Throwing a Dart at a Map is Not Always EffectiveOct 15 '00 Write an essay on this topic.A dive vacation is always exciting, but it can involve a lot of preparation, travel, and expense. Therefore, you want to make sure you do it right! Choosing the right dive destination depends on several key factors: * Your interests and number of dives you and your dive buddy want * Your skill level * Your budget * Diving conditions/climate you prefer Your Interests Do you want to spend the entire week diving every day, as many dives as you can? Or, do you prefer a more leisurely dive pace taking a few days to dive and a few days to do other activities? This is especially important if you're traveling with someone else who may not be a diver. Make sure you agree in advance with your travel partner/dive buddy exactly how much diving you want to do. If it's full week of diving, then a live aboard might be a good choice. Or perhaps a Caribbean location that focuses intensely on diving, such as Bonaire or Belize. If you're looking for a mixture of diving, sightseeing, shopping and other water sports, you should look at areas that don't just focus on diving. Otherwise, your traveling companion is going to get bored. Grand Cayman and Aruba would be good choices. Your Skill Level If you're a beginner, you don't want to tackle a dive destination that is geared toward advanced diving. You will feel uncomfortable and maybe even out of place with the more experienced divers. It's better to start off at a nice resort location where you can make some good, easy dives to get you started off right. Our first big dive vacation was in Grand Cayman. The diving conditions were perfect. The water was smooth as glass and the visibility was about 100 feet. You couldn't ask for much better. We stayed at the Sunset House and dove with Sunset Divers. They looked out for us on the dives, but gave us plenty of freedom. However, they were very strict about the 100 foot rule and 500 lb pressure upon returning to the dive boat. This was a very comfortable way to "get our feet wet" literally and figuratively. If you're really an advanced diver then you don't want to be surrounded by everyone who still doesn't know not to stick their masks on their foreheads. It's nice to provide a little guidance to a newbie now and then, but it would be pretty annoying to be restricted from making advanced dives because everyone else on the boat was a beginner. Of course, if you're an old pro, you're probably not reading this, any way! Your Budget Just like everything else in life, your diving destinations will be limited by your budget. You can shop around and find some pretty good package deals that include airfare, hotel, dives, and sometimes food and drink. Make sure when you're budgeting for your trip, you understand exactly what is and isn't included in the price. Don't forget the tips for your dive crew at the end of the week. Our instructor at our local dive shop gave us advice on proper tipping etiquette. One good thing about diving a lot -- it's cheaper to drink. A lot less alcohol goes further after a day of diving. My husband tells me I'm a pretty "cheap date" when we're in Grand Cayman. Make sure you also understand the local currency and exchange rate if you're diving internationally. The prime example I use is Grand Cayman. You give them a $20 bill and they ring it in $16 Cayman. They get you right off the bat and the prices for food are pretty high anyway. An all inclusive in such an area is a good idea. Diving Conditions and Preferred Climate Do you enjoy neoprene? Is 25 feet considered good visibility? Or, are you spoiled to bathtub temperatures and sparkling water where you can be sitting on the bottom at 100 feet and look up and see the dive boat clearly? I'm a little claustrophobic. I learned quickly that the greater the visibility, the better my comfort level. Lake diving and quarry diving are not for me. I tried them both once. The water was way too murky and too chilly. A thermocline at 15 feet is not fun for me. I have since E-bayed all our neoprene and we only dive in nice, warm oceans. I won't be doing any diving in the Great Lakes, so I can scratch that off my list of possibilities. Make sure you understand your personal comfort levels, know what to expect at the dive locations, and carry the right type of protective covering and dive gear. Make sure you know what weather conditions to expect and plan your timing appropriately. If you're deadset on going to Cayman in September, be aware it is hurricane season. (The prices are cheaper in certain areas for a reason. Balance the risk against the savings.) There are some areas of the Caribbean that are safely outside the hurricane belt, for example Aruba and Bonaire. The last time we were in Aruba, there were hurricanes all over the place -- and we were perfectly safe. In fact, all the storms sucked the winds right out of Aruba -- it was hotter than normal. By making sure you know what you want, planning accordingly and paying attention to details you will help ensure a fun and successful dive trip.  |
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