Which Liveaboard trip? Want world class diving?

[chillyinCanada]

Make sure you are comparing comparable boats too when doing your price comparisons.

 

[diversteve]

Tbere's a lot of really nice looking boats in the Red Sea - not sure why. So competition plus I believe tourism is down there due to the recent unrest in Egypt so that probably affects the prices you're seeing. As Ron posted, for us we're not willing/able to commit to 24+ hrs. to get there - my buddy doesn't get paid when we do more than a week.

Priced flights to the Maldives? It's 24-8 hrs/$2000+/2 connections from North America. Or $4200 for one stop thru London. That flight arrives 2 days later - not sure if that's affected by the Int'l Date Line.

 

[drrich2]

What am I missing?

As you look at exotic destinations farther afield, check to see if it's an 'apples to apples' comparison. A destination with more big animals might have colder water, rougher conditions, lower viz. & less dense, vibrant coral reef diving.

I'm not familiar with Soccoro; I see someone else likened it to the Galapagos. Reading some frank Galapagos live-aboard trip reports shows that it's very different from the 'tropical aquarium' conditions of some popular dive destinations.

Also, how long can you sit in a plane seat before you come unhinged? A nearly 4 hour trip from Atlanta to Bonaire has me imagining my butt is growing roots into the seat. The thought of flying farther afield (starting out of Nashville airport) is off-putting.

Richard.

 

[Mossman]

Looks like there's no obvious choice, though the Maldives sounds interesting. Galapogos is out simply because of the cost, if I went that far I would want equal time on land so that's easily a $10,000 per person trip.. maybe when the kids are in college

Galapagos would be my first choice, that's too bad, but maybe I'm just reminiscent of the old itineraries that included land tours. Indonesia (anywhere) would be my second. Probably Raja since I've already done Komodo. But I would do Komodo again in a heartbeat.

There are a lot of liveaboards in the Caribbean, and they're not cheap, why do people go on them? For instance a week on the Cayman Aggressor is $2,800.. or $2,700 for Belize.. whereas 9 days on a Socorro liveaboard is only $500 more at $3300, and airfare within North America is pretty much the same, or at least from the northeast. Or a liveaboard in the Red Sea (Egypt/Sudan) looks to be about $1,700. Even with the added cost of airfare it still works out to be cheaper than a liveaboard in Belize or the Caymans? What am I missing?

A package-priced room at Cobalt Coast, meals inclusive, is $2,035 pp and that's only 2 dives a day and shore diving. Besides the extra dives you'd get on the Cayman Aggressor (5 a day?), you also get the greater range of sites: hopefully the sister islands, or least some east or south coast diving. Then there's the convenience of a liveaboard. All your camera gear is right there, ready to take on your next dive. Snacks in between dives, inclusive beer and wine, a comfortable platform for surface intervals. I mean, why do some people fly first class? It's just a little more leg and shoulder room, free drinks, and a halfway decent meal.

 

[RJP]

As for Caribbean liveaboard pricing... I've never paid "list price" for one. As long as you have some level of flexibility date-wise you can get a good deal. Often a great deal. Recently got $800 off a Bahamas trip, did T&C on a "buddy pays 50%" and others.

 

[mala]

Scottish Liveaboard just won 2014 liveaboard of the year at the Sport Diver Awards.

 

[diversteve]

I'd rather do one awesome diving trip in the Pacific

wrong ocean...

 

[chillyinCanada]

Part of the problem with being able to take advantage of good deals when one's time is flexible, is that airline pricing may not be and potentially any price advantage on the LOB will be eaten up by price paid for flight.

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

I would have to agree with Chilly. Airfare is the killer on a lot of packages. I tried to book some folks to Yap in December 2012 and the resort package was $1600pp while the airfare was double that at $3300 per person. I told them to forget it and try to book different dates, not Xmas season. We used to hit Utila on a regular basis but flights from Houston that are now close to $800 used to be had for less than $400. Regardless of the trip, liveaboard or land based resort, airfare and flight schedules are a big consideration. Forget long international flights…even getting to some eastern Caribbean destinations requires long multi-stop flights these days, and overnight stops on occasion.

As for great diving on a liveaboard at a decent price…we are still getting packages to the Red Sea that INCLUDE round trip airfare for about $2900 pp USD.

 

[qwimjim]

Well the Red Sea certainly seems like the most affordable non-Caribbean destination, Socorro seems second. Anywhere I should consider? Or is it still better to pony up a little more money to make it to Komodo or the Maldives?