Caradonna

We're finally getting over our jet lag and it was well worth it! We all had a fantastic time! The Palau Pacific is a very nice resort - very clean, great service, beautiful grounds and beach. Everyone was very friendly and eager to help. Great snorkeling right off the beach. The kids went kayaking and really enjoyed that. We ate some meals at PPR; good, but a bit pricey. We also tried several local restaurants: Taj (good Indian food), Penthouse (Vince ate a fruit bat!!), Palm Bay (steaks, fish), Drop Off (at Neco - burgers, fresh fish). All were good and more reasonable; the cab ride is $7 - $8 each way.

The diving was terrific! Had a manta ray come so close I could have touched it, tons of sharks, trevallies, Napoleon wrasses, barracuda, titan triggerfish nesting (one of the photographers almost got nailed!), World War II wrecks, giant clams and many, many fish and corals. Neco was great - willing to go when and where we wanted to go. Our dive guide Brad, was wonderful - very personable, helpful and a lot of fun. The water was nice and warm (85 degrees) and so was the weather. We had some of our lunches on beaches in the Rock Islands - paradise! We hated to come home.

I would highly recommend both PPR and Neco, both first rate operations. This was Andrea's first trip to the Pacific and Vince and Tom's second and they were all very impressed. Also ruined, like we are! The Caribbean is fine and much closer, but the diving is definitely second rate in comparison to Palau.

Thanks for the help setting up this fabulous trip! MJ, 12/10/10

Thanks for following up. We enjoyed our trip to Cozumel and the diving was very good. We were unable to dive on our first scheduled day due to harbor closure (high winds), but we made it up with a night dive the next day. Dressel runs a good operation. The Iberostar was fine, very nice grounds, a nice room and friendly staff, but a little too big for us. We decided that in the future we would probably go back to Scuba Club Cozumel. Smaller so we get to know the hotel staff, better food, and being close to town has its advantages despite the longer boat ride to the dive sites. Flights were good, thanks for your help with the arrangements. Alex, 12/13/10

You deserve a big thank you! Roatan was perfect! Anthony's Key Resort was absolutely PERFECT! There is no way we could have asked for a better resort on Roatan. The diving was great, the dive operation was pure perfection and the rest of the resort was just as perfect. AKR has a great operation in place. We loved every minute! The cabin was great, the food was good, and the staff were great. I really can't imagine that there is a better place to stay and dive anywhere on Roatan than AKR! Countdown to Fiji is in high gear - we leave on Friday. Carla, 12/31/10

Bula! We are back from Fiji and really enjoyed our trip! The Beqa Lagoon resort was nice. We had a Koi pond residence, which was roomy, had seating places, large bathroom, and deck with overhanging roof to allow sitting in the rain without getting wet. The diving was good, with no rain during, and the occasional rain storms always allowed us to do things as they were short. Lovely place to spend time. The food was good, lots of it, and with friendly servers. We had a massage at the end and enjoyed our treat! We can definitely recommend this resort for any diver, altho non-divers would be a little bored, as you are stuck on a tiny island. The resort did offer lots of free informative activities, in which we participated.

The Wananavu Beach Resort clearly had a very good chef prepping the meals. The meal plan allowed us plenty of choices for all 3 meals, and lovingly presented. The best food we had! The original ocean view we were in was new and gorgeous! Large bathroom and bedroom with wet bar counter and room to put stuff, but it had a wasp nest right above the door, which they couldn't get rid of while we were there so they moved us to another ocean view, but one of the older ones. Tiny bathroom, but had more windows, seats by a window, glass doors by the bed, plus the large deck to enjoy an outdoor view. Diving was good when we went out to the Bligh Waters, which are well known and we went to the Bligh Waters 3 out of 4 dive days while we were there so we don't have any complaints. Just to let you know that we were thrilled with our holiday! Thanks so much for your help and info!  Kip, 1/12/11

Great trip. Mostly sunny everyday. Love Hotel Cozumel. Second time there. Great dive hotel, beautiful central pool, facility in Mexican flavor and in good shape, various places to eat, reasonably priced all-inclusive, stage entertainment most evenings, lots of divers, staff is without exception friendly, wonderfully accommodating and helpful.

The Dive Paradise operation at the hotel has to be a top operation on the island, and I can understand why. Excellent dive masters, crew very professional with tank changes, entry/exit, drift pick-up. They have both fast and slow boats, the latter we prefer with the 45-60 minute rides to the dive-sites; you really get a chance to talk with folks, many of whom are from your hotel, which leads to a lot of peripheral socializing with newfound friends. Shallow reefs a bit bare from the 2005 hurricane, but below 45' beautiful and the coral formations/walls/swim-throughs the largest we've seen. Viz never less than 100'. Fish populations in good shape, due to the national park, but also a wealthier island than many in the Carribean so not as much fishing pressure. So, thank you for your efforts. We turn our attention now to next year! Charlie, 1/14/11

Nassau was fun, the food was good, the diving was excellent. The shark feed with Stuart Cove's was one of the most awesome dives that I have ever done. Jamie, 1/21/11

Does anyone ever return from Fiji and not say it was wonderful? I have been many places and I want to see many, many more and I rarely return to the same place but.....I would go back to Taveuni in a heartbeat! Taveuni and Paradise Taveuni were PERFECT! Pure bliss!!!!!!!! Even I don't have enough words to describe how truly wonderful an experience we had in Paradise! If you haven't been, I strongly encourage you to go as soon as possible. The welcome was amazing, nice greeting, brief tour of the property then shown the bure, welcome fruit platter and nice foot massage and cold coconut to drink. The food was wonderful, very, very wonderful! The staff was so accommodating, encouraging you to dine anywhere on the property to give you a nice experience even though it meant extra work for them. I have never been this impressed by a resort - everything was perfect!!!!

The dive shop spoiled us! The dives were good at Vuna and much, much better at Rainbow Reef. Small group on the boat including one day of a private dive for us! The surface interval on a private beach for the Rainbow Reef dives was nice. Rainbow Reef has very good diving. Dive guides were great. We even did 8 shore dives at the resort because it was so good (including resident blue ribbon eels). The dive shop sends you out with a dive master on the first shore dive. ProDive really had a very professional, safety oriented, and customer service centered organization - one of the best shops we have encountered! Carla, 1/23/11

I can't say enough good things about the Odyssey. We had 14 divers on board, 10 from the UK and another couple from the US. My cabin was huge, Chip's was not as big, but we were pleased and surprised to have separate cabins. The bathrooms were laid out nicely, with a full size sink in the cabin area with a separate room for toilet and shower. The boat is large enough that you never feel cramped and the dining area, the primary "public" space was large enough for various groups to do their thing and not interfere with anyone else. The diving regimen about the Odyssey is the best. They pull up on a wreck, and you dive whenever you want. Most went at the same time, and it did not seem crowded at all. Their basic tenet was, "you're adults, and you can determine how, when, and how often you dive". If you wanted a dive guide, they were available. This system allowed a relaxed freedom, without the pressure of "the dive boat is leaving in 5 minutes, and I'm not ready yet". To me, this puts the Odyssey in a different class. Chip and I made 24 dives on the Odessey. As far as other things go, the food was very good with good variety and the staff was a joy to be around. I also liked the fact that the Odyssey was pretty much all-inclusive cost wise. Jay, 2/11/11

We're back! Thanks for all your help to make our trip a memorable one. It was GREAT! We loved All West Apartments. Louis had put us originally in the older wing on the ground floor, but upgraded us after an upper apartment became available. Both were good, but the newer ones are better. Everything we needed was provided and we were able to cook all our meals with ease.

When we arrived the housekeeper was there to greet us with our keys and car. I particularly liked the casualness of the whole thing...no contracts or anything to sign in blood! The car was perfect and although we spent most of our time under the water, we still had time to get to the big market about a 20 min drive away. (It's called "California Market" and is on the road to/from the airport).

Ocean Encounters West was great. VERY nice folks, from the counter help to the DMs and instructors. We had a few "firsts" this trip: first shore dives, first night dive (NOT scary at all) and first octopus and sea horses. We had a blast!

Thanks again for all your help. We will be sure to use your services again.

Regards, Kate, 4/20/11

I had such a lovely time in Belize at the Sunbreeze Hotel and everything you set up went perfectly. The place is beautiful where the hotel is, the people are lovely, diving was nice, food was fresh and all the plans you made for us were just right!

Big kudos to Hugh Parkey's Dive Connection owner Kevin and it's employees for making our days relaxed, safe and more educated about the ocean than before. I would dive with them again!

On the trip my friend became ill and we asked Kevin at the dive shop to help out. He had a doctor make a bedside visit within an hour. She did use the Travel Guard insurance and is proceeding with getting a refund of medical bills and missed scuba days. We were all impressed with the level of medical care which she received on the island. The hotel was also helpful with regard to my sick friend and making certain she was comfortable and that whatever she had didn't spread to others! Overall, I'm glad she choose to have the insurance. I just wanted to let you know that you did a great job for us setting things up! I'm looking forward to planning more trips with you. - Judy, 3/14/11

The trip was excellent.  It was actually our 8th time staying Buddy Dive Resort so we knew it would be - it's a great resort & the dive staff is always fantastic. And as it turns out, our condo had just been renovated (new appliances, improved bathroom, fresh paint, etc.), so that was a nice surprise this year. Only one person in our group had never been to Bonaire/Buddy Dive before - and she's already saying that she can't wait to return.

Thanks for your help with the travel arrangements - everything went very smoothly!

Jaime, 6/15/2011