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There may be an elephant seal walk at Año Nuevo State Reserve in March or April of 2001. We will watch the elephants seal breeding, reproducing, and nursing the young. Kevin Dalley is leading this dive, and will make the reservations. Tickets are $4 per person.
Marilyn Johnson, a scuba travel agent we have often used, has a quote below. Note that her quote does not reflect any discounts. If we can get 11 rooms the rate could be as low as $607 + tax and air.
Please send your deposits directly to Inter Ocean Tours 510-638-3448 via credit card or check.
Call either Bernie or Marilyn with any questions.
Marilyn Johnson has reserved 11 rooms at Scuba Club for May 5-12, 2001. We receive one free room with 10 paid rooms. Marilyn hopes that we could get 2 free spots and reduce the cost. $1100 is due by April 22, 2000 to hold these rooms and get this years rates. Diver double is $750, diver single is $978, Diver triple is $696. Non diver double is $658. These rates do not include 12% tax or 10% club discount. You would also get a further discount by dividing 1 free with 10 paid.
Package includes:
Collect $100 deposit per person or have everyone send direct to us. I have requested airfare from Continental; but may not get a fare quote until 11 months out. The airline will want $40 per seat deposit later.
Marilyn Johnson
Inter-Ocean Tours
Box 27116
Oakland, CA 94602
Phone 510-638-3448
FAX 510-638-1741
email: Interocean@aol.com
http://www.interocean.com
At long last! The holidays are over, and we can start planning our next big trip, a live-aboard trip on Peter Hughes' newest boat, to Galápagos in May 2002!
We have ten club members that have indicated they want to go on this trip. I wanted at least eight to get a group discount, so that response means the trip is a GO!
If you are one of the ten, I am also sending an individual email to you shortly, outlining deposit expectations and a little more of the details. But for the rest of you, I wanted to give you a little more information, and we hope you will join us.
Please note: you must be a Alacosta Club Member to join us on this trip. Reason: InterOcean Tours has kindly offered an additional discount on the cost of the boat for this trip, for club members only, and we are booking through InterOcean tours as a group. Therefore, as trip leader I am asking that all participants join Alacosta if they are not already members, so that we can take full advantage of the generous discount being offered. The extra discount will more than pay for the cost of club membership, and there are all those other great benefits of Alacosta membership as well. (If any of you aren't familiar with InterOcean Tours they have arranged our Cozumel trips in the past and are divers themselves.)
WHEN: Trip dates are May 19-29th, 2002, this is a ten day trip on the boat. Count on at least one night layover in either Quito or Guayaquil Ecuador coming and going on top of those dates, more if you want to do any sightseeing in mainland Ecuador or elsewhere in South America.
WHAT: Ten days on the Sky Dancer, the newest boat in the Peter Hughes fleet that is being built just for Galápagos. (At least I think it is the Sky Dancer, the PH website is temporarily down as I write this, and I get all those ``Dancer'' names confused...). The boat will be in the water in March of 2001, so there will be a little over a year for shakedown before we take it.
Please be aware that Galápagos trips are not quite like other dive trips, in that they combine diving and land tours. Because of the land excursions the number of dives per day may be less than some of you are used to on liveaboards, but it would be crazy to go to the Galápagos and not do the land tours...The trip will include four dives a day at Wolf and Darwin, two to three at the other islands, with probably no more than two or three night dives per trip. However, this combination of diving and touring makes this trip an excellent choice for a non-diving partner who wants to see the Galápagos (in fact, a boat cruise is really the only way to tour the Galápagos). Indeed, we have at least one non-diver planning to come along, last I heard. Cost is same for divers and non-divers, btw, but snorkeling is available for non-divers, along with all the rest of the great Peter Hughes amenities, including, (in addition to naturalist guided tours) coffee in bed to wake you up in the am, warm towels after snorkeling or diving, great food and snacks, unlimited drinks, etc, etc.
All cabins on the boat are double occupancy with private baths. There are only two categories of cabins: Master Suites and Deluxe Suites. Master Suites have beds that can either be put together for a queen for a couple, or seperated as twins. Deluxe suites are twin only (no bunks), and are about $100 per person cheaper than the rates quoted below, which are based on the Master Suite cost. Right now, we have tentatively booked space for ten on the boat for the dates indicated, but we are the only ones on the boat, so there is plenty of room for other Alacostans to join us.
COST: Cost will be approximately $2730 per person for the boat, a real deal for a ten day trip. We were able to get two free slots and 2001 prices, on top of the special discount from InterOcean Tours, so we are getting a significant group discount over the normal individual rate of $3795 for the ten day trip per person. In addition to the boat count on about $1300 for airfare (you may be able to use United or American miles for part of the trip) and $140 for hotels coming and going, plus park fees of $100 per person. I will have exact totals on the boat costs once we receive a contract from Peter Hughes in the next week or so; exact air quotes won't be available until May or June of this year. A deposit of $500 holds your slot, with the balance due 90 days before the trip.
If you are interested in joining Alacostans for this once in a lifetime trip, call or email Susan directly (call me, not Inter-Ocean tours) with questions or for more details!
blurb@alacosta.org