew me away. Any suggestions?

 

[Hintermann]

Well, I am no expert myself but the reason that I am going to Socorro is to see big stuff. There is little else there - no coral and few small fish. But Socorro is well known for giant manta rays, several varieties of sharks (including hammerheads in spring), moray eels and (in winter months) encounters with humpback whales. It is a liveaboard only destination and you have a choice of 3 great boats and one that is reportedly not so good but probably being refurbished. Socorro is not cheap in itself but cheaper than Galapagos and Cocos Island liveaboards.

 

[bobstar2]

your cozumel experience is what i am looking for who can you recommend?

Photos of most locations at link below but not all of them. Some trips were prior to starting photo work.
shiningseastudio

Alor, Indonesia
Remote, hard to get to, great live aboard location. Best diving I have done.
Wish I could go back but likely never will make it.
Bali Indonesia
Great diving, did shore diving only. Loved it. Hope to go back.
Taveuni, Fiji
Rainbow reef, love it. Pain to get to. Hope to do Fiji Bligh waters
Native Fiji people are the friendliest we ever met.
Best to do a Liveaboard, from my view and plan one in the future.
Kadavu, Fiji
Leeward side is boring. Windward side is great. Too hard to get to.
Kona HI
Great Manta diving, otherwise boring

Moorea, French Polynesia
Lovely island and trip. SHARKY! tried counting sharks in site a few times but gave up. too many to count. Often over 30 within 50 ft of me at once with no feeding/bait.
Top Dive shop there gave good service

Bora Bora, French Poly
fabulous island, fair diving. Nice lemon shark activity. Top Dive shop service there was WORST I ever had in the world!

Overall Advice for Carib diving
Go with smaller outfit for diving, on smaller boat. Costs more but you get far better diving.
Go with larger, lowest priced outfit and expect crowds and time limits for your diving.
You spend hundreds getting there and staying there. Why not spend $20 more per day on diving and step up to better diving?

Bonaire
Been once, loved it. Going back for 2 weeks this winter. Best I have seen in the Carib.
Roatan
Been 2 times. Liked it. Likely go again sometime.

St Martin/St Marteen
Most boring diving of my life. Stick to the beach and ignore the diving. Had a place for a week, took a flight to Saba for 2 nights, one day diving so the trip was not a total waste for diving.
Saba
Only had one day there. Liked it. Not going back – too hard to get to for what I saw.

St John, USVI
Got wet, 2nd most boring dives of my life. Except the boat trip to the Rhone. Stick to the fabulous beaches and hiking the forests. Lovely island and may go back when I am so old I cannot dive anymore.

RMS Rhone, BVI
Great dive and I am not a wreck dive guy.

Cozumel
Dive with a small boutique dive shop. Small fast boats beat the crowd at dive spots, all advanced divers, only 6 plus 2 guides, 80 min bottom times on nitrox, costs extra and its worth it.
Dive with the cheapest, get a crowd, often beginners, short bottom times.
Cenotes
Outstanding. Plan to do it again.
Isla Mujeres, MX
Sailfish snorkeling. Long time in the boat searching. Incredible time when with them. See my pics. VERY hard work when swimming to keep up.
Last day there, 100’s of manta’s – as far as the eye could see covering the surface
Hard swimming, best for people in GREAT shape and ready to drive hard. Too hard for me to repeat. Would do it again if I was under 50 and trained cardio for a few months first. Event of a lifetime. Do it if you can.
Grand Turk
Love Osprey Beach resort and Oasis Divers. Been 2 times. Diving is nice. 10 min boat rides, nice reefs, no fish schools, turtles often, listen to singing whales in Feb while diving and seeing spouts nearby but never seeing the whales underwater. Not great diversity but then... where is in the carib?

Provo, T&C Too long of boat rides, too many people on a boat.

belize ambergris caye
Nice diving 20 yrs ago but not great.

West Palm Beach, FL
Love Blue Heron Bridge. Go there whenever I am in that area.
Key Largo, FL
Couple of days diving long ago. Fishy, good for US, like Carib better.

Grand Cayman
Been in winter and summer. Love the Silversides in summer – hire a private guide, go out early before anyone else. Have the silver sides in the cave to yourself – amazing. Did East side diving only. Only OK but I get a good deal at a time share there so likely to go back.

TX flower garden
Underwhelming. Not going back.

St Croix, USVI
Dove the south end. Enjoyed it. Only 4 in the boat plus guide. Most diving was ave Carib. What made is special was the service. My nitrox consumption and time was far better than the other air breathers on the boat. When they would all be in the boat, the guide would hover above me and let me stay as long as my computer allowed. Found great macro that way with plenty of blennies to photo.

Loved the night dive on the pier. One of my favorite dives. Lovely orange frogfish. Had 2 hours of bottom time on that shallow dive.
May go again.

 

[Hintermann]

your cozumel experience is what i am looking for who can you recommend?

Oddly enough, while diving in Cozumel was great, I would not recommend either of the 2 operators that I used, albeit for different reasons. On the first trip, we made the mistake of staying at a posh all-inclusive in the south and had to use Dive Palancar. That operator IMO is nothing but a bunch of fleecing thugs who (in exchange for certain "incentives" from other guests) changed the itinerary at the drop of a hat. Their treatment of divers was awful and they cut corners where they should not have done. Later 3 of us made official complaint to PADI about them. The other was Deep Blue and they were very good but rather inconvenient. The dive shop is some way away from the shore and there is no accommodation within 100 metres of the place. But they run a very friendly and efficient service.

Based on what I have heard from other divers, I would suggest enquiring with Aqua Safari and Blue Angel. Both are near the sea and have dive shops, eating places and accommodations very close to each other.

 

[qwimjim]

whoops, asked and answered.

 

[drbill]

I just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Palau with Palau Dive Adventures and it is now my favorite destination, edging out Tahiti and the Philippines. Other places I've dived include Thailand, Australia (GBR), Fiji, Belize, Honduras and the Bahamas. Heading to the Egyptian Red Sea next.

 

[drrich2]

Dr. Bill:

Interesting comparing Palau to the Philippines. While you might prefer it once you're there, if you had to choose between flying to the destinations (since the Philippines are close to the western U.S.), and considering the cost of stay (which I'm not so familiar with; I'm under the impression at the Philippines are sort of a closer, cheaper Indonesian-type destination?), which would you pick?

Factoring in cost & travel time/hassles.

Richard.