Holidays..... But where to go!?

Hey Everyone,

I just found out i can get some time off between christmas and new year!

So i essentially have from the 23rd Dec to the 31st Dec to go diving! I wanted to do a Southern Red Sea liveaboard, but it looks like the Tony Blackhust boats go our from the 21st-28th, which i cant do!

So, unless anyone knows of another liveaboard which does saturday to saturday in the southern red sea i guess i'm looking at land based or at travelling further afield (from the UK).

Mike Vietch reckons Mozambique, but i think for a week it might be too much hassle, does anyone have any experience of this?? I have worked in the Maldives before, so im not overly bothered about returning, and its quite pricey for the quality of diving (IMHO).

Ideally if i had to go land based i'd want somewhere with a decent house reef that i can spend hours exploring, rather than being dragged around a reef with 30 other divers.

I am considering Thailand, but i think i wouldnt get much diving done - too much time spent in the pub!

So if you know any sympathetic operators please let me know!

Thanks in advance,

Simon

Bonaire just won the Scuba Diving award for Top in dive destination, healthy marine environment, beginner diving, underwater photography and shore diving.

I have not been there but I think that makes it 5 years in a row for best shore diving and top caribbean dive destination. It is well known for being pure shore diving and good diving at that .. so a decent priced flight .. some dive style accomodation .. and bam you have a cheap dive trip.

Of course theres always Cayman too .. but I doubt that time of year will be chear for here .. if any availability. Flights could be an issue to the caribbean then too .. even Bonaire .. you probably go through Barbados .. and that place is slammed through xmas new years for partying.

I just assumed you wanted warm water diving there by the way from your own suggestions ...

oh other places .. Andaman Islands ? I have heard good things.

http://www.diveglobal.com/explore_destinat...ndian_ocean.asp

i may add if i think of other places if i think of some.

I think it will be difficult to get flights at that time of the year, problem is i have to take my days off in 2006, and i dont have enough to do it without going away for christmas. Gotta love office life!

I may end up on a liveaboard going out of Sharm Has anyone been on the Sea Serpent run by Tony Backhurst??

Other than that, if anyone knows any warm water locations that are basic but have good options for spending a lot of time with a subject underwater, please let me know, i dont mind camping!!

Just a point on Bonaire. As great as the diving is, they have a real theft issue, which is kept under the radar. I know of two individuals that have had expensive rigs stolen either from the car or the condo they stayed at. It seems that staying at one of the better known resorts is a good idea to protect oneself from theft.

Just a point on Bonaire. As great as the diving is, they have a real theft issue, which is kept under the radar. I know of two individuals that have had expensive rigs stolen either from the car or the condo they stayed at. It seems that staying at one of the better known resorts is a good idea to protect oneself from theft.

Thanks for letting me know. We're going to Bonaire for two weeks in January. I had heard about car break-ins but didn't know we even had to watch out in the accommodation. Like Simon I was looking for a great house reef and unlimited shore diving to spend lots of time exploring a limited area in great detail and of course spend lots of quality time with my camera. From the UK it may be easier to get to Schiphol and take a direct flight with KLM to Bonaire.

Bart

Both Burma and Phuket are good this time of year, but you may find it difficult to get flights to and a room in Phuket.

I am heading to Bali around that same time, and I didn't have much trouble with flight or hotels. So if you can get a decent flight into Singapore, that's a possibility.

If you end up in Thailand, drop me a pm. I'll be there for New Years.

Cheers,

Doug

Living front of Bonaire make it easy to go there a lot, so I´m have an eye over theft issues and breakins. There are a few basic security rules for anyone heading Bonaire:

1.- Never leave anything valuable on the car. (you can leave flip flops, shirt, shorts, but neither electronics or documents)

2.- Car rentals advise you to lock doors and windows, but dive operators and hotels recommends to leave doors unlocked and windows half and half. (most breakins are avoided by doing this, since you don{t have to pay for the broke car window and you are saying "I have nothing valuable in the car, go search if you want"

3.- South Shore is safer than north shore, since north shore is more lonely (most dive operators have regulations over tanks allowed on north dives)

4.-Yes, over the last years hotel breakins are happening but not a lot, this are a few cases not to really worry about, so stay on the more guarded ones, or bigger ones.

5.- Breakins are mostly commited by underages so is not a personal safety issue, this kids stole to buy drugs or for the rush of it, If they see you cominig probabbly they going to run like hell. (they hide in bushes and waits for you to get wet, so probabbly you never see them.)

6.- Is safe to walk around with your D2X hanging on your neck, so don´t worry about it.

7.- In the last years I heard of a couple of cases of tanks robbery, but appearently was some foreign fishermans who stoles the tanks in order to sell it in the nears islands, but you have to be carefull on the north side again.. (I always leave almost 6 tanks on the south side and never have a single lost.)

8.- Relax and enjoy... switch to island time.

Hey folks, thanks for the info! i'd love to make it over to indo, but with time and money being big factors i sacrificed my diving, and went for the Red Sea. with a whole week on a liveaboard cheaper than the flights to singapore, it made sense!!