A family dive trip... where to go??

[Athena2c]

That will be a hard budget to stick to....
You might want to look at some of the all-inclusive along the Riviera Maya. A lot of them let kids under 12 stay and eat free-some might even have the same deal for kids a little older.

[sravin1]

Originally Posted by Dingus

Just got back into town and on the computer. Need to answer some of your questions.
1. We live in OK. 2. We were thinking the trip might be in Dec. but not locked in. 3. Wanting to keep the total cost for all five of us, down to about $3000 -3500.

We will explore Grand Cayman, Costa Rica and Bonaire. Haven't been to any of those destinations yet. Any recommendations of "outfitters" and/or dive shops in those locations?

Been to Cozumel many times. Use to stay at the Galapago Inn. Is it still a good deal or are there better hotel/dive shop combinations, considering I'll be taking more of the family and new divers?

Dingus

wow, thats a hard budget to stick to....cozumel palace in cozumel had an all inclusive from air tickets to meals and it usually has good deals. it is a new resort and prices are cheap for a 5star resort

[DiveSooner]

Originally Posted by Dingus

Just got back into town and on the computer. Need to answer some of your questions.
1. We live in OK. 2. We were thinking the trip might be in Dec. but not locked in. 3. Wanting to keep the total cost for all five of us, down to about $3000 -3500.

We will explore Grand Cayman, Costa Rica and Bonaire. Haven't been to any of those destinations yet. Any recommendations of "outfitters" and/or dive shops in those locations?

Been to Cozumel many times. Use to stay at the Galapago Inn. Is it still a good deal or are there better hotel/dive shop combinations, considering I'll be taking more of the family and new divers?

Dingus

Originally Posted by Athena2c

That will be a hard budget to stick to....
You might want to look at some of the all-inclusive along the Riviera Maya. A lot of them let kids under 12 stay and eat free-some might even have the same deal for kids a little older.

Originally Posted by sravin1

wow, thats a hard budget to stick to....cozumel palace in cozumel had an all inclusive from air tickets to meals and it usually has good deals. it is a new resort and prices are cheap for a 5star resort

Hello Dinges,

I am in Okc area aswell and looking for somthing similar, except my kids are only 9&7, I have been to Bonaire twice and love it... I am looking at doing an Aquakids for about $150 for 5 days, keep them happy in the morning will we dive. You can rent a real nice "apartment" and buy groceries to keep the cost down... what kills ya is the airfare. You will need to tack an about another grand for airfare and dive & drive... & food.

This is also assuming you want to do a week.

If you put a pencil to it and are looking for the most diving, ease of diving, & dive schedule, Bonaire is a better deal now than Coz... after you factor in food/dining, tips, cab fares, etc....

Port Bonaire... your exclusive home away from home!

My 2 cents.

Let me know what you come up with...

[crosseyed95]

This is off the wall but somebody mentioned the Key Largo idea.

I took the family there once and we got a room with a kitchen. This allows you took eat-in more and save $$ that way. You could then charter with an operation that has smaller boats. Quiescence diving has 6-pack boats. You could reserve the boat ahead (you'll have 4 slots) and then they will fill the other 2 slots. If you reserve ahead, they should guarantee shallow dives. So instead of limiting the other dives, you'll pretty much be in the drivers seat as to locations.

Depending upon what your kids like, there are places to swim and other adventures for those on a budget. (maybe you've already been there??)

However, don't get me wrong, you can still blow thru $3500 pretty quick if you don't mind the budget. Figured I'd just throw this out there since someone did that for me one time and I really appreciate the input.

crosseyed95

[sravin1]

Originally Posted by crosseyed95

This is off the wall but somebody mentioned the Key Largo idea.

I took the family there once and we got a room with a kitchen. This allows you took eat-in more and save $$ that way. You could then charter with an operation that has smaller boats. Quiescence diving has 6-pack boats. You could reserve the boat ahead (you'll have 4 slots) and then they will fill the other 2 slots. If you reserve ahead, they should guarantee shallow dives. So instead of limiting the other dives, you'll pretty much be in the drivers seat as to locations.

Depending upon what your kids like, there are places to swim and other adventures for those on a budget. (maybe you've already been there??)

However, don't get me wrong, you can still blow thru $3500 pretty quick if you don't mind the budget. Figured I'd just throw this out there since someone did that for me one time and I really appreciate the input.

crosseyed95

key largo is an excellent idea. we were there this summer. we stayed at the ramada inn (about 100 a night) and dove with rainbow reef dive center. the dive op is located in the parking lot. if you visit their website, you can also get discounted rates to different hotels and a diving package.

[Rockhound76]

The keys are fine, but you can still get fronts passing through in winter that will mess things up sometimes.

Bonaire, if you can afford it in your budget, is a very good bet. We took my 14yr. old there for his first "real" dives. We rented a 4dr. truck and did the drive and dive thing at Divi, with two boat dives included to give our son some experience with that, too.

Shallow or deep, your choice and no one is inconvienced. Costs are lower than Grand Cayman and there are still plenty of family activities: (cave touring, kayaking, windsurfing, driving through the nat'l park, etc.) Plus, you can set YOUR schedule.

After Bonaire, we went to Grand Cayman. My son thought the divig was "better", only because he found the walls very dramatic. That said, it was twice as expensive as Bonaire (I love macro, so I LOVED Bonaire) and the dives were much deeper. For some, probably too deep for kids, since even the shallow second dives could be over 60'. There are ops in Grand Cayman that have "kid friendly" dives, but I don't know much about their quality. We went with Divetech/Cobalt Coast Resort.

Funny, of all the places our youngest diver visited last year, his favorite was Panama City, Florida. I'm not sure, but I think it was the drama of wrecks, limited viz and big animals (try 500# jewfish and huge schools of big jacks). I would not think of this area as a good winter spot for kids, as the conditions can be rough, but it might work for summer. Keep in mind that my 15yr. has "odd" tastes and he just loves wrecks, even artificial ones.

Again, in PC, depth is an issue, since most of our dives were close to 100'. However, you can set up inshore trips that limit depths to 60' and the jetties at the St. Park can be shore-dived to any depth from 20' to 70'.

Someone also suggested the Mayan Riviera. I haven't been there in years, but think it is an excellent suggestion.

So, for the short answer, I would recommend: 1) Bonaire 2)Mexican Riviera.

From Grand Cayman, June 2008: Note the wide eyes and the depth guage in hand. He was a little deep, and methinks, a little narc'd. We didn't do that again...but this one WAS planned with the DM and an instructor.

[georoc01]

Originally Posted by DiveSooner

Hello Dinges,

I am in Okc area aswell and looking for somthing similar, except my kids are only 9&7, I have been to Bonaire twice and love it... I am looking at doing an Aquakids for about $150 for 5 days, keep them happy in the morning will we dive. You can rent a real nice "apartment" and buy groceries to keep the cost down... what kills ya is the airfare. You will need to tack an about another grand for airfare and dive & drive... & food.

This is also assuming you want to do a week.

If you put a pencil to it and are looking for the most diving, ease of diving, & dive schedule, Bonaire is a better deal now than Coz... after you factor in food/dining, tips, cab fares, etc....

Port Bonaire... your exclusive home away from home!

My 2 cents.

Let me know what you come up with...

I guess it depends on the deal you get. I know my LDS is running a 5 day trip to Cozumel in November for $900 All inclusive including diving & air at Hotel Cozumel. From what I have seen, the airfare alone to Bonaire has been running about $700 pp. For my trip to Bonaire staying at Divi in May, I was at about $2k pp + 5 dinners by the time you included air and diving.

My next trip is Roatan, staying at Anthony's Key over Labor day week. We are running about $1500pp including air and diving.

[jemulao]

Hi,
I have solution for you , i know the place where you enjoy with your family and also your children are not boring.the place is san diego zoo. I went last summer with my family , and lots of enjoyment there.