Another Girls Only Trip
I know that it is hard for us guys to believe, but the ladies only trips have been a rousing success. So the girls want to do another one without us. What are we doing wrong? Anyway, ladies, Barb and Nancy have put together a trip to Curacao this time. (following the previous trips to Jamaica and the Bahamas and Grand Cayman) leaving on May 5th. They will be staying at Breezes which is a fully-inclusive resort. The price is $1475 plus airfare, but remember that includes 6 days of two tank boat diving unlimited beach diving and all your meals, transfers, etc. A non-diver is only $1105.00 Airfare is additional but we have been getting some pretty good deals on it. If you are interested call the store or email Nancy at nhf56@aol.com or Barb at divingbabe@aol.com. Don’t miss your opportunity. It is obviously a great trip. (I wouldn’t know.).

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Bonaire
Bonaire is one of our favorite places to dive. Diving just doesn't get any easier than it does there. We keep our gear at the dive shop, down by the water and the reef in front of the shop is excellent. You can be sitting by the pool; decide to go diving; and in 20 minutes be on a good dive. You'd love it. We ran a trip to Bonaire in January and now we are running our annual family trip in August. You can come even if you don't bring your family (or they don't want to come with you). On the August trip we will be staying and Diving with Buddy Dive Resort. Our accommodations are condos with two bedrooms, two baths, and a living room, dining room, and a kitchen. We also get a rental vehicle for each condo. It is a double cab pick up truck, which makes beach diving a breeze. The dive package includes 8 boat dives and unlimited beach dives. We have also managed to get you some special perks as part of the trip. We have FREE nitrox, and a restaurant voucher for their poolside restaurant worth up to $75.00 (50% off up to $150 worth of purchases). The great part of this trip, besides the diving, is that it is family month in Bonaire and it is a perfect time and place to take your family. They have children's programs and it may be possible for your kids to stay for free. Call me for details. The cost of this trip is $200 less for non-divers.

Cozumel
A perennial favorite, Cozumel offers some of the best reef diving in the Caribbean. We have been doing an October trip there for the past twenty years. It is one of the most popular trips that we run. We will be staying again at the Reef Club, which has been totally refurbished after Hurricane Wilma. This is an all-inclusive resort that provides us with our diving, all meals, drinks, and accommodations. And you won't even have to worry about tipping the divemaster as they will be taken care of for you as well. Rich Mampe, our trip leader,is famous at the Reef Club. He knows everyone there and they take great care of us. This is a great trip. Dive the Palancar reef and you will see why Cozumel is a major dive destination. We are also working to see if we can get a good deal on group airfare.

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Nassau, Bahamas
In October, we are once again planning a long weekend to the Bahamas. We will be staying at the Sheraton in Nassau and diving with Stuart Cove's Dive Center. This is one of the best diving operations in the Caribbean. We have planned on six reef dives over three days of diving. Additional diving is also available. You can do an optional shark dive, wall flying with scooters, night dives, and more. The trip is $895.00 plus airfare. The diving, hotel, and transfers are included. Tim will be leading the trip and you can do your certification dives on the trip if you have not yet completed them. We haven't set an actual date yet as we are watching for some good airfare deals. Give us a call now to discuss it.

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Roatan, Honduros
This year we have found some really good deals on the island of Roatan. Roatan is one of the Bay Islands off Honduros. Today, Roatan is serviced by flights out of both Newark and Philadelphia and is a whole lot different than when I first went there 30 years ago. Instead of little "huts" we will be staying in new condos at the Infinity Bay Resort. We will also be diving out of there. The condos are only three years old and are really first class. We actually have two trips going in this year, one in March and one in June. The trip includes 7 night deluxe accommodations, airport transfers, breakfast, 5 days of 3-tank boat dives, unlimited shore diving and more. All this for only $750 plus airfare. Let me know if you are interested and we will help you with your air.

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Truk, Palau, & Yap
One of the problems that we have is that we are very good at creating the "trip of a lifetime". There are several different ones that we run. This is one of them.We start out with about a week in Truk Lagoon (also known as Chuuk). This atoll and the dozen or so inlands that it emcompasses was a Japanese supply and repair depot during the Second World War. In August of 1944, Operation Hailstone, an air and sea assult on Truk sunk 50 Japanese ships and destroyed the facilities there. The US then bypasses the Truk and continued on to the Phillipines. With tankers and transports and airplanes lying on the shallow bottom of the lagoon, it became a divers paradise. It is some of the most fascinating diving that I have ever done. From there we go on to Palau, which I consider to be one of the most beautiul places I have ever been, both above and below the water. And finally, if you would like we have arranged an add-on where we continue to Yap to dive with the giant manta rays in Mil Channel where the come to be cleaned. It is a religous experience. We are still piecing it together, so let me know if you are interested and I will keep you informed.

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Saba
Now here is an island that you have seen many times. It was featured in "The Piano", in "King Kong", in "Pirates..." and a number of other Hollywood productions. It is a really interesting island with some really neat diving. The island is about 2 miles by 2 miles and 3500 feet high. It just comes right up out of the Caribbean about 35 miles off of St Maarten. I really like Saba. It is like going back in time -- the way the Caribbean was 50 years ago, when Hemingway hung out there. Quaint cottages built into the side of the mountian. Plush rain forests. Winding roads and good restaurants. And on top of that, there is very good diving. Whit sites like Tent Reef (the site of one of my more memorable dives), Diamond Rock and Third Encounter and the Eye of the Needle (often considered on of the 10 best dives in the Caribbean). We will be staying at Juliana's Cottages in Winwardside and diving with Sea Saba who we have know for many years. The trip includes 11 dives, breakfast, 1 lunch, 2 dinners, tanks and weights, accommodations and transfers. We are presently looking into group air. We can only handle 12 p0eple on this trip so make your reservation now.

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North Sulawesi
Here is a really incredible trip tat will knock your socks off. Sulawesi is in the northeastern part of Indonesia. It offers some really incredible diving. As a matter of fact, I am headed to that area at the end of February to check it out. And in September George and Diane are going to lead a trip back out there. The trip will include 3 days at the Cocorinos Resort with 3 boat dives daily then on to Lembeh Resort for 6 days of boat diving and unlimited beach diving. There will be 3 meals a day as wellicluded. The price is only $2800 plus airfare which seems to be running about $1800 out of New York. Let us know if you are interested and we will put you in touch with George. for details.

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Maldives
If you want to do some awesome diving aboard a great live-aboard, you should sign up for our Maldives trip. Jeff will be leading our May, 2013 trip to the Maldives, off the east coast of Africa. This area is known for really good diving. George went there recently to check it out. He thought it was great and suggested that we run a trip there. Jeff and Ada will be our trip leaders for that trip. We have chartered the Manthiri, a really spectacular live-aboard that operates in that area. The boat is 86-feet long and carries only 12 passengers. It is very comfortable and can deliver you to some great diving. The trip should run only $3895 plus airfare. We will probably fly Qatar Air out of New York. It is considered one of the best airlines in the world. It is too early however to get a firm airfare price but it should be under $2000. We have about half the boat spoken for, so make your reservation now.

Barbados
This year, we will once again be running a trip to Barbados over Thanksgiving. We will be staying at the Mango Bay Resort. This is a lovely all-inclusive resort, so it will include 5 days of 2-tank dives, all meals, most drinks including local wines, transfers, a whole bunch of watersport activities, Glass bottom boat trip, A catamaren trip to snorkel with the turtles, nightly entertainment, and airfare (JFK - Barbados). And the trip is only $2450 based on double occupancy and current airfares. We would need to get a $750 deposit so we can lock in the airfare at the current prices. You can even upgrade to a single bedroom apartment for an extra $120 per person. There are a limited number available, so let us know quickly.

Red Sea & Africa
This is an absolutely incredible trip. We have done it twice now and it is my very favorite trip overall. First, we go to Egypt and spend a week diving some of the best dive sites in the world while on a liveaboard dive boat. Then we spend another week touring the wonders of ancient Egypt; the pyramids, the sphinx, the antiquities museum, and the Valley of the Kings. Then, finally, we head down to Kenya and spend a week on a photo safari. It will knock your socks off. Lions and zebra and elephants and giraffe. It is NOT Great Adventure. It is a great adventure. We are chomping at the bit to do this trip again. Hopefully, the world will calm down in the next year or so and we can make definitive plans. Let us know if you would be interested and we will keep you posted.

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* Indicates Approximate price. It is important to remember that all prices are based on double occupancy and on current airfares. Unfortunately airfares can change up until we actually purchase the tickets. (Then, of course, the airlines charge a penalty for any changes, if they allow changes). This is usually not a problem, but it can happen. Also please note that if you are signing up alone, we will try to line up a roommate for you, however, if we cannot there will be an additional charge for a single supplement. Again, this is not something under our control and we must pass this charge along.

** Plus Airfare

*** Dates are not yet firm