Exotic Dive Travel and Underwater Photo Tours

Alaska Aboard the Nautilus Explorer

July 6 - 16, 2011

Price $3650 - $4250 per person

I know this is a bit early to get everyone motivated for a trip that is not scheduled until summer 2011, but we did a trip to British Columbia and Alaska several years ago aboard the Nautilus Explorer, and that still remains vivid in my mind as one of my all time favorite live-aboard adventures.

For that one, please see: http://www.stephenfrink.com/sf-reports/200407alaska/

The summer cruising season to this region is very short, and 2010 and all the rest of 2011 is sold out for the Nautilus Explorer. However, we were fortunate enough to have them hold a charter for us in the very heart of the best-of-the-best time to be there. This time it is a special itinerary to Alaska only. See the letter below from Captain Mike Lever of Nautilus Explorer to know what to expect:

"Our Alaska journeys have continued to evolve and get better and better since you were last onboard. The diving, scenery and experiences up here were always spectacular but with each passing season, we are getting more and more dialed in, discovering more "kick-ass" dive sites, obtaining additional permits and fine tuning the very best places to see the big critters -- humpback whales, sealions, sea otter, grizzly bears, giant pacific octopus and wolfeels. We now have one site with 10 wolfeels and can practically guarantee octopus sightings for example!

Sample Itinerary: Departure Date: Wed Jul 6, 2011. The ship will be available for boarding in Juneau at 6:00 pm. The ship is scheduled to sail at 8:00 pm. Disembarking in Ketchikan on Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 9:00 am.

Day 1: Dinner-time board in Juneau. Evening steam and anchor before midnight.

Day 2-4: Wake up at Point Adolphus at the entrance to Glacier Bay for the best humpback whale viewing in southeast Alaska plus eagles and stellar sealions. 3 hour sail to Indian Island at the entrance to Icy Strait where we will anchor for the next 3 days. Excellent invertebrate diving plus stellar sealions on every dive with vis usually 20 - 30 feet. Zodiac tours and kayaking with fantastic photo op’s up close with humpback whales, sealions, sea otters, bald eagles, etc. Finish off with an evening visit to the tiny boardwalk community of Elfin Cove.

Day 5: Wake up at Baranoff Warm Springs. 2 great dives with loads of scallops, anemones and kelp plus a visit to the hot-springs.

Day 6: Patterson Point. Reliable octopus sightings. Breathtaking scenery at anchor in a steep sided fjord. This is the most beautiful inlet we have ever seen and we have seen grizzly bears on every visit here.

Day 7 - 8: Port Alexander/Wooden Island. Great place for zodiac tours and kayaking and shore visit to Port Alexander not to mention varied and excellent diving - both invertebrate and critters including 10 wolf eels around a single rock.

Day 9: Le Conte glacier. Iceberg day!!

Day 10: Prince of Wales Island. Steep wall diving, 10,000 swimming scallops, varied diving, early evening arrival Ketchikan.

Day 11: morning disembark"

I know what some of you may be thinking ... I don’t do cold water. I had that thought the first time as well, but with modern drysuits the cold is not an issue, and truthfully, I have never seen greater density and diversity of life underwater than beneath the Emerald Seas of British Columbia and Alaska. Plus, for the most part, things don’t move quickly and the photo opportunities are extraordinarily productive. Yet, for all of that, the best of this trip happens above the water. Seeing glaciers calf, watching eagles and grizzly bears and stellar sealions, trying our hand at over/unders with salmon, relaxing in a natural hotspring, and photographing humpback whales are pure phototgrapic inspiration!

My wife Barbara and daughter Alexa were aboard for the last trip and they didn’t even go diving. Still, they found this was one of our best family vacations ever. Do I sound enthused ... yes, I really am. Even though 2011 is a long way away, this is a very special trip, and I appreciate the cooperation and consideration our friends at Nautilus Explorer have extended in giving us this absolutely perfect seasonal opportunity to visit Alaska.

Speaking of Nautilus Explorer, they will be coming out of a major refit in 2010, so expect a great dive boat to be even better.

There are 2 double occupancy cabins available at $4250 per person (top deck with picture windows)
There are 8 double occupancy cabins available at $3650 each
There is one quad cabin as well, but Barbara, Alexa and I will be staying there; recognizing our guests typically prefer double occupancy cabins.

If interested, please let us know at your soonest opportunity, for even though this one is far away, I’m convinced it will sell out quickly.

Wakatobi Dive Resort Indonesia

October 11 - 21, 2011

Price $3,670 per person Garden Bungalow
$4,110 per person Beach Bungalow
$4,570 per person Select Bungalow
$5,060 per person Wakatobi Villa
Nitrox $260

Wakatobi is a world-class destination dive resort, and offers one of the best house reefs anywhere in diving. For more details see http://wakatobi.com/home.php. Yet, you may not know that Wakatobi has been upgraded to a luxurious spa resort as well, without even the smallest sacrifice to their dedication to dive and photographic services. Another very special part of the Wakatobi equation is that they operate their own air charter service from Bali. For those who have traveled elsewhere in Indonesia, you understand what a hassle domestic flights can be. With Wakatobi we merely show up at the Denpasar airport and are personally escorted to our own aircraft. It is really a very sweet system!

We will have our own dedicated dive boats, and of course be free to dive the house reef as part of the package. The cost depends on the level of preferred accommodation, but here below are sample rates. The air charter from Bali to Wakatobi is $485, round-trip.

10 Nights

Garden Bungalow	$3,670
Beach Bungalow	$4,110
Select Bungalow	$4,570
Wakatobi Villa	$5,060
Nitrox	$260

Even though this is a land-based resort and could handle a large group, we prefer to travel in a more intimate group and therefore limit this to 20-guests. Looking back at my previous trip reports (back when I was better about writing them ... Sorry for being such a slacker lately!), http://www.stephenfrink.com/sf-reports/200504wakatobi/, I see it was 2005 last time we visited Wakatobi. That is WAY too long for a dive experience of this quality. My bad, but we are eager to visit once again in the not-so-distant future. I hope you can join us!

Philippines aboard luxury live-aboard Philippine Siren

October 19 - 26, 2012

Price 2600 Euros per person

OK, I said some of these trips are well in the future, and this one is for sure! Still, 2012 is not too soon for us to book one of the most popular live-aboard fleets, in one of the hottest destinations, in the best season to be there. For all these reasons, we have to plan well in advance.

The Philippine Siren is a 40-meter Phinisi sailing yacht, the third in the fleet by Worldwide Dive and Sail. Featuring only 8 double cabins, she is a gorgeous vessel, as you can deduce from these photos, and by perusing their website: http://www.worldwidediveandsail.com/ourboats/sy-philippinesiren.html

Our itinerary will cruise the Southern Visayas, departing Dumaguete and returning to port on Malapascua Island. The cost is 2600 Euros per person ($3,350 at today’s conversion rate of $1.29 to the Euro), and Nitrox is included without additional charge.