We earned our PADI Open Water Certifications through Underwater Vision in Utila, Honduras. Recommended by friends of ours, Underwater Vision was a great place to learn to dive or just dive in general. At the time we were certified (May 2009) PADI Open Water Certification was $250 including accommodation, equipment, certification classes and dives, and two fun dives. In total we had 7 dives for that price, which we thought was pretty good!
A laid back atmosphere, Underwater Vision has a comfortable feel in the classroom and in the living area, but a professional feel out on the boat and while diving. We felt that it was the [ad#reviews] right balance of island laid back and professional. …

We planned to whitewater kayak with Omega Tours, but unfortunately water levels were low and ultimately we found out that only 3 km of the river was available to Kayak. [ad#reviews-image-only]Being adventure travelers on a budget we decided that $50 for a 3km whitewater kayak trip was unjustifiable. Having gotten ourselves out there we decided to spend two days at the Omega Tour lodge exploring the surrounding Rio Cangrejal valley. Omega tours offers a number of tours in the area from hiking to whitewater rafting to horseback riding in and around the Rio Cangrejal. None of these were within our budget, but other guests seemed to have great time on all of them. We spent our two …

There are about 100,000 airfare and cheap travel websites out there. Looking for a great deal isn’t just about the money, its about planning a great trip. That’s where travelgrove.com comes in. [ad#final-review-ad] Not only is it a vacation deal finder, but its also got some great features for planning a trip such as travel guides, community and travel themes. It also searches all your favorite cheap travel website for the best deals, comparing kayak, priceline, hotwire and cfares.
Travel Guides- Before booking a trip, you want to know where you are going right? Travelgrove has information on tons of popular and out of the way vacation destinations. Beyond just the wikipedia information, Travelgrove …

Recently we paid for and took a hike up the Volcan Santa Maria with Hike & Help here in Xela, Guatemala. A non profit that supports libraries on local communities, we chose to go with them because their guides are actual Guatemaltecos rather than gringos.   I have recently begun to dislike the concept of gringo ¨vacationing¨ in a place and in the process taking jobs away from locals.  This particular hike took place at night, during the full moon, and so it was a special occasion for all of us.
This was about the point where my good feelings toward our guides ended.  While I don´t think groups need to be hand held, there are a few points that I …