Scuba Diving August
 

Hi All!
What are your suggestions for a scuba holiday in August? I am located in Europe, but the destinations doesn't have to be Europe.

The requirements are; Great scuba diving (coral reefs etc), great weather (sunny and hot), upmarket accomodation.

Apart from that not much <g>. So what do you experts say?!!!

Thanks!
Niels

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Hey nielsb! Always good to see another diver on FT.

From your listing, I see you are based in the UK. I would think that the Red Sea would be the closest, terrific, hot weather, diving. Never been, but it is nearing the top of my list. Red Sea is supposed to be incredible.

Don't know anything about diving the Mediterranean, Azores, Canary. You?

Next closest would be the Caribbean.

Another assumption I'm making is that you are not a US citizen. LUCKY YOU! You can go to Cuba and dive there. The reefs on the S. Central side of the island are virtually untouched. Plus you could have (what my friends who have gone tell me) is a great vacation.

Most beautiful coral reefs I've seen are in the Turks.

Most sharks have been the Bahamas; dozens of Caribbean reef sharks have followed some of our dives.

I love the island of Puerto Rico (my fave in the Caribbean) and the diving on the SW and NE coast is great.

For Central America/Mexico there is Cozumel, Raotan, Belize (all supposed to be great).

Would not recommend the US as our reef system is not near as impressive as those mentioned above (IMO).

Your other choice is heading east to places such as Great Barrier (the best/my fave) to the Andaman Sea off Thailand.

Of course Philippines, Guam, and the other islands of Micronesia are reported to be great.

Got any specific questions, shoot and I'll try to answer on areas I've been to.

By all means, tell us where you went and how it was!

Thanks for the reply!

Yes you are correct in that I'm not a US citizen, Cuba sounds interesting. I'm not that keen on the Read Sea due to the political instability in the area at the moment.

I have no experience about diving in the Canaries or Mediterranean at all. So no help there from me I'm afraid.

What's the weather in the Caribbean like in August, when I hear Caribbean and June, July August I think moonsoon, hurricanes etc?

Thanks again and I'll definitely let you know where we ended up.

Niels

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August is high hurricane season. There are also a lot of troughs that go through. Only blows 30 or 40 or 50 knots.

Bonair is out of the hurricane belt. Has some of the best diving in the Carab. and is not primitive. Very user friendly diving. Probably have to fly to Aruba or Curaco and transfer.

Thailand is great all the way around! Really cheap once you get there.

The Red Sea has to be some of the greatest diving around.

Carribean can be iffy during hurricane season but some of the islands are out of the hurricane belt and worth looking at.

Thanks to slawecki and MMP!

Yes, I have heard great things about Bonaire.

As for Thailand, we visited Thailand earlier this year and want to test something new.

So Bonaire sounds better and better, I'm also thinking about Maldives. Any comments?!

Niels

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sure, I've got a comment: I'm ENVIOUS!

Also would like to add to nielsb question by asking is there a better time to visit the Maldives than others for diving/visiting?
for example is there a cyclone/monsoon season?

Great question, add me to that one please.

Willie; what about Turks and the hurricane season? I.e., would August be a bad time to go?

Niels

I'll put in my 2p worth.

Red Sea is great diving, only spoilt for me by the crowds, so from that point of view this is a fantastic time to go. It's a short flight (from the UK) and there's some very nice accommodation in Sharm (for instance) at very good prices. I really think that if the Sinai becomes a trouble spot, then the whole region will be descending into chaos, and we'll all be thinking of heading for the hills. The big downside in August would be the heat - think waaaay over 100 in the shade, and a lot more in the sun - and we didn't see a single cloud in a week.

Maldives are a top spot for diving, but there's nothing else to do at all - we were there for a week, and by the end we were going stir crazy, since you're really confined to your resort (unless you go on the Exporer, the little cruise boat - recommended by my brother, amongst others). And August is monsoon time; expect quite a lot of cloud, and daily downpours. But I did get to see a shoal of mantas, including a couple that swam underneath us at our 3m safety stop http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Maybe worth thinking about Malta and Gozo in August - weather should be good, diving is good and not too busy, but don't know about hotels.

In return, we're off to Koh Samui in September - anyone got anything to say about diving there (must see's, good operators, etc).

Stewart

Thanks for your input. As I said earlier I'm a bit hesitant about the Red Sea due to the political situation, but it certainly is a top spot.

I'm getting more and more concerned about the Maldives and the weather in August, hmmm!

As for Koh Samui, we were there in late January, early Feb this year! The diving was so and so as the visibility was not good - actuallky pretty crap! However the island is terrific and you can't beat it from a price standpoint.

We hooked up with Easydivers - a real good outfit, but there are others there as well.

Niels

Niels,

Thanks for the Samui heads-up. We're actually going to be on honeymoon, so diving is not really our priority http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif just an add-on.

And I don't mean to put you off with the Maldives weather. It's the tropics, so you get typically tropical weather. It's really nice temperature wise, and there's v few bugs, which is nice. Even the afternoon downpours are fun - splash around in the pool and enjoy the warm rain. The only concern really is that it can be quite cloudy, and also that there's really not that much to do.

Hey, go to Bonaire - you know you want to (or at least I do http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Well Congrats!!! Samui is an ideal place for honey-mooners, especially if you don't want to sta in your room all the time <g>, but go out for dinners etc.

So what would the weather be like in Bonaire in August???

Niels

I think that Bonaire is pretty good in August. It's outside the hurricane belt (right down near Venezualean coast), and should be hot and dry.

I think that the US guys will give you more info when they wake up - one point is that you can fly direct to Bonaire on KLM via Amsterdam, rather than flying to (say) Miami, then having to fly via Aruba.

I don't think there is a direct flight AMS-BON.

If the Turks are Grand Turk/Turks&cacios, they are in the hurricane belt.

The effects of a hurricane are not just the wind at the moment. I went to T&C about 3 months after a hurricane. The place was badly damaged both above water and below.

Same for a laundry list of other places.

Most hurricanes are 2 weeks predictable, and the Caribbean resorts not very full in Aug-Sept. No problem with spur of moment.

slawecki - Thanks for your reply.

Yes I meant Turks & Caicos.

Well, Bonaire looks even better.

Thanks!!!!

Niels

I do not intend to sound like a snob here.....

I have been diving since 1981 and have seen a bunch of changes. Places that used to be wonderful such as Grand Cayman have become destroyed by the legions of novice divers that have pretty much destroyed half the decent dive sites off the island (Was there in 1984 and in 1998 and boy did it change). Sharm still has some great spots, however is dominated by "group" dive operators that take mostly Italians and French down, and they then proceed to get their bouyancy scrwed up and spend the whole dive destroying the reef and are more into the color coordination of their equipment than actually enjoying their diving. That said there are still some great spots in Sharm, but I would not go there in August due to the European crowds. I'd save it for a Jan/Feb when you'll appreciate the warm temperature more, and crowds will be more reasonable (If you wait until March/April its ok, but first check when Jellyfish egg season is as that 2 weeks is not the best to dive).

Bonaire or Turks are probably the best suggestions in the caribbean (cannot comment on Cuba). I personally find the Mediterranean and Aegean to be wastes of time (unless you have a specialized thing you like to do and can get licenses for like archeological stuff or spear fishing etc.).

I've heard some great thins about Kenya and Mozambique. Off the beat and track, some of the best diving I have had was near Dakak, which is in Northern Mindanao in the Phillipines (it is safe there). Truk and its surroundings are great as you have the whole wreck thing plus incredible sealife as well. If you go for the GBR, Heron Island is the place to go, much clearer than on shore and whitsunday diving and you are actually "on the reef" in a very ecologically friendly setting.

They claim 90F at mid day. The overhead sun makes it hotter. Dry and windy. Diving is in the lee of Bonaire. Rainy season is one or two days in April. No Gonzo diving. Just not much to see below 80-90ft. No gloves allowed. Most operations do a 1 hr morning dive and a 1 hr afternoon dive. Bruce Bowker allows longer dives.

Almost all dives are from fixed moorings, no anchors allowed, unless the wind dies, and then one can go to the east side of the island. I have been there for about 50-60 days of diving, and never had an East side dive.

Shore night diving is a big deal, an is quite good almost everywhere. Town Pier is a famous nite dive, but may requre permission, or a permit, or a guide (try Dee Scar if she is still around)

Normally I would agree with this, but at this time, for some reason a lot of people are staying away http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif and the diving is supposed to be great (ie 1/2 boats at Thistlegorm, instead of 15 !).

Re: East Africa, I was in Zanzibar last October, great diving, quiet, great coral but not too many big pelagics (sp - the big stuff, sharks, rays, etc). August is a good time to go too - tack a week in Pemba onto a safari.

cheers
Stew

hfly, stewie mac and slawecki - thanks a million for your suggestions and tips. This definitely gives me food for thought.

Niels

My biggest pet peeve!

We all had buoyancy problems when we first started, at least the dive masters were very adamant on the boat and while diving not to touch the reef.

I could not tell you the last time I heard a dive master mention "watch your buoyancy, stay off the reef" during a pre-dive orientation.

Just recently in HI on the inside of the Molokini crater (which we were told has the most abundant coral concentration in all of HI), when we came up after our 1st, I mentioned to the dive master of my group that I had noticed many divers in another group sitting on/kicking/kneeling on the coral. He mentioned it to the other dive master, who did not (to my knowledge, nor to the dismay of our dive master) draw his group's attention to the problem.
On our 2nd, the same thing was happening and I pointed it out to our dive master who swam over and make it clear to the other dive master what was happening.

On the boat a fight almost broke out between the two dive masters, until the captain heard what had happened. The captain conferred w/my dive master, myself and my wife, after which he suspended the other dive master for two weeks, right there on the spot.