SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson presents a selection of shorthaul destinations offering culture, cuisine and diving at an affordable price
TRAVELSPECIAL
PHOTO: NEIL HOPE
Trans-Europe Express
In search of value diving
SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson presents a selection of shorthaul destinations offering culture, cuisine and diving at an affordable price
Everyone loves a bargain, but we’ re not living in an age of cut-price scuba travel. When all your spend is accounted for, it’ s pretty tough to get change from £ 1,000 for a week’ s diving including flights, accommodation and meals.
This issue, SCUBA presents a selection of European destinations that offer the possibility of budget diving, whether that be for a full week or just a couple of days. While pondering the options, I canvassed the opinion of many friends, including diving journalists, photographers and grass roots club divers. The Egyptian Red Sea loomed large over their answers, despite the rise in flight prices over recent years.
This, however, is not a Red Sea feature. Instead, I devised a set of criteria for quality, overall interest and value, focussing on Europe. There wasn’ t space to cover every destination, but this gives a good idea what you can expect with a budget of around £ 1,000, based on two sharing. We’ ve listed flight prices based on September averages, plus in-country costs( hotel, food, transport) based on various price aggregation resources.
Further savings are achievable. You can travel as a club, which makes group discounts more likely at hotels and dive centres. Or you can use my recommended approach of booking a dive centre Ireland first and using their intel on the best way to save money on food, flights and accommodation. Self-catering accommodation is a great way to reduce the price on meals.
Time of travel obviously has a bearing on budget. The cheapest flights take place at ungodly hours, but you obviously have to travel during the dependable diving season, which for most of these places is April to October. If possible, I recommend travelling in September, when peak prices recede but the water is still warm.
So please enjoy our line-up of summer shorthaul spots, and do write in to tell us about the ones we missed out. And do bear in mind,‘ cheap’ doesn’ t necessarily equate to good value.
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Spain
Portugal
Morocco
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UK
Germany
France
Croatia �
� Italy
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Algeria �
Tunisia
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Poand
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Romania
Bulgaria �
Ukraine
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Greece
Turkey
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