How to plan my first dive trip

You can pay all the money in the world and still have the worst trip in the world

When you receive your first certification card, you propose to immerse yourself in all the places in the world… sharks? Mantas? Turtles?… You want to see everything… and quickly.
But organizing your first dive trip can be overwhelming, and sometimes very expensive due to unfamiliarity with dive trips and lack of planning.

Can we help you?

Of course.
In our team there are experts in diving trips, such as Ramón, who has extensive experience in a multitude of diving trips, whether in “life on board” or in the Resort.
This blog is precisely the result of his experience and shares some good advice to make your first diving trip a success

Sorry: we have to talk about money

The first thing before choosing a trip is that you have to know how much money you have. Around the world there are spectacular things or animals to observe … but each at its own price.

The duration of your trip, whether you are going to do it on a live-aboard ship or in a resort, and the category of the latter, will affect your budget.

Choose your next adventure well

Do not think that because it is a tropical environment you are going to have fantastic dives, … and it is also possible that you go to the best dive site in the world but that the type of dives is not for someone who only has 5 dives. No, this does not work like that on dive trips

You must have an exact idea of ​​your level and diving abilities and, from here, act accordingly. Do you like conditions of total calm as if you were in a bathtub? Do you prefer cold environments? Do you want to dive with sharks or dolphins? or Better to see tiny creatures like nudibranchs or pygmy horses?

Study or find out at Xaloc Dive Travel about two or three common diving destinations and see what these destinations offer you instead of impulsively buying a plane ticket and then discovering that diving in that destination is worth nothing.

Dive Resort or a Liveaboard?

This is always the million dollar question.
It depends on which destinations are only accessible on life-on-board cruises, some may be trips that due to their special environmental conditions make access very difficult and there are no resorts that can make day-diving trips, such as the Brothers Islands ( Egypt), Coco Island (Costa Rica) or the Tubbathaha reef (Philippines), but in other destinations resorts and cruises coexist, such as Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), the Maldives Islands, the Philippines or Palau (Micronesia)
Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. Let’s see some of them:

Home Sweet Home

Cruises are a great option for those who want to do many dives in relatively few days. During most cruises you can do 3 to 5 dives each day and include meals and some drinks in the price. There are, as in everything in life, different categories of cruises, from fairly simple to luxurious. Obviously, if you prefer to eat in different restaurants or you like to enjoy the “night life” … a cruise is not for you.

On the other hand, the resorts can accommodate more types of pockets, from a few simple cabins to a bungalow of a renowned international company. If your partner does not dive, the most logical thing will be to stay at a resort and you go diving every morning (usually two dives are done) and return to eat with your partner, spending the whole afternoon together. There are also many divers who opt for a simpler resort but spend most of their money diving. There are resorts that have some kind of agreement for the Diving Centers to pick up their clients from them, or you can go, either by foot or by taxi to your preferred Diving Center.

Finally: choose the travel season wisely

For many diving destinations the changes in the seasons can be dramatic: we can have monsoon or hurricane seasons, waves, heavy rains, colder waters, animals that are in one season but are not in another, … in short it is very It is important not only to look at the price of a destination but also to know why that destination is more expensive in a season or on the contrary why it is so cheap. Contacting experts or local operators will let you know the best seasons in that specific destination.

Check with experts

If you are looking for a tailor-made trip, ask our dive trip specialists. We, through our travel agency (“Xaloc Dive Travel”) have access and special relationships with life-aboard boats and with resorts and diving centers… think that we have been able to dive in a large part of world destinations.

You can also participate in one of the diving trips to different areas of the world that we organize every year in Xaloc and that, in addition, you will be accompanied by one of our expert instructors.

Do not hesitate … contact us and make the most of your diving holidays