Best dive destination/resort/value help!

[Jaksonbrown]

Ok,.. So ill go at this another way. We are wanting to go to a nice tropical location for a week of diving. Looking for the best bang for the buck of course, but would really like to go on a "diving vacation".
I have heard of Bonair, Mexico, Hawaii, Grand cayman, but are unfamiliar with most destinations. Any suggestions?

What is your favorite dive destination, and where did you stay and dive with??

[lizard0924]

Do a search for Bonaire on this forum, and you will find a ton of specific information about diving there, including dive ops, etc.

[scottsax]

I've been to 2 tropical destinations: Bonaire and Maui. Maui was a family vacation that included some diving, but Bonaire was all about diving. If you want to dive your brains for a week, and have few topside distractions, Bonaire is the place to go. Their license plates read "Diver's Paradise," and it's absolutely true. I've been twice, and will go again without hesitation.

I've stayed at Buddy Dive and Divi Flamingo, and of the two I preferred Buddy Dive. Better house reef, and the Drive and Dive package includes a rental truck. For +/- $1100 per person (3 people in a 2 bedroom apartment) we got a rental truck, unlimited nitrox fills, unlimited shore diving, 5 days of 2 tank boat dives (if we wanted,) and breakfast daily. There may be better deals out there, but it's hard to beat the convenience of having everything taken care of in one shot.

[Kirby]

Go North! Cheap comparatively and beautiful, especially in the winter. I have had great times with Porpois Bay resort out of Gibson BC, and Divers Choice out of Nanaimo. There are several others as well a little further out, and well worth the trip.

Warm water is for weenies.

Kirby

[DBrown]

I would have to agree about Bonaire. My wife and I went on a Tacoma Scuba trip there in October last year. Lots of shore diving, so it keeps the cost down. A week there was actually less expensive than a long weekend trip to San Diego.

We stayed at Wannadive Huts (http://www.wannadive.com). The rooms are very basic, but we didn't have any problems or regrets. The staff is AMAZING and very friendly. We had a ball.

Of yeah -- the diving was absolutely outstanding. Just amazing water and reefs all over the island.

[Jaksonbrown]

So what is the flight like to Bonaire? I cannot find a single flight to bonaire for pricing on the usual, expedia, travelocity, type sites....

I am assuming it is a multi stop flight?

[scottsax]

There's no nonstop from Seattle. I flew Continental to Houston, then to Bonaire. Seattle to Houston is like 3.5 hours, Houston to Bonaire is about 4.5 hours. Maybe less. I tried to sleep through it, because I didn't want to do my first dive on zero sleep. Price last year was in the $900-$1100 range. Can't really remember now.

[Mongodives]

Went to Kona, HI in Jan, went out with Big Island Diver's. Hotel and airfare was pretty cheap, I booked 20 dives with their multi day discount it averaged out to 65 bucks a dive.

With the current economy I would recommend looking at US destinations, but outside the US I'm a big fan of Okinawa and the diving there is excellent and a week of diving in Okinawa with any of the English speaking shops would cost roughly the same as week of diving on anyone of the Hawaiian Isles. Plus you're going to a historically significant location.

Here is a list of shops that speak english on Okinawa
North of Nago Boat Charters Hedo Dome, USS Emmons, IE Island northofnago@ezweb.ne.jp 090-3790-2924 ask for Chuck

Oki Diving Seragaki Onna Village okidiving@gmail.com CPT David 090-5290-9232 CPT Chris 090-9788-0282

Far East Marine Dive Company fareastmaridiveco@gmail.com 090-9786-0543

Reef Encounters International http:reefencounters.org info@reefencounters.org 098-995-9414 090-1940-3528

O2 Dive Okinawa http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~02dive 098-956-7791 mobile 090-5389-7275

Asian Dive Tours Asian Dive Tours! Contact: 098-964-4007 or 090-5025-3153 and ask for Nancy or E-mail asian_dive_tours@hotmail.com

[Tom Nic]

So what is the flight like to Bonaire? I cannot find a single flight to bonaire for pricing on the usual, expedia, travelocity, type sites....

I am assuming it is a multi stop flight?

It's actually not as easy to get to as it once was since American Eagle stopped doing daily small planes (think Horizon Air) out of San Juan Puerto Rico.

As has been mentioned....

**Continental has a non-stop out of Houston. Leaves around midnight gets into Bonaire around 6 AM - a GREAT connection! I believe that they have another non-stop out of Newark. There is definitely one flight a weekend, sometimes two.
**Delta has a non-stop out of Atlanta, and another out of JFK, also on the weekend. Seasonally they will run 2 wknd flights.
**Insel Air has a non-stop out of Miami every day. They are a smaller regional airline, caveat emptor, but it is a jet (an older MD 80, I beleive.
**American Airlines has a non-stop to Curacao from Miami, then you can take Dutch Antilles Airways (or another small airline) to Bonaire.

By far the best connection is Continental. (I beleive it's IAH, not HOU - double check) However, Continental is no longer an Alaska Airlines mileage partner.
Delta is, however, so I often choose them. In May I'm taking a red eye into ATL, arriving 6 AM, and leaving on the 9 AM to BON, also a great connection.
If I had American miles to spend I'd try and get to Curacao and then buy the small airline ticket (make sure you watch the baggage limits or plan to pay overage). Using miles to get to Miami then buying a $400 ticket to Bonaire with Insel is also an option. This gives you more flexibility because Insel flies 7 days a week. Continental and Delta only fly on the weekend.

Using air miles I can do a one week trip to Bonaire, all inclusive, for 500 to 700 - a deal you cannot beat anywhere.

If your priority is diving I have yet to find a tropical destination you can beat for price, tons of critters, diving when you want to, great culture, relaxed restaurants, cool wildlife (think flamingos and iguanas), interesting industry (salt, naturally), etc. etc.

This May will be my 4th trip, staying 2 weeks (one week is NOT enough). So far it does not get old... PM me if you have any questions.

[DBrown]

So what is the flight like to Bonaire? I cannot find a single flight to bonaire for pricing on the usual, expedia, travelocity, type sites....

I am assuming it is a multi stop flight?

We took the Continental flight Tom noted above. I seem to recall it was basically 4.5 hours from Seattle to Houston, then 4.5 hours from Houston to Bonaire (less time going out with the wind than coming back). We scored pretty decent tickets for October - I want to say they were ~$650-700 each in coach.

One IMPORTANT NOTE: there is only one flight in and one flight out each week on Continental. You do not want to miss the flight by trying to get a connection too close to the Houston to Bonaire departure time. And the flight is pretty funny - I've never seen so many people wearing dive flag hats/shirts/etc. at once.

I have to say again - Bonaire was an OUTSTANDING vacation. 14 dives in 7 days, and we could have easilly pushed that over 20 if we'd felt like it. There is something to be said for kicking back a bit on vacation as well.

[lizard0924]

One IMPORTANT NOTE: there is only one flight in and one flight out each week on Continental. You do not want to miss the flight by trying to get a connection too close to the Houston to Bonaire departure time. And the flight is pretty funny - I've never seen so many people wearing dive flag hats/shirts/etc. at once.

Unless they've changed it for 2010-11, Continental offers two flights there/back on weekends during high season (Dec - ??) through Houston. You can go on a red-eye either Friday or Saturday night, and catch a return flight either Saturday or Sunday morning. We have done that the past three years. You get an extra day of diving in that way if you head down on Friday night and go home on a Sunday return.

[DBrown]

One IMPORTANT NOTE: there is only one flight in and one flight out each week on Continental. You do not want to miss the flight by trying to get a connection too close to the Houston to Bonaire departure time. And the flight is pretty funny - I've never seen so many people wearing dive flag hats/shirts/etc. at once.

Unless they've changed it for 2010-11, Continental offers two flights there/back on weekends during high season (Dec - ??) through Houston. You can go on a red-eye either Friday or Saturday night, and catch a return flight either Saturday or Sunday morning. We have done that the past three years. You get an extra day of diving in that way if you head down on Friday night and go home on a Sunday return.

Sweet! Since we went in October, it must have been before they started the extra flight for high season. That is very good to know. Getting "stuck" in Bonaire would be just fine. Misssing the flight there? Yeah, not so much.

An extra dive day in Bonaire...yeah, I can work with that.

[loanwolf]

Cory contact Tony at Puerto Rico Technical Diving. they have several options that you may like for recreational diving.

http://www.technicaldivingpr.com/index.htm

[BillZ]

When we went to Bonaire we flew into Aruba and took a commuter to Bonaire. It was a bit of a hastle but 1/2 the price of the Continental or Delta flights.

[Biodiversity_Guy]

That is a great suggestion Bill. Will have to price it out next time we look at Bonaire. And what a great place for a diving vacation. When we went, we stayed 2 weeks. Would have happily stayed longer!

Lots of good dive resorts there. We stayed at Buddy Dive and had a good time.

We did continental via Houston for ~$800/person. Very convenient but a bit pricey.

[Jaksonbrown]

So what have you all experienced in regards to the rampant criminal activity in Bonaire? I have heard that you are almost expected to get robbed or have your possessions stolen out of your car while in Bonaire.
Has anyone had any negative experiences?

[scottsax]

So what have you all experienced in regards to the rampant criminal activity in Bonaire? I have heard that you are almost expected to get robbed or have your possessions stolen out of your car while in Bonaire.
Has anyone had any negative experiences?

???

I felt totally safe there. Of course, I also carried no more than $20 cash on me at any given time, locked up all my valuables in the room safe, and left nothing but ratty shorts and tshirts in the car when I was diving. I didn't even carry my drivers license with me. I'm also a big guy, and can look intimidating, no matter how much of a wuss I actually am.

[Tom Nic]

So what have you all experienced in regards to the rampant criminal activity in Bonaire? I have heard that you are almost expected to get robbed or have your possessions stolen out of your car while in Bonaire.
Has anyone had any negative experiences?

My guess is that it goes in waves. If you read the right threads on Scubaboard or Bonairetalk you can get the impression that everyone is getting ripped off all the time, but I don't think that is accurate.

Is there some crime? Yes, as anywhere else. Is it a reason to not go? Absolutely not. I've taken teams of people all around the world and I like to tell them that the most dangerous part of any trip will most likely be their ride to the airport! :driving:

I've been 4 times and never had a problem.

If you don't use common sense you'll get nailed. But that's true in Tacoma! Keep all your valuables in a safe, don't take anything in your truck to a dive site that you're not willing to loose, don't lock your vehicle doors, keep the windows rolled down, etc.

I don't think Bonaire is any worse than any other country, or any 3rd world country in particular.

[Nwbrewer]

If you don't use common sense you'll get nailed. But that's true in Tacoma! Keep all your valuables in a safe, don't take anything in your truck to a dive site that you're not willing to loose, don't lock your vehicle doors, keep the windows rolled down, etc.

Sounds like the same advice we got when shore diving Maui....

[airsix]

I've heard the same advice. Don't leave anything in the truck.

What do you need to bring to the site besides your hotel key in your pocket? The truck should be empty except for a jug of water IMHO.

[Jaksonbrown]

I was just curious. I know Boydski had a bad experience and I was just wondering if there were others. We had our hotel room broken into in Jamaica at a gated resort. Stolen Camera and some funds. It just puts a damper on the whole vacation if you loose some valubles.

[LCF]

Have you thought about Cozumel? The whole island exists for diving. I understand you can get some very reasonably priced package deals with some hotel/operator combos. (We didn't go inexpensive -- we dove with Aldora, and were very pleased.)

There's great food in the city, and you can even take a day trip to the mainland to do the cenotes.

[Jaksonbrown]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. We are going to head off to Coz and spend a couple days diving the caves as well. I was really wanting to head somewhere new, but ya just cannot beat the price to Mexico right now. And diving the caves will be pretty cool to im told!

[LCF]

If you want a recommendation for a guide for the cenote dives, just let me know. I can give you info for several.

[Jaksonbrown]

Thanks Lynn,

I was planning on contacting you as the vacation gets closer. Thanks again for the help!