Cost of diving in the Pacific?

I've done lots of diving in the Caribbean, because it is close, cheap and convenient.

I've done some diving in Hawaii (cold for me) and Fiji (wonderful!) but that's pretty much it.

I need some Pacific diving.    I'm concerned about two things:

1. cost (particularly for single supplement)

2. travel discomfort (14 hour flights in coach)

I look at all kinds of stories about Lembeh and Aniloa, and they seem wonderful.   I look at joining a 1-week photographic workshop and I get sticker shock!   I see places I'd like to be, but with costs of $5000-7000 for a week, NOT including airfare.

Ok - where are some good places to dive in the Pacific that don't break the bank?

And I could use suggestions and info on flying (from LAX, for simplicity's sake) to where ever.   And connecting flights and ground transportation if significant.\

Sorry to say but as I'm aging, the discomfort of flying is growing worse every year, to the point I'm starting to think I just can't do some trips.  OR I pay for a more comfortable seat so I can stand the travel.

As a point of comparison, I pay around $1000 to get to my favorite destination in the Caribbean, and another $1700 for room, board and 3-tanks/day boat diving.

That said, if a place is truly spectacular, I might pay a lot to see it.  Galapagos comes to mind.  But there have to be 'budget dive resorts' out there too.

Hi Craig,

We have been to the Philippines (Cabilao and Malapascua). It was 2300 Euro for 17 days including flight from Austria and 14 diving days, but is was long ago (2006). I heard Cabilao is still good, but Malapascua is overrun, due to the threshersharks.

Bali is also a location, where diving holidays are within budget, depending on the resort.

We often go to Egypt (of course not the Pacific, but the species richness and quality of coral is better even than Caribbean) and 1 week resort diving plus 1 week liveaboard including flight and AI is around 1800 Euros. Just in case you never have been there...

On February 21st we will take off for Raja Ampat for the first time and make a 11 day(10 night cruise with the MY Akomo Issekii that with 2300 $ is not overpriced for this region: https://www.liveaboard.com/diving/indonesia/akomo-isseki

Before the crusade we will stay in a "homestay", run by local people, that is also moderately priced (Some resorts in this area charge astronomical prices). In case you are interested I can report how it was, but this will not be before the middle of March...

Wolfgang

I am interested in your March trip report.  I'm not just looking here for a one-time trip, but rather several possible destinations I can check out in the next few years (while I am still able).

I do have a mission of sorts, to scatter some of my wife's ashes in the Great Barrier Reef, per her request.   Australia should be a destination in and of itself I think, and probably not justifiable for less than 3 weeks due to airfare.

I really like the idea of going somewhere 'exotic' to me, like Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, and most of the Pacific islands.   I've traveled a bit in the far east, but never diving, and decades ago.

Oh - Egypt and Red Sea, never been there, but it looks fantastic.   The Red Sea itself seems a bit cold to me, but I do get cold easily.  I've always wanted to see Egypt too.

The prices you've quoted seem reasonable to me.   What about traveling as a single?   Single rooms, or have to pay a supplement, or have to find a roommate?

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

Oh - Egypt and Red Sea, never been there, but it looks fantastic. The Red Sea itself seems a bit cold to me, but I do get cold easily. I've always wanted to see Egypt too.

Red Sea in Egypt (Dahab, Sharm, Hurghada and Marsa Alam regions) is definitely not cold, it's even been too warm in recent years. For last 16 years I'm in Egypt every year (from May to November) three times 7 days.

I have been to the Caribbean many times, and there is a really cold sea.

For us in Europe, Egypt is really cheap as it costs us 5* all inclusive hotel, together with a round trip flight, only around EUR 600. Of course, this is the price without dives, but if you negotiate well, dives are also very cheap, even less than 25 EUR per dive.

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

I need some Pacific diving. I'm concerned about two things:

1. cost (particularly for single supplement)

Between Thailand and Philippines, I've never encountered a 'single supplement' except on liveaboards. Resort/hotel rooms are almost invariably doubles and larger, they don't care if you're alone in a double room.

2. travel discomfort (14 hour flights in coach)

Connect in Hawaii to break up the flight? I don't think there is any other way to make a trans-Pacific flight shorter. Coming from the middle east, I have lots of connection options, but I don't know much about traveling from US.

I look at all kinds of stories about Lembeh and Aniloa, and they seem wonderful. I look at joining a 1-week photographic workshop and I get sticker shock! I see places I'd like to be, but with costs of $5000-7000 for a week, NOT including airfare.

Staying at Blue Ribbon in Anilao for three nights, my bill was 15404 pesos for the room (pre-booked via Agoda), and 21567 pesos for everything else - 10 dives with nitrox (afternoon + night on the day I checked in, 4/day for the next two days, none on checkout day), meals, don't remember if there was anything else in it. At current exchange rates, that's $728, and Blue Ribbon is not the cheapest resort there. A week should cost you well below $2k.

Ok - where are some good places to dive in the Pacific that don't break the bank?

Thailand - Andaman Sea coast; Similans liveaboards out of Khao Lak, day dives out of Phuket, Phi Phi, Lanta.

Philippines - Anilao, Puerto Galera, Dumaguete, Malpascua, Moalboal, Bohol, South Leyte, Coron if you like wrecks. Tubbataha is supposed to be the best diving in the Philippines, but it's only open for a few months a year, and only accessible by fairly expensive liveaboards that tend to be booked solid years out.

Indonesia, Palau, Vanuatu are on my bucket list, but I haven't been there yet. They're also considerably more expensive than Thailand and Philippines. You can also look at Malaysia; Sipadan is said to be great, although it's not an option for me with my Israeli passport.

Regarding Red Sea - I have dived it in September/October in 3mm shorty without getting cold. November to April it gets chilly, particularly when you get out of the water and need to get out of the wet gear.

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

Oh - Egypt and Red Sea, never been there, but it looks fantastic. The Red Sea itself seems a bit cold to me, but I do get cold easily. I've always wanted to see Egypt too.

The prices you've quoted seem reasonable to me. What about traveling as a single? Single rooms, or have to pay a supplement, or have to find a roommate?

Hi Craig,

Travelling as a single diver and photographer is not so good. I go with my wife, who also is a UW pohotographer, (and sometimes additional friends join us) and this is the best for photographers: on the housereefs, after a first checkdive (in case they do not know us yet), we can dive and photograph just like we want - any time, as long as we want and wherever we want. And if it is just half an hour spending in the sand for a goby to look out of his hole. On the liveaboards we two dive independently from the guided groups (unless there are harsh conditions that demand a guided dive) and just have to stick to the time scedule as the Safari boat has to move at certain times...

Just because of diving and photographing, it is highly advisable that you look for a buddy with similar interests, either in your local scuba club or via internet (e.g. here or in Wetpixel - there may well be single UW photographers that also need a buddy). Nothing is worse for a photographer (and the poor divers in the group) than beeing forced to dive in a guided group...

Regarding pricing, the Safari boats do not chrge extra for Singles, they just put ypu together with somebody else in a cabin. In the resorts it depends on the resort: they either charge something in addition or in worst case you have to pay for two persons (what in Egypt is still not really much)...

Wolfgang

Ah right - Barmaglot reminds me at the question about Red Sea temperature:

In summer, where it is outside very hot (Sahara desert (!)),  water is 30 oC from surface down to >>40m (I like it, but not everybody does). Best times of the year Spring and Autumn are regarded (water 26 oC- 30 oC). Coldest time is January/February, but it never goes below 21 oC (but 7mm semidry is advisable, outside there can be strong winds; some (mostly germans and elderly guides) even take drysuit).

Wolfgang

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

I've done lots of diving in the Caribbean, because it is close, cheap and convenient.

I've done some diving in Hawaii (cold for me) and Fiji (wonderful!) but that's pretty much it.

I need some Pacific diving. I'm concerned about two things:

1. cost (particularly for single supplement)

2. travel discomfort (14 hour flights in coach)

I look at all kinds of stories about Lembeh and Aniloa, and they seem wonderful. I look at joining a 1-week photographic workshop and I get sticker shock! I see places I'd like to be, but with costs of $5000-7000 for a week, NOT including airfare.

Ok - where are some good places to dive in the Pacific that don't break the bank?

And I could use suggestions and info on flying (from LAX, for simplicity's sake) to where ever. And connecting flights and ground transportation if significant.\

Sorry to say but as I'm aging, the discomfort of flying is growing worse every year, to the point I'm starting to think I just can't do some trips. OR I pay for a more comfortable seat so I can stand the travel.

As a point of comparison, I pay around $1000 to get to my favorite destination in the Caribbean, and another $1700 for room, board and 3-tanks/day boat diving.

That said, if a place is truly spectacular, I might pay a lot to see it. Galapagos comes to mind. But there have to be 'budget dive resorts' out there too.

My best piece of advice would be to avoid booking a package, where your entire itinerary is sorted out for you.... If you have some time to plan until youre looking to travel and some flexibility you can do this for wayyyy under $5k-$7k per week...

First off, do you have any miles/points stashed away? For example, I just booked a flight to Hawaii for very cheap and then from HNL to Palau for only 27k United miles (1 way). From Palau (Or any of the neighboring islands like Yap, Saipan, Guam) you can fly to the Philippines for relatively cheap.

If you dont have miles, those South/Central Pacific islands are crazy expensive to fly to. My other suggestion is to start by just finding the cheapest flight to Asia. Look into Singapore, KL, Taipei, Jakarta, Bali etc etc. If you can find a decent deal into one of those major hubs, inter-asia flights are generally very cheap. If you can find a flight to Jakarta it will be easy to get to Raja Ampat or Flores for some amazing diving!

I always just knock myself out on long flights, hah, but maybe keep in mind the current Coronavirus scare. Its possible many flights from US to Asia will be empty and you could get an entire row to yourself.

Once youre in Asia its very easy to hop around locations, and most 2 tank dives Ive been on were like $150... In my opinion you should be able to do a 10 day trip for around $3-$4k.

These posts are all pretty long, feel free to pm me if you want more suggestions on how I travel all over for cheap.

Architeuthis wrote:

Hi Craig,

Travelling as a single diver and photographer is not so good. I go with my wife, who also is a UW pohotographer, (and sometimes additional friends join us) and this is the best for photographers:

Yes, it is not so good.  I had 10 good years diving with my wife, also an underwater photographer, but she died of cancer 3 years ago.   I have a girlfriend now who doesn't even snorkel.   I never used to travel alone, but not it is necessary.  I've stayed in easy locations for me so far, places I've been before.   The place I usually go to caters well to me, and I go at a time of year when I am very often the only diver on the boat.

on the housereefs, after a first checkdive (in case they do not know us yet), we can dive and photograph just like we want - any time, as long as we want and wherever we want. And if it is just half an hour spending in the sand for a goby to look out of his hole. On the liveaboards we two dive independently from the guided groups (unless there are harsh conditions that demand a guided dive) and just have to stick to the time scedule as the Safari boat has to move at certain times...

That sounds like Bonaire.  I would definitely need a dive buddy for that sort of diving.  I have some dive friends, but they are only able to afford to go diving once every few years.

Just because of diving and photographing, it is highly advisable that you look for a buddy with similar interests, either in your local scuba club or via internet (e.g. here or in Wetpixel - there may well be single UW photographers that also need a buddy). Nothing is worse for a photographer (and the poor divers in the group) than beeing forced to dive in a guided group...

I've been on those.  Just adds some more challenges and gives less keepers / dive.   In Jamaica I had free diving at a resort, but limited to 20 minutes on the 'deep' dive, 30 otherwise.  That's 1/3rd of a dive.

Regarding pricing, the Safari boats do not chrge extra for Singles, they just put ypu together with somebody else in a cabin. In the resorts it depends on the resort: they either charge something in addition or in worst case you have to pay for two persons (what in Egypt is still not really much)...

Yes, I already turned down one dive boat trip because I would have had to share with someone I had never met (and female to boot).

Honestly, I don't want to inflict my snoring on a roommate.