Travel arrangements

I admit it... I'm a wimpy warm-water diver and, as such, am too
chicksh*t to dive at one of the reputedly best places in the world,
British Columbia, aka home. To this end, I've scoured the local
Yellow Pages in search of the perfect SCUBA-savvy travel agency in
Vancouver... there seems to be no such critter (like that mythical
Singing Frogfish in Roatan). Most agencies can book the common
getaways like Club Med, cruise ships, Cozumel, etc. but what about
more exotic realms such as Layang Layang and Sipadan? Can any of the
other like-minded divers in Vancouver give me a hint as to which local
agency is better?

TIA,

Jo

"jimini" <jimini@telus.net> wrote in message
news:fd1bc07e.0401082043.b15bdd5@posting.google.co m...
> I admit it... I'm a wimpy warm-water diver and, as such, am too
> chicksh*t to dive at one of the reputedly best places in the world,
> British Columbia, aka home. To this end, I've scoured the local
> Yellow Pages in search of the perfect SCUBA-savvy travel agency in
> Vancouver... there seems to be no such critter (like that mythical
> Singing Frogfish in Roatan). Most agencies can book the common
> getaways like Club Med, cruise ships, Cozumel, etc. but what about
> more exotic realms such as Layang Layang and Sipadan? Can any of the
> other like-minded divers in Vancouver give me a hint as to which local
> agency is better?
>
> TIA,
>
> Jo

While I've done cold water diving, I find that it does not appeal to me
either. I predominantly dive Cocos, Cozumel, Fiji, Yap, Truk, Palau and the
like. Why do you want to go through a travel agent? Several of these have
left the diver holding the bag. Why not book directly with the liveaboard
or resort? It is pretty simple with the internet resources available these
days.

Buck

"We should declare war on North Vietnam. . . .We could pave the whole
country and put parking strips on it, and still be home by Christmas."

-Ronald Reagan, 1965

"Randy Buckner" <Randybuckner@att.net> wrote in message
news:rjrLb.3300$6y6.96978@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

> While I've done cold water diving, I find that it does not appeal to me
> either. I predominantly dive Cocos, Cozumel, Fiji, Yap, Truk, Palau and
the
> like. Why do you want to go through a travel agent? Several of these
have
> left the diver holding the bag. Why not book directly with the liveaboard
> or resort? It is pretty simple with the internet resources available
these
> days.

Often a dedicated dive travel agent can sniff out some good deals, packaging
in air fare, for instance, at a much lower cost than if booked separately.
But there's still no good reason to stay local "with the internet resources
available these days". The problem may be, as you suggest, risking the
viability of an unknown intermediary that might end up leaving you with no
more than a creditor's claim in bankruptcy. But I'd have no problem
trusting a known quantity with reknowned local expertise, such as (I'll toot
their horn) Trip-N-Tour for any trip to Micronesia.

jimini <jimini@telus.net> wrote:
>I admit it... I'm a wimpy warm-water diver and, as such, am too
>chicksh*t to dive at one of the reputedly best places in the world,
>British Columbia, aka home. To this end, I've scoured the local
>Yellow Pages in search of the perfect SCUBA-savvy travel agency in
>Vancouver... there seems to be no such critter (like that mythical
>Singing Frogfish in Roatan). Most agencies can book the common
>getaways like Club Med, cruise ships, Cozumel, etc. but what about
>more exotic realms such as Layang Layang and Sipadan? Can any of the
>other like-minded divers in Vancouver give me a hint as to which local
>agency is better?

How wimpy are you? 70F, 80F, 85F? There are some "exotic" island chains in
the Pacific off Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, that I'd love to visit. They're
a bit warmer than your close fun site at Whytecliff.

In these days of easy to find cheap fares on the internet, I don't know if a
agent can score a good deal or not. Given your city is a gateway back to
the orient, you might be able to swing the south pacific for less than we
can here. You could always start with a good dive shop's planned trip and
take it to an agency and see if they can do better.

--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com

"jimini" <jimini@telus.net> wrote in message
news:fd1bc07e.0401082043.b15bdd5@posting.google.co m...
> I admit it... I'm a wimpy warm-water diver and, as such, am too
> chicksh*t to dive at one of the reputedly best places in the world,
> British Columbia, aka home. To this end, I've scoured the local
> Yellow Pages in search of the perfect SCUBA-savvy travel agency in
> Vancouver... there seems to be no such critter (like that mythical
> Singing Frogfish in Roatan). Most agencies can book the common
> getaways like Club Med, cruise ships, Cozumel, etc. but what about
> more exotic realms such as Layang Layang and Sipadan? Can any of the
> other like-minded divers in Vancouver give me a hint as to which local
> agency is better?

These guys are out of Calgary, but they run group trips once or twice a year
to Layang Layang and Sipadan. As well, they are a full dive travel agency
and book individual trips for myriad dive destinations, including the
aforementioned.

It is my understanding that they are putting together a trip for Sipadan &
Mabul, for late April of this year.

Try Darrell Cyr
E-mail Address(es):
darrell@dasilvadive-tours.com

Even though they are in Calgary, I'm sure that they can help you.

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message news:<ETYLb.48330$JQ1.43816@pd7tw1no>...
> "jimini" <jimini@telus.net> wrote in message
> news:fd1bc07e.0401082043.b15bdd5@posting.google.co m...
> > I admit it... I'm a wimpy warm-water diver and, as such, am too
> > chicksh*t to dive at one of the reputedly best places in the world,
> > British Columbia, aka home. To this end, I've scoured the local
> > Yellow Pages in search of the perfect SCUBA-savvy travel agency in
> > Vancouver... there seems to be no such critter (like that mythical
> > Singing Frogfish in Roatan). Most agencies can book the common
> > getaways like Club Med, cruise ships, Cozumel, etc. but what about
> > more exotic realms such as Layang Layang and Sipadan? Can any of the
> > other like-minded divers in Vancouver give me a hint as to which local
> > agency is better?
>
> These guys are out of Calgary, but they run group trips once or twice a year
> to Layang Layang and Sipadan. As well, they are a full dive travel agency
> and book individual trips for myriad dive destinations, including the
> aforementioned.
>
> It is my understanding that they are putting together a trip for Sipadan &
> Mabul, for late April of this year.
>
> Try Darrell Cyr
> E-mail Address(es):
> darrell@dasilvadive-tours.com
>
> Even though they are in Calgary, I'm sure that they can help you.

Thanks Chilly. As luck would have it, I'm in the midst of planning a
near identical trip but having to leave on/about March 21 and
returning in mid-April. I decided to go through an agent that isn't
necessarily SCUBA-savvy but is definitely Southeast Asia-smart. We've
also decided to take the golf clubs and take advantage of the courses
at the Sutera Harbour House in Kota Kinabalu.

Jo