SCUBA!!

[mark]

Came back a little while ago from the Philippines. Holiday was for more than diving but getting the OW certificate there, then going out was a big part of the planning. On advice partly from Canreef, did the course and pool here, then just the open water over there, from doing it would recommand the same.

Started at Nogas Island and though accommodations was only a Nipa Hut was as a concept one of the best stays during the whole trip.

Traveled up to El Nido for island hopping (and diving) after passing through Sabang Beach and the Underground River, whole area amazing.

To Boracay Island to liven things up, another dive this time with the kid then Panglao Island. Just one dive at Panglao but fantastic, started as a wall then gradually got shallow and finished in front of the dive shop.

[doch]

Wow... lots of options. As much as I'm sure we'd love Thailand, it's not in the cards... neither is anywhere far east. We've just sold or house, and will be moving shortly after the (way too short) 1 week vacation.

From what I've heard so far, I'm leaning towards Cozumel, or Runaway Bay. Are they set up for newbs? Would we need to be certified, or can they give us enough training there to get us by for a day or maybe two of dives? We definetly don't have the time to spend the whole trip diving... I wouldn't mind, but the wife has stated that it's not a huge priority for her... damnit.

[Treebeard]

If you are not yet certified, save yourselves some valuable vacation time and take your classroom and pool training before you go. Go to a destination with a PADI shop and do your open water dives there. For PADI, you need 4 open water dives which you can easily do in two days. For NAUI you need 6 open water dives.

I have to disagree with the comments about diving on the Mayan Riviera. The Mayan Riviera is a very long coastline with lots of great dive sites. I have dived twice in Akumal and the coral and variety of fish species was amazing! And for beginners Akumal is much better than Cozumel because the currents can be quite strong around the island. Cozumel is also more prone to winds. We were there for 6 days in 2009 and only got in 2 dives because the harbor master closed the port due to high seas from norte. We are hoping for better weather when we go back in August.

I did my advance open water in Akumal in January with Akumal Dive Adventures. We stayed in a condo 100 meters down the beach from the dive shop. The dive instructor was great as were the dive masters.
For affordability, the Mayan Riviera also wins hands down.

Check out LocoGringo for lots of good information on the Mayan Riviera.