It stumps me every time someone asks "So what was your favorite part of the trip?" That's just impossible to answer. How could I possibly choose between walking with gorillas and staring Everest in the face or seeing my first manta ray? Needless to say, we have had many, many favorite adventures on this trip.
What I can do is pick out some of the best stops that would make great self-contained vacations. Since most of our time was spent in Africa and Asia, these aren't the quickest places to get to from the US. But most are inexpensive once you get there so that they end up being truly reasonable alternatives to a typical holiday to Hawaii or Mexico.
We also seem to like rating things, so there's a little table for each destination to give a sense of cost, difficulty of travel, etc, based on our experience. The little icons on the right indicate what there is to do there: diving, hiking, beaching, etc. Click on any of the photos for more detailed travel information - if we've written it yet.
Our Favorite Island Getaways
Pulau Derawan, Indonesia
Dive with sea turtles and mantas, release baby turtles into the wild, enjoy the beautiful islands - and do it all without other tourists around to spoil it.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
great |
$$ |
4 day |
moderate |
GREAT! |
Seraya Island, Indonesia
A semi-private island paradise with soft sand, calm waters and more peace and quite than you'll know what to do with. But if you do get bored, you can always hop next door to Komodo National Park to play with the dragons.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language |
great |
$ |
3 day |
moderate |
La Digue, Seychelles
The Seychelles are truly as beautiful as all those travel magazines make them seem. I vote La Digue's beaches as the most stunning in the world, set in a lush tropical setting with few cars and no hordes of tourists.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
GREAT! |
$$$ |
2 days |
easy |
ok |
Our Favorite Dive Spots
Pulau Derawan, Indonesia
Dive with sea turtles and mantas, release baby turtles into the wild, enjoy the beautiful islands - and do it all without other tourists around to spoil it.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
great |
$$ |
4 day |
moderate |
GREAT! |
Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
Explore the low visibility world of muck diving and discover some of the most amazing little creatures you're ever going to see under the waves.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
great |
$$ |
3 day |
easy |
GREAT! |
Dahab and the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
From the hippie hangout of Dahab with warm water, cheap diving and relaxing land life, to the amazing wreck of the HMS Thistlegorm just a few hours away, the Red Sea is a must-dive.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
good |
$$ |
2 days |
easy |
good |
Maldives
Roam the tiny islands of the Maldivian atolls in a dive boat, meeting manta rays, hammerheads and whalesharks along the way.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
good |
$$$$ |
3 day |
simple |
very good |
Sipidan
Stay in a real oil rig or beautiful water bungalow at night and dive with countless turtles and sharks by day.
AWESOMENESS!Our relative measure of how cool this place is. |
COST$ = cheap
$$$$$ = resort |
TRAVEL TIMEEstimate of how long a round trip here from California would take |
TRAVEL DIFFICULTYHow much effort to get here? "Low" is hop on a plane and the resort picks you up. "High" is hitchiking in a foreign language | DIVINGIf there is diving here, how good is it? |
good |
$$$$ |
4 day |
easy |
very good |