Holiday Destinations (help)

[podge]

Ladies and Gents of Deeper Blue, myself and Glowworm are hoping to be able to take a trip to foreign lands towards the end of September so what’s the word on the street with regard to a would be place to visit?
Being more spearo than pure freedive we are looking as much for decent accommodation along with good food and a respectable wine list with a few proper local beers to try as we are looking for bottomless ocean depths.
Both of us would be good down to the 20 meter mark but for a little more bottom time would be more used to a little less, and as there would be cameras instead of spearguns it would be good to have a bit of reef to photograph and even better if we could shore dive as well as maybe a couple of boat trips.
As for area, well we don’t really mind, anywhere that’s got warm, clear and safe seas would be up for consideration.
Anybody got any thoughts?
All are welcome
And anybody else that might fancy coming along just stick a post on here or throw me a PM, but please remember that we aren’t looking for depth, it’s just a holiday with plenty of diving and plenty of :friday:friday

 

[apneaboy]

Try the doughnut aisle in Aldis fat boy, that's foreign land, its between the fish aisle and the alcohol section rofl
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[podge]

Try the doughnut aisle in Aldis fat boy, that's foreign land, its between the fish aisle and the alcohol section rofl
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And a Happy New Year to you lardyrofl
You fancy a trip then? Or have the police still got your passport?:naughtyrofl

 

[apneaboy]

They never let me have one in the first place. I'm a Brad Pitt lookalikey so I just pretend I'm him haha

Come to Wales, they've got another one of your social astimes there SHEEEEEP rofl

20m? I thought you had to get them Scallops for Uw Finnly Wittenstal from 25m for him ;p
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[podge]

They never let me have one in the first place. I'm a Brad Pitt lookalikey so I just pretend I'm him haha

Come to Wales, they've got another one of your social astimes there SHEEEEEP rofl

20m? I thought you had to get them Scallops for Uw Finnly Wittenstal from 25m for him ;p
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Unlike you Northerners we southern gentlemen like our sheep dead with mint sauce and roast potatoes.
Aahhh good old UFW, dam nice chap you know.
Wales!!!!!! What part of warm and safe didn’t you understand???rofl

 

[apneaboy]

The water around Wyllfa power station is still toasty even this time of year.

The fish glow in the dark for night dives too

My honest opinion now.

Maldives.
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[foxfish]

This is not the easiest question to answer because most of the spots I have visited over the last 25 years are no longer the same!
Due to over fishing, tsunamis, over population etc.
I absolutely loved the Cape Verde islands, the Azores, sri lanka, Thailand & many more but, fear all these place have much changed since my last visits!?
I would say Florida keys would be a good bet, cheap flights, amicable people, same language & still some fish left.
However you have no need to go that far as Ireland has some great - well every thing!
Never been diving there but, had some great fun times on rod fishing holidays, fantastic nights in the pub & the only real bass fishing left in the UK.
OMD & myself had been planning a trip to either Cornwall or Ireland this year, Ireland was the favored but Cornwall was the easy option for us but, if you could get the weather on your side Ireland would be a memorable holiday.
There are of course other exotic options like the ascensions.......not sure about the beer though?

 

[scottwilson]

You could always book a spearo holiday with Colin Chester in the ASCENSION ISLAND

Or Man up and go after 20lb cod hiding in the kelp 18 meters down in stunning Norway

 

[devondave]

Bali is fairly cheap, beautiful woman, lots of good shallow diving.
Cheap alcohol.
Beautiful woman.
Cheap accommodation.
The downside is the flight is long and expensive.

 

[cdavis]

Air fare might be a bit steep, but Little Cayman would be perfect for what you seek. If that sounds interesting, check the threads unirdna and I posted about the place. September is an iffy time hurricane wise, Late October or November would be better.

Connor

 

[Anders]

End of september would probably be a good time to come to Norway. Although September is far from cold by Norwegian standards, it's still far from warm by international standards

 

[sjurba]

I second that! in september You run the risk of 10+ meters of viz and plenty fat fish.But the beerprices here will give you nightmares...

 

[Jonny250]

Paul how about Malta? reputation for very clear water, caves, great town, history, etc.
plenty of youtube videos to check out.

 

[rddk]

Go to Lampedusa island in italy best choiche at all or sardinia.

 

[podge]

Chaps thanks for this, some great thoughts amongst it all, Ireland as Norway would be good if it were a pure spearo trip but as it’s as much of a holiday as a dive trip somewhere a tad warmer would be good. Bali would be spot on if it was just a spot closer and the flights where a touch cheaper. Thought about the Maldives but that’s more the type of place that I’d take the Mrs rather than a blokes dive and beer break. Malta although I’m sure is a lovely place doesn’t really rock my world, but thanks for the thought Jonny. I’ve got to say that Little Cayman has caught my eye. Connor I’ll have a look through your posts to give us a little more info on the place. Never really thought too much about Sardinia, I’ll look into that one as well.
Any more spots that anybody has please post away.

 

[foxfish]

I once carried 20kg excess baggage comprising of rod fishing & spearfishing kit - at great expense I might add - to the Maldives only to discover there was a very strict bad on such activities from the shore!
I just cant see the med offering you what you want, it is even more over fished than the UK!
The caribbean is definitely a good bet though be it a tad expensive in certain areas, still think the Florida Keys would suit you very well?

 

[spaghetti]

Go to Lampedusa island in italy best choiche at all or sardinia.

Lampedusa has an incredibly beautiful sea, so clear and full of life. But IMHO the town sucks (ugly, and lacking in the leisure and fun district) and the coastline is almost all Marine Park where spearfishing is forbidden.

I'm begging my wife to take me (or let me go) to Pantelleria. In september it's likely to be perfect. Famous for its dessert wines.
A Trip to Paradise? Italian Island of Pantelleria - ABC News
In the link above some trip impressions in english. Read the dessert part and about the wine tours: that will catch your eye, Podge. As for spearfishing, september is promising....

 

[devondave]

Mmm, Pantelleria.
Never been but got introduced to the wine in sicily, god it's gorgeous.

 

[cdavis]

'The Keys are fine if: 1. you have local help, 2. you have access to a boat (absolutely required) and 3 you don't know what it looked like 30 years ago. Hurricanes are a definite possibility at that time of year.

I'll do some fast research on Little Cayman weather.

Connor

 

[cdavis]

The best general info on Little Cayman for freediving is in the thread I referenced. McCoys is the place to stay. Rent a jalopy from McCoys. Most of the videos have been taken down, but Utube versions, at a lessor quality, are available. Search for vids by unirdna. He has also got some good vids from Coz and Bonaire. His opinion, LC is the best diving, Bonaire is best to take your lady. Also look up his trip reports on Coz and Bonaire. He found a local spearfishing contact in Coz that looks great. Lots more videos on Utube, search Little Cayman, Cozumel, Bonaire. If you want to PM him, let me know and I'll shake his chain. He doesn't look in on DB much anymore.

Note on the puddle jumper to LC: if you can fly Cayman Air, the puddle jumper is almost free.

Weather is your critical, potentially show stopping, variable. I would not plan a trip to either Coz or LC in late September, that is peak hurricane season. Hurricane season in the Western Caribbean lasts till Nov 1(that's LC and Coz) Bonaire is out of the hurricane zone, but can be affected by swell.. After Nov 1, you have to contend with cold fronts. Coz is sheltered from SSE to NNE, which means cold fronts are not likely to be a problem for more than a day at a time. LC's best shore diving is sheltered from anything that is not out of the north, and diving is available on the south side as well. A boat would be real nice for the south side. North winds up to 12 knots won't bother you. The water entrances are very shallow and flat. If there is much wave action at all, it is hard to get across the sea urchins, which can be very nasty. Once you are in the water, even blowing 15-20 wont be a significant problem. Bottom line for cold fronts in early November, might cost you a day/week in Coz and two days in LC, but LC can make it up on the south side.

Anything else I can supply?

Connor