Anyone know of any good (and cheap) places to book dive trips??

[scubarobin]

Originally Posted by Chilkie

Thanks all. Are there any particularly good places to look to book a trip for a single traveler? Most things I have looked at are all based upon double occupancy.

Actually, as a single diver, you are going to pay more in most cases.
That Roatan dive trip you are asking about - is it with CCV, AKR, or FI resort? If it is, then that price is probably pretty good depending where you are flying out from. Those resorts offer multiple dives each day and food. When you add up price per dive, plus meals, and airfare (which is high to most places in Caribbean these days) it works out to a pretty good deal.

As far as DIVE travel agencies:
Caradonna Dive Adventures - Dive Travel and Vacations

Bay Adventures :: Dive Adventures and Island Vacations :: 888.599.3483

Island Dreams Travel scuba diving vacations, cozumel scuba diving, dive travel, dive resorts, diving trips

Ultimate Dive Travel - Scuba Diving Tours - Scuba Dive Vacation

they all have basically the same packages as you will see as they deal directly with the resorts/dive ops and are all given the same deals.
we have used Caradonna and were very pleased with them. We have also used UltimateDiveTravel for a Palau trip and thought they were okay but not as helpful as Caradonna. I will use Caradonna again.

I understand your dilemna about saving costs and diving. One of the best ways to go is with your LDS trips as they can get you a roomie so you save money there plus have a built in dive buddy.

I think you should take a second look at that Roatan trip with your LDS. You will get alot of diving in and have a group of people to hang out with between dives.

robin

[chinacat46]

Originally Posted by Chilkie

Thanks all. Are there any particularly good places to look to book a trip for a single traveler? Most things I have looked at are all based upon double occupancy.

Being a single diver myself I know of what you speak. One option I use a fair amount is a liveaboard. On a liveaboard you are paying for your berth and depending on how full the boat is you will probably get a roommate but you won't have to pay a single supplement as you will at most resorts. Another good thing about liveaboards is you can really max out your diving if that is your main objective. I usually do 5 dives a day depending on the boat and itinerary. Liveaboards though usually aren't cheap but you can get some good deals. I'm doing the Wind Dancer in Grenada and I got 25% off the week I'm going.

There are some resorts that will also try and match you up with a roomie. Coco View on Roatan is such an operation. Of course if you want your own room expect to pay the single supplement. Watch out though as some places unfairly stick it to singles. I had one place that wanted to charge me double across the board and that included meals. It's one thing to charge you extra for the room but you shouldn't have to pay for meals that aren't gonna be cooked or eaten. I opted to stay at a different place.

[Chilkie]

Hi ScubaRobin. The Roatan trip my LDS is offering is with Cocoview Resort. As a newbie (7 whole action packed dives under my belt), I like that I will be around a bunch of folks who I am at least moderately familiar with, including the instructors who handled my certification.
It is also nice that I can get a bunch of dives in during the week and will be far more experienced by the end of the week. One week there and I will be an old hand at this stuff.
The biggest issue I have with this trip is that my significant other won't be able to go. She's not a diver and the cost is prohibitive. If I can find another trip somewhere I can dive a decent amount in a nice location but she would also be happy, and the cost equates out then I would give a lot of thought to going that route.

[scubarobin]

Originally Posted by Chilkie

Hi ScubaRobin. The Roatan trip my LDS is offering is with Cocoview Resort. As a newbie (7 whole action packed dives under my belt), I like that I will be around a bunch of folks who I am at least moderately familiar with, including the instructors who handled my certification.
It is also nice that I can get a bunch of dives in during the week and will be far more experienced by the end of the week. One week there and I will be an old hand at this stuff.
The biggest issue I have with this trip is that my significant other won't be able to go. She's not a diver and the cost is prohibitive. If I can find another trip somewhere I can dive a decent amount in a nice location but she would also be happy, and the cost equates out then I would give a lot of thought to going that route.

OMG.... run, don't walk, to your LDS and sign up for that trip!!! CCV resort is the BEST place we have been in the Caribbean. It is awesome and you will be soooooo spoiled once you go there! The DMs, the boats, the gear storage area, the shore diving, the staff at resort, the food, the hanging out between dives.... aaahhh, CCV!!!
I have videos and photos on my website.
CoCoView Resort, 2008
If I could go back there tomorrow I would be packing right now!!!!!

Yes, there are cheaper places to go, but the ratio of $$ per dives a day is better than most. Places like Cozumel are cheaper but you can only get in 2 dives, maybe 3 if you work at it, and the diving isn't as good. I was just there last month and very disappointed (I have a trip report to explain details).

robin

[CompuDude]

Liveaboards like Blackbeards will probably give you the most diving per dollar spent, since they're all about diving, all the time. If you want more topside adventure at the cost of some bottom time, there are lots of great options.

Bonaire is another good option for this: Unlimited shore diving (the easiest shore diving in the world, too) for VERY reasonable prices. Dive as much or as little as you want. Closest thing to a liveaboard that you'll find on land.

Cozumel and Roatan are definitely among the best values, [semi-] locally, although as paperdesk pointed out, Asian/Indonesian locations offer some of the best diving in the world for relatively small amount of money, just a larger chunk up front. (expensive to fly there, but live like a king once you're there)

This is a good thread to read about doing Cozumel cheaply, on your own, if you're willing to deal with the relatively bare bones trip: in return for LOTS of diving.
"Coz on a budget" Trip Report - Feb. 2009

[scubarobin]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Liveaboards like Blackbeards will probably give you the most diving per dollar spent, since they're all about diving, all the time. If you want more topside adventure at the cost of some bottom time, there are lots of great options.

Bonaire is another good option for this: Unlimited shore diving (the easiest shore diving in the world, too) for VERY reasonable prices. Dive as much or as little as you want. Closest thing to a liveaboard that you'll find on land.

Cozumel and Roatan are definitely among the best values, [semi-] locally, although as paperdesk pointed out, Asian/Indonesian locations offer some of the best diving in the world for relatively small amount of money, just a larger chunk up front. (expensive to fly there, but live like a king once you're there)

This is a good thread to read about doing Cozumel cheaply, on your own, if you're willing to deal with the relatively bare bones trip: in return for LOTS of diving.
"Coz on a budget" Trip Report - Feb. 2009

Actually, CCV resort is the closest thing to a liveaboard on land. That is one of the reasons I fell in love with it. We were addicted to liveaboards before we went there. And I wasn't really all that excited about going to CCV, but thought I would give it a try as people had told me that it was just like a liveaboard. Wow! They were right.

Bonaire is awesome, but only if you have another diver going with you who wants to dive as much as you. Luckily I have a diving spouse and we match each other well in diving wants and needs. Bonaire is my second favorite land-based option.

Liveaboards are great for singles but they are a bit pricier than I think the OP wants. For that reason, Roatan all-inclusive is best value. And CCV is the best of the best in that regard. The unlimited shore diving rocks!!!

robin

[chinacat46]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Liveaboards like Blackbeards will probably give you the most diving per dollar spent, since they're all about diving, all the time. If you want more topside adventure at the cost of some bottom time, there are lots of great options.

Bonaire is another good option for this: Unlimited shore diving (the easiest shore diving in the world, too) for VERY reasonable prices. Dive as much or as little as you want. Closest thing to a liveaboard that you'll find on land.

Cozumel and Roatan are definitely among the best values, [semi-] locally, although as paperdesk pointed out, Asian/Indonesian locations offer some of the best diving in the world for relatively small amount of money, just a larger chunk up front. (expensive to fly there, but live like a king once you're there)

This is a good thread to read about doing Cozumel cheaply, on your own, if you're willing to deal with the relatively bare bones trip: in return for LOTS of diving.
"Coz on a budget" Trip Report - Feb. 2009

The only problem I see with this Coz on a budget trip is the OP is a new diver and from the sounds of the report the diver in question did a lot of solo shore diving. Not something I'd recommend or even allow if I was a dive operator. The diver who did the coz on a budget trip has lots of experience and for doing solo dives was no problem. Compudude I know you wouldn't recommend a diver with less then 25 dives to do solo shore dives would you?

[paperdesk]

Originally Posted by Chilkie

Thanks all. Are there any particularly good places to look to book a trip for a single traveler? Most things I have looked at are all based upon double occupancy.

Places I've been in the Philippines don't care if you're single or double. They charge on a per-person basis. I don't know how the bigger and more expensive resorts do it though as I haven't tried them.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by chinacat46

The only problem I see with this Coz on a budget trip is the OP is a new diver and from the sounds of the report the diver in question did a lot of solo shore diving. Not something I'd recommend or even allow if I was a dive operator. The diver who did the coz on a budget trip has lots of experience and for doing solo dives was no problem. Compudude I know you wouldn't recommend a diver with less then 25 dives to do solo shore dives would you?

Good point, I certainly wouldn't recommend that. There are still lots of money-saving tips and ideas in the report that can apply, however, along with common sense.

[chinacat46]

I agree there are some great money saving ideas there but it seems he really made a killing by only paying for 10 dives and doing 40. I have no problem with an experienced diver going solo from shore especially if you aren't diving deep. But I'd like to see the OP get a good buddy and learning a lot more before going that route.