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

[Chilkie]

Hi there. Newly minted and certified OW diver here. I was wondering if any of you folks know of good companies to book dive travel with??? I noticed Scubatoys (where I ordered my gear from) only has a few trips posted on their travel page, so I am guessing that they don't delve into this as much as other companies (I could be wrong on that).
Anyhow, I was just wondering if there are any good web sites to peruse and ponder possible destinations? I'm kind of itching to go on a dive trip now that I can, but of course I would like to get a good deal on the trip, 'cause after certification, my OW dive trip to Florida, and buying equipment, I'm having to watch my pennies carefully.

Thanks!

[chinacat46]

Well since you are a new diver you would probably like Cozumel. It's not my cup of tea but it is a cheap dive vacation and lots of people think it's great.

[rayaa3]

So there's a couple of schools of thought here...

1) the person that wants to dive with people they know

Some people like to book with their LDS, and dive with others that they know, are familiar and comfortable with. A good LDS often puts together a couple of trips a year, and it is a great opportunity to travel, dive, and socialize with folks who live in your area. I've personally never found the deals to be THAT good, but there's a trade off if you value the social aspect of it.

2) the person that wants to book a trip, and have their hotel/air/diving all included in one price, but maybe is looking for a better deal than their LDS can offer

Check out

Islandreams.com
Caradonna Dive Adventures - Dive Travel and Vacations

those 2 aren't bad.

3) the person who wants to get there and stay there and dive there for the least amount of $$ possible (ME!)

so - this is how it works for me...I scour multiple sites for the best deals on travel (air and hotel)

Continental Airlines Vacations Home
Travel: Airfares, hotels, vacations, cruises, car rentals and more at Travelocity.com
American Airlines Vacations - All Inclusive Vacation Packages, Beach Vacation Packages, Family Vacation Packages
Best Fares.com :. Cheap discount airfares, Cheap discount flights, Cheap discount tickets, Cheap discount cruises

Alot of time the biggest expense is airfare...and the airfare is USUALLY (not always) cheaper if you live in a hub city like Denver, DFW, or Houston, if you travel on the carrier that travels out of that hub, additionally you usually can fly direct. I live in OKC, OK - not a hub city, I have to stop in dfw or houston for everything. At any rate - figure out if you are a hub city, and which airline you are a hub for - check that site for airfare alot. Usually I find it cheaper to book airfare and hotel together on one of these sites.

Diving I pay for seperately...I pay for my diving (primarily Mexico) in cash when I get there. I find that if you can buy 2 tanks for 70 bucks for 2 tanks online, you can pay closer to 60 in US dollars (CASH, not credit card) when you get there. If you pay in credit card - it always costs a little more. The smaller the shop, the more this tends to be true. I like the smaller shops anyway. For instance PapaHogs in cozumel is about 60 dollars for 2 tanks if you pay cash, in person - if you bring a credit card, they'll charge you 15% for "fees and taxes".

There's lots of deals out there for cozumel right now...I can go all inclusive (meals drinks flight hotel, everything but diving) for the week to a smaller hotel in cozumel from OKC for a week in July for about 700.00 per person. I was looking at Cancun for July a month ago - closter to 600.00 (but you'll like diving cozumel more). I like the all-inclusives, because if I go out to eat every night downtown, I'll spend more...and my wife can have as many cerveza's as she pleases...but if your pinching pennies...don't go all-inclusive, and eat at simpler, less expensive resteraunts while your there.

Depending on who you are and what you want - it may just be easier to call up a dive travel agency like island dreams or caradonna and get a quote and pay what they offer...but I'm a bargain hunter - so I scour the internet and look under every rock I can find...sometimes I score big, sometimes I don't.

[rayaa3]

also forgot to mention if $$ is a big concern - fly on weekdays - flying on weekend days usually adds some amount per passenger.

[Chilkie]

Thanks for the response Rayaa3. I'm pretty flexible on how to go about booking travel.I travel quite a bit, but aside from my OW cert. trip last weekend in Florida (which was booked through my LDS) I have never booked a dive trip so I was wondering how best to go about it. I live in Chattanooga but fly out of Atlanta quite a bit.
I'll look into each of the options you threw out there and attempt to educate myself. My LDS has a trip going to Roatan, Honduras in July that looks like fun, but it is also pricey (around $2K with airfare to an all inclusive) and I am thinking that I may be able to do much better than that if I book a trip individually. Besides, if I can go somewhere less expensive then I may be able to entice my girlfriend to come along as well.
Thanks again!

[WaScubaDude]

Great advise here.
If I can speak to the penny pinching part. Both my wife and I are very frugal. We have traveled very budget, ie: $28 per night for a shed with a fan in Jamaica, got units with oven & frig to buy and cook all our own food etc.
The very best vacations we, as penny pinchers, have had are at the All Inclusives. My suggestion is to look online and ask questions like you are doing, when you find what you know to be a good price on a nice all inclusive, take it.

I cant tell you how wonderful it is to leave the wallet in the safe, and eat and drink and do most anything you want and not have to pay anything more. Got a problem with a meal, no problem just order another. Want another drink no problem just order up, want to do a tequila tasting? Just tip back the glasses and smile. Sitting on the beach and want to go for a swim, no worries about your wallet in your beach bag either. Just lay back and relax. No money worries why you are on an AI vacation at all.

Nice picture eh?

If you are really cheap choose either budget budget, or AI and you will end up the happier for it. Middle of the road, ie a reasonable hotel and eating out alot gets pricey quickly and will have you counting your pesos often.

In Cozumel you can spend $100 for just a hotel room and $90 or more per day for food and drinks for two. Makes an AI for $150 per day total look really good.

Some years ago we looked into housing swaps, we actualy traded our 4 bed home in Seattle for a Condo in Vancouver BC for a long week end. It worked out great and made for zero lodging costs. You may be able to find a local in an area with great diving to take you in for a reasonable charge. I have seen web sites like this in the past.

Do you have a budget in mind for your entire trip? Your budget would guide you pretty quickly, whether it will be a long weekend in another part of FLA or a couple weeks in a more exotic local All Inclusive.

PS. I have mentioned on other threads that we had very good luck on a budget vacation to Cozumel using Stacey Burton at Vacation Connections.

[bfisher]

If you get an itch to do Bonaire you can look on Bonaire - Bonaire Travel and Bonaire Information : Bonaire Pros.

They have packages listed that are reasonable. The diving doesn't get much better than Boaire, at least in the Caribbean.

Me and a couple friends just booked a September trip there. My 7th time in 4 1/2 years. Doing a little homework and even begging we are staying at the Caribbean Club for two weeks, airfare out of Philly for $1750. We have to buy lunch and dinner, but we have a full kitchen and groceries are right in town. Just shore diving, but that's what Bonaire is about.

[paperdesk]

If you like travel and are on the adventurous side, try going to Philippines! If you book the right time of year you can get there for about $1000. Stay for $30 a day including good meals, and dive for about $10 a dive. Total for one week? around $1600 give or take. This is if you go somewhere quiet like Palawan. And BTW the diving is amazing, though if you're all about good viz than skip it. Of course if you want to visit some of the famous, busy dives like Apo or Tubataha it will cost more, maybe much more.

As mentioned, good package deals are usually available for Cozumel, Roatan and Bonaire, all of which would be great.

[chinacat46]

I agree with the Philippines. Great diving and it's not much more then going to the caribbean. Just glad most people think it's expensive cause it keeps the price down.

[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.