Dive the Caribbean
Dive the Caribbean on a Liveboard Trip
I have to say I love hitting the water for a week on a boat and leaving all my cares behind. After a day at sea it seem like you can turn off your mind to all the cares you left back at the office or at home. My first experience was on a sailboat called the Juliet. It left Miami and we around the Bimini chain of islands in the Bahamas. The diving was great, the crew was wonderful and the people on the boat were a lot of fun and great to get to know. We ate a lot and dove a lot. We got to dive with shark for my first experience with them. It was awesome too. We did not have one of those feeding free for alls you see on TV, they were just cruising with us and around us. They were such beautiful creatures. You know what they say, divers are the only ones that when you say "SHARK" they jump in the water instead of get out of it!
One of my other favorite trips was on the Turks and Caicos Explorer. Turks can be very expensive so the best way to dive Turks and Caicos is on a liveaboard vessel. We stay, dive, eat for the week on a beautiful boat that was once a corporate yacht. Here is another destination that we saw shark on nearly every dive! One dive there was even a rare seen hammer head and a manta ray so we felt really lucky to have that on our trip. Naturally, I was not in the direction of them but the videographer on the boat got pictures of them and some of my dive buddies in the back ground so I know they were
telling the truth. This is a truly fantastic trip and a beautiful boat. Liveaboards are the way to go for little to no effort diving! You have the opportunity to dive up to 5 dives a day, eat like a king, and have a great time with people that all have a common interest. It is a great place to make new dive buddies that you will go with again and again.
COZUMEL
I am an avid Cozumel diver. I am lucky enough to have made it down 5
showing up! Big stuff came back, and little stuff came in! In May, our great dive master Alex, found two sea dragons one one dive! These are not normally found in the Caribbean! They come from Australia so we are not sure how they got there...The best part was the MALE was pregnant! SO there will be more of them when we return! We also saw 6 blacktip reef sharks on one of the deeper dives and there are so many turtles I lose count on how many we see over the weekend! In Feburary, we saw several large green moray eels out swimming around...not in a hole but swimming out in the open ocean! It was awesome. Large grouper are common and back again after several years of disappearance. So get to Cozumel and go diving with a great dive operator that will show you fantastic things under the sea!!!!!
I have to comment that topside the island has never been better. You would
never know hurricane Wilma hit the island. They island has several new hotels now and so much improvement you need to go check it out. Chakanaub Park now has dolphin discovery and the park has grown so much it doesn't even look the same. There are many activities on the island besides diving so please don't miss out on this island adventures. Cozumel has some beautiful beaches and the clearest blue water you could ever want to see.
CURACAO 
Curacao is one of my top dive destinations for shore diving. Bonaire is known for shore diving but a lot of people don't know that Curacao has the same mapped system on the roadways. Curacao has so much to offer. There are wonderful hotels from big majors like Marriot, Sheraton, and Breezes, but also smaller more intimate boutique hotels that are great for diving and getaways. Rent a car at the airport and never stop is my moto! You can dive all over the island. It has so many dive sites you never have to dive the same one two times! With little to no current and l wall diving you can dive from 15 feet to 130 Feet. Shore diving is definitely a lot less expensive than boat diving so for a family that dives this can be a great bargin. Sunset Waters is one of my favorite places to stay. The staff is the best in the Caribbean! They are so wonderful and truly there to help you with any of your needs. It has a beautiful beach that you can play at or dive from. They have a great dive shop on the property that you can rent gear, tanks, or schedule dives from their 42 pro dive boat. They have a place to store you gear at night so you don't even have to take it back to the room.
Another great spot to stay would be Habitat Curacao. It has great shore diving so don't miss the diving there. The most fabulous place to stay would be Kura hulanda Lodge on the west tip of the island. It is paradise. It sits at one of the best dive sights in Curacao. It has a dive shop with lockers down at the beach that will take you diving or you can just rent a tank and go diving right there. EASY diving is CURACAO.
SEA OF CORTEZ
I loved this destination. We went in the fall...October to be exact. The place was green! That was a different site to see...the desert was in bloom. The sea life was fabulous too! Schools of fish and lots of puffer fish and eels were the norm on the dive sites. We stayed in a small place called
East Cape, about half way between la Paz and Cabo. It was a great little place that was family owned and full of fisherman. The boat rides are about an hour to the marine park but worth the ride out. We even got to see sea lions and take a few underwater photos of them!
~ Diane Darcy
I have been a diver for 15 years. I got into the travel business about the same time. I love booking dive travel all over the world. I use a list of wholesalers that can give me the best prices. I have been many places diving so I can give you good suggestions on where to go and when the best time is to be there. Get that "bucket list" out and lets start checking those destinations off your list!
EXPLORER THE CARIBBEAN.... TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE GREAT DIVE DESTINATIONS! FOR THE MORE ADVENTUROUS EXPLORE THE PACIFIC......
My next big group trip is to Bega lagoon Resort in Fiji! We have the entire
resort booked for a week of fun, diving, and relaxation. This resort is rated #1 dive resort! Join us Oct 8-17, 2009!
Diane Darcy
Affordable Trips
817 281 3922
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