1

Hi Jenny

I am not sure where you are based but if you want to do PADI aborad in June, Egyptian Red Sea is a good option but you won't get much for the backpacking side of the trip! If you want to experience a foreign culture and dive, Bali is absolutely ideal for everything that you have in mind. June is the month for their Culture Festival and if you can be there for the second Saturday of the month, you can see the spectacular opening parade. The weather is ideal for diving at that time and there are several liveaboard and land based options. 3 weeks would give you lot of flexibility.

2

Bali sounds perfect to me! However my BF has been there before and I think he wants to try somewhere different. We have been thinking about the Philippines if we do go to Asia. The other thing we are thinking about is going to South/central america.

3

How about Thailand? Koh Tao is one of the least expensive and best places to learn to dive in the world. June is also peak season for us in terms of dive conditions, but not as busy as July or August so you wont' find the island overrun with tourists. An Open Water dive course on Koh Tao costs 9800 Baht (about $330US) including all equipment rentals, materials, certification costs etc. I'm a dive instructor (and yoga teacher) working on Koh Tao, so if you have any questions about the diving course here, or in general, just let me know. You can also get more info on my website... www.oceansoundkohtao.com :)

If you've got 3 weeks you'll have lots of time to check out some other places in Thailand as well. If you want something not too touristy and like trekking, I really highly recommend Khao Sok National Park. It's inland, located along a huge freshwater lake, and is really gorgeous. You can go trekking in the forests, swimming in the lake, and go cave exploring. It's one of my favourite places in Thailand.

If you end up in Central America instead, Belize has fantastic diving, and quite a few dive shops on the cayes- check out San Pedro or Caye Caulker. The Bay Islands in Honduras, however, are also quite popular. One of the islands, Utila, is the Koh Tao of the Western hemisphere :) Great diving and affordable prices. However, June is the start of hurricane season in Central America, so the diving conditions may not be as good.

Happy diving!

4

June is not the ideal month in many places in South/Central America because of rain interruptions - with 2 important exceptions. The Dutch Antilles "ABC" Isles of Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao are generally good in June, especially in the first half of the month. Also consider the Bay Islands of Honduras. Although it will be raining in the mainland, the Bay Islands will usually be mostly dry at the time.

5

Thanks for the advice everyone, we are still undecided, randomly we seem to be undecided between diving in the Philippines or exploring Peru, and leaving diving for the next holiday! For me the ideal 3 weeks would be 1 week diving at a gorgeous beach location followed by 2 weeks exploring Peru, unfortunately that would probably be too expensive!

6

the philippines is a good choice. although it is the beginning of the rainy season you should be ok

7

Thailand cheaper to fly to but Philippines probably cheaper to live and travel in, Thai prices have risen due to popularity. If you are in Europe transatlantic diving is usually expensive for flights anywhere.