Good vaction spots??

We went to Atlantis Paradise Islands in the Bahamas a few years back and went diving. They had some pretty sweet snorkling packages.

 

Jeremy,

The bahamas would be nice, but I think the water might be a bit cold this time of year. St. Thomas is absolutely awesome. I'd look into the Virgin Islands. The other thing you might look into is the all inclusives like Sandals.

You could always do what I did and get your pool dives done here in CR then do your open water dives while you're on vacation...

If you don't want to get certified, you might consider trying out one of the "Discover Scuba" programs offered by the PADI resorts. You're in a classroom for an hour or so, then you get to go on a 1/2 hour dive with an instructor.

-JB

 

I haven't traveled much myself. I've been snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta a couple times and had an absolute blast...best part of the trip by far. Took a big boat to some rock/island that used to get shelled by artillery. It was amazing. Got to drink booze the whole way back, including a stop on what appeared to be a deserted island with a beautiful beach. ah, good times. The second time they just took us to some random spot and had us snorkel. There were a few large schools of fish, but it wasn't like a huge reef...so make sure you ask around about the best place to snorkel.

 

@jbruken...on the booze cruise I mentioned, there were some obviously inexperienced folks who were doing SCUBA with an instructor. I got such a kick out of snorkeling (it was my first time)..I could have stayed in the water for hours and hours. I can't imagine what scuba would have been like. It's truly amazing what's just under the surface of the water.

 

LOL, the first Scuba I did was a deal like that in Puerto Vallarta. My whole family went on one of those party boats out to a private snorkling beach (Las Calletas or something like that). On the way out, they offered the intro to scuba course and I jumped on the chance. It was a blast, but very freaky the first time...

-JB

 

When I was younger I went scuba diving in costa rica. Looking back, we had no previous experience and my brother was like 8 at the time. The instructors just helped us along the way. I wasn't that invested into reefs back then so I didn't get the full effect, but it was still cool.

 

We have done some cruising around of the Islands.  We had really gotten sick of the whole thing, not the sun and surf, but the locals.  In the Caribbean Islands they tend to be so pushy and it gets to the point that you do not want to leave your hotel because someone is trying to sell you something even after you tell them you don't want it.

Then we found Costa Rica, to us it is heaven on earth.  They have Coastal Regions, Plains regions, Rain Forrest's, and many other types wonderful environments.  Since they have dedicated themselves to conservation, their habitats are well maintained and a fun adventure.  When we go to Costa Rica, we usually spend a week up in the rain Forrest at a place called Tabacon, http://www.tabacon.com/, they have a great spa right there and these wonderful hot springs that range from luke warm to really nice and toasty.  The resort is right at the base of an active volcano, which you can take tours around by horse back.  They have wonderful zip lines in some of the valleys off of the volcano and some wonderful waterfalls.  See wasn't kidding about heaven on earth.
Then we usually go to the coast for a couple of days, so we can be at the ocean.  We have been to the following places.  The Fiesta Resort in Puntarenas, very nice resort with several bars, restaurants, and pools.  Very nice, this one is a little better on the wallet as well.  I think we paid about 1000.00 for 3 of us for 5 days and 4 nights, with all food and drinks included which isn't bad, however, that was about 6 or 7 years ago so it has probably gone up.  Here is site that has some information, http://www.all-inclusive-vacations....fiesta.htm. The other place we have gone while there was the sister Fiesta resort called the Fiesta Premier resort & spa in the Gunacaste region.  A little more expensive and luxurious then the original fiesta hotel.  It is also on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and the Gunacaste region looks much like Africa with vast plains and grasslands, very nice drive (though long) to get the.  Really a great way to see the country side. You can find information for this hotel here:  http://www.all-inclusive-vacations....remier.htm .
The economy of Costa Rica is very reasonable and you can buy things at a very reasonable price.  The people their are of Spanish decent and do not pester or follow you around.  In fact quite the opposite they are warm and friendly and eager to help you.  the Original Fiesta in Puntarenas we meet several people and since they didn't not speak English and we did not speak much Spanish, they actually found some one to interpret for us.  The guy did the best Barny (purple dinosaur) impersonation that I have ever seen, could have been the Spanish Barny. Anyway this is by far the best vacation spot we have ever found and plan on go back for our next vacation there, which will be our 4th time to Costa Rica.  Even thought about trying to raise enough money to buy a place there for retirement as we love so much. 
If I can answer any questions just give me a holler, I know this is a long post, however the memories my wife and I share from there are some of the best in our lives and wish everyone could have them.

 

The bahamas was nice, but the water was kinda cold 3 weeks ago. Our next trip will be to Costa Rica or Jamaica. Beliz is awesome & English is the national language. Cozumel has some of the best diving/ snorkeing in North America.

Get on Orbitz, you cant believe some of the hot deals they have right now.

 

Well, I've only been to the Ryukyu Islands but I can tell you that the snorkeling and diving was very awesome. And like the other places people have mentioned the water would be cold this time of year.

 

We just returned from Hawaii last week and it was beautiful....again. The diving and the snorkeling was great. I would say that snorkeling in Hunama Bay is about as close to diving as you can get. We were able to get our tickets for $400 each. We stayed with my brother so I cannot give you a price on rooms but this is the off season so they should be reasonable. We also rented a car for $250 and drove all over the island. If you decide on Oahu we can give you the lowdown on what to do and what to not waste your money on. This was our 3 week there in the past 2 years and Ed has lived there for 3 so we have explored most of the island.

 

i have a friend who has been to jamaica 4 times and he just loved it.you can get very reasonable deals if you look for them.he even took a small 3 gallon tank with him each time he went down there and caught critters and set up a little tank to stare at after a good jamaican cigarette !!!

 

i am going to grand cayman in may for my honeymoon, it is a really small island, but it looks sweet. It can me pricey. I would look at orbitz.com under the package they have some cheap trips. there are ones for a bettter hotel than i got for a cheaper price.

 

So where did you go?