4 Great Dive Destinations for Stretching Your Budget

Not every dive location can be a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list bank-breaker. Smart scuba travelers can satisfy their wanderlust more often by targeting destinations that offer the most bang for every buck. From places that empower groups to leverage their numbers to destinations with lots of competition to keep prices cheap, spots with free shore-diving access and beyond, the deals are out there — you just need to know where to start. Consider these four options for budget-friendly underwater bliss.

Bonaire

Do-it-yourself diving doesn’t get any better than Bonaire. With more drive-and-dive opportunities than anywhere in the scuba universe, divers here enjoy the ultimate schedule freedom. The dollar-stretching strategy is to rent a pickup and take advantage of the many drive-through tank-filling stations that proliferate the island. Package deals that include auto rental are a great way to save cash. As are the diver-friendly condos with kitchens that allow groups to pool their resources and keep their costs low. There’s nothing cut-rate about the diving, though. As Bonaire diving boasts colorful coral gardens flush with cool critters, including signature dive trips such as 1,000 Steps, Red Slave, Karpata and the landmark wreck, Hilma Hooker. — Eric Michael

Roatan

The biggest of Honduras’ Bay Islands, Roatan is loaded with dive shops and diverse accommodations placed squarely in the penny-pinching category. You’ll pay about $30 per dive at most shops on the island, even less if you book multiple dives. And the underwater scenery? Priceless. Seahorses, so elusive elsewhere, are regularly spotted on Roatan’s 340-mile reef, home to some 300 fish species and 150 varieties of coral. From swim-throughs to drop offs and wrecks, your dive dollars win you big time variety here, too, with rare black corals, barrel sponges the size of refrigerators and crevasses all on the Roatan diving menus. — Terry Ward

The Florida Keys

No warm-water domestic dive vacation delivers the mix of diversity and accessibility of the Florida Keys. And with so many dive shops and such a wide range of Florida Keys hotels — not to mention stellar oceanfront campsites like those at Bahia Honda State Park — throughout the 120-mile chain, you can always find a deal. Visit during the summer for the most bang for your buck. When you’re not cavorting with morays and turtles on shallow reefs on the third-largest barrier reef system in the world, or diving deep wrecks like the USS Vandenberg, cheap topside thrills include people-watching at Mallory Square’s sunset celebration in Key West and feeding the Tarpon at an Islamorada marina. — TW

Cozumel and Costa Maya

Flights to Mexico from major US airports often cost less than you’d pay to go coast to coast domestically. Once you’re south of the border, stretch your dive dollars at small guesthouses or look for dive-and-stay packages from bigger hotel chains. Opt for fresh and cheap street food — three words: tacos al pastor — over pricey resort fare. Cozumel is drift-diving bliss at spots like Cedral Pass and Punta Tunich. And south along the Yucatan on the Costa Maya, at Mahahual, bungalows with balconies overlooking the ocean go for less than $100 per night and put access to the mythic Chinchorro Banks, a coral atoll with pristine reefs, at your doorstep. — TW

Terry Ward contributed to this article.