Client Comments Archive - Page 3 of 5 - Family Dive Adventures

The National Geographic moment in Roatan

National Geographic experience at Kids Sea Camp

The Bay Islands Kids Kids Sea Camp (Bay Islands Honduras), I am writing rather belatedly to tell you that my family had a terrific time at your camp. It was the best trip we’ve taken since our “pre-child” diving days. We enjoyed 3 dives a day and saw some amazing sights. I was there for the National Geographic moment when a large octopus and a 4′ moray wrangled in a life or death struggle before our eyes (the moray escaped). We saw turtles on at least 5 dives. Noel and Mark always took good care of us and our equipment.

All the while our 9-year-old daughter, Julianna, was snorkeling, learning about scuba, studying marine biology, painting with Ron, and swimming with dolphins. What a blast. I felt great confidence in the care she was receiving from your staff members- she always felt safe and happy, and she didn’t come back sunburned- thanks to Lauren and her attention to details like sunscreen!

The food was great and we liked the fact that we could drink the water and eat produce without health worries there. The picnics and alternate venues provided an enjoyable variety.

Thank you so much for putting together such a great program. Our days were filled with fun and it was a vacation we’ll never forget. We can’t wait to try another camp!

By Lisa M. and family

Kids Sea Camp is the best of both worlds for a family vacation

Kids Sea Camp is simply the best

Margo, I have always meant to write you a note to thank you for Kids Sea Camp. We have now enjoyed Grand Cayman, Fiji, Roatan and Bonaire with our kids through you. You have enabled us to dive with our children in wonderful locations that we would never have been able to do without Kids Sea Camp! With 5 children in all the age brackets, our children have been able to enjoy SASY through Teen Diving and have been able to get certified by you.

It is truly a wonderful thing to see how comfortable our children are with diving. Coming from someone who didn’t start diving until I was older, it amazes me to see the ease at which the kids tackle diving. They don’t blink an eye when they need to clear their mask, just whip it off underwater (something I still hate to do!) and the comfort they have with pulling their regulators out of their mouth if needed. They do have the knowledge of all of the risks of diving and know that it is not to be taken for granted, but truly have fun also!

From a parents standpoint, it is also wonderful to know that I can get up, eat breakfast with kids and go off to dive with other adults and know that my kids are safe and happy. I don’t worry about whether someone is being watched over…it is simply always taken care of. The kids don’t feel like they are being “babysat” all day – they have a wonderful time and are simply exhausted by bedtime. It is the best of both worlds to have a family vacation with your children and have a diving vacation for grownups – not something that normally can happen.

It is also wonderful to get to meet and spend time with you and your family and with families that we have seen at multiple camps!

Thank you again for everything that you have done for our family. It is truly priceless!!

Take care, Wendy Smith

“Kids Sea Camp was the most awesome vacation we’ve ever had!”

Another awesome Kid Sea Camp adventure

Awesome kids camp, diving with kids, Fiji Kids Sea Camp allowed us as parents to awesome great morning dives each day knowing that the kids were well attended to. Upon returning to the hotel each day after diving around lunchtime, the kids were so consumed with the content of their own marine programs, they barely recognized our return! The afternoon allowed us, adults, to get out and enjoy some more activities before returning to get the kids at the end of their afternoon sessions. As if the scheduled kids’ activities weren’t enough, it wasn’t uncommon for the instructors and counselors to continue to interact with the kids well beyond the end of scheduled times, and quite often into the evening, as well!

Perhaps most rewarding was that by the end of the week we got to experience the wonders of the oceans with our newly certified Seal Team members together as a family.

Mike & Natalie, parents of Ian and Morgan, To quote the kids, “That was the most awesome vacation we’ve ever had! Indeed it was!”

Kids Sea Camp just made days fly by on our vacation!

Kids Sea Camp as good as they say it is!

We have taken our son James with us on every dive trip we’ve taken — sometimes with and sometimes without babysitters — and it’s usually worked out for us. But when we learned about Kids Sea Camp, we knew it was exactly what we were looking for all along. So much so, in fact, that we began to wonder, “Could it really be as good as they say?”

Well, it was better than advertised! Animal encounters, ocean art, stories, snorkeling, SASY, etc., etc., etc.! Best of all, there were enough responsible and professional instructors to ensure that all the children got all the individual care they needed. Both kids and parents made friends instantly. The families had many opportunities to gather for beach cookouts, and the kids even had their own movie and pizza night. And yes, there is plenty to do for non-divers!

Do yourself and your kids a real favor and attend a Kids Sea Camp destination this year!

Tim & Jill, parents of James, age 7

Kids Sea Camp Mom: I highly recommend that any family go to Kids Sea Camp

Thoughts from a Kids Sea Camp mom

Reflections from a Kids Sea Camp family that has gone to these KSC trips: Curaçao 2003, Curacao 2004, Curacao 2005, Honduras 2006, Honduras 2007, Fiji 2008, Palau & Costa Rica in 2009 and joined 2010 Belize.

By Trish, mom of Corley, then age 8 and now age 19

I had been debating whether to put down my deposit for our Kids Sea Camp in Curaçao. We couldn’t decide whether we wanted to try a new location or take a year off. But after speaking with Emily at Caribbean Adventures (formerly of Kid Sea Camp) and finding out what a special alumni week they had planned for us “oldtimers,” how could I not make our reservations!

We had such a wonderful time last year, we learned that one week was not enough, so this time we signed up for a two-week stay.

I highly recommend that any family go to Kids Sea Camp and take time to enjoy the Ocean as a family. My dolphin swim will always be a treasured memory. Our second week of camp was a great diving experience. Corley began her junior open-water certification. Getting to dive with her on the final day on the Tugboat dive was such a thrill — seeing how she had learned to operate her equipment and be a responsible diver made me realize what a wonderful teaching dive crew they have at Kids Sea Camp weeks.

All these experiences and so many more — from taking a day trip or diving, meeting new friends and renewing friendships made the year and, of course, golfing made it easy to come back.

On another note, it’s amazing what a small world we live in. Part of our vacation plan was to bring my older daughter, Sara, along with us. She was certified six months before she was sent overseas to do a tour in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, and she had never gotten to dive in the ocean.

While we were waiting for her to arrive, my husband, Jon, overheard a diver talking about his dive buddy who was a paratrooper. Sara is a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, and of course, it made me curious. I introduced myself to him and asked where he was stationed; to make a long story short, his name was Rick MacIntosh and he and Sara had been in Ramadi, Iraq, together. This made for quite a reunion later that week when she arrived and an interesting “You’ll never guess who I ran into while on vacation” story. The beautiful waters of Curaçao made for a very memorable first ocean dive experience for her, and she now understands why we are so hooked on Kids Sea Camp Family Dive Adventures!

Kids Sea Camp set the bar pretty high

Looking forward to our next Kids Sea Camp vacation

Greetings! Hope you and all Kids Sea Camp family are surviving the winter. We are approaching the record for winter snowfall here in West Virginia. 77 inches is our record, we are just a few short of that now.

On behalf of Trey, Anna, Christy, Jenny, and myself, I just want to thank you for the wonderful time we had at Kids Sea Camp in Honduras this past summer. As the months, and the snow, have accumulated since then, we have really enjoyed our memories and photos of KSC.

It was such a great experience for Trey, as it was his first trip to the ocean. Kids Sea Camp set the bar pretty high for Trey’s future vacations. Everything was so well organized and there were so many activities for both kids and adults. It was everything we hoped for and more.

Words can’t begin to describe how much we all enjoyed the marine art painting. You took the experience to a whole new level. It was such a pleasure to spend time with him. He is a real asset to Kids Sea Camp and I’m sure an even greater friend to you and your family.

We are looking forward to many more Kids Sea Camps in the future. We are shooting for one in possibly Bonaire.

Again, many thanks. Have a great week!

Kevin

NATGEO loves Kids Sea camp!

National Geographic love Kids Sea Camp

Dear Margo,

I have had the good fortune of being able to travel around the world with my children (30 countries and counting), so we’ve shared a lot of interesting and unique experiences together. Last year I was introduced to Margo Peyton and Kids Sea Camp at The Beneath The Sea Show in NJ that I was speaking at. As soon as I learned that we could travel to some of the world’s best dive sites together as a family AND have our boys involved in the fun, we were sold! So we got the kids certified and booked our trip to Palau, which happened to overlap with Thanksgiving. Not to worry though, we were assured that a turkey feast with all the trimmings would be included.

My only complaint with the KSC experience is that we didn’t know about it sooner! The activities for the kids who are not yet old enough to certify were wonderful and the kids just loved them. It also doesn’t hurt that they have no problem meeting other kids their own age. So now we’re eagerly discussing where to go next with KSC. The Galapagos sounds wonderful!

By: Rainer Jenss, National Geographic

As the single divorced mother of an eight-year-old boy, I had to make sure he would be cared for while I was away.

Kids Sea Camp made sure we felt cared for all week long

Last winter, as I was beginning to plan my annual summer dive trip, I encountered some roadblocks. As the single divorced mother of an eight-year-old boy, I had to make sure he would be cared for while I was away. His father recently moved out of state and was inaccessible. My parents, 74 and 84, offered to watch my son but admitted it was becoming more difficult to entertain an active boy for an entire week, especially with no other kids in the neighborhood to play with. When I logged onto the Kids Sea Camp Web site, I immediately contacted Margo she was fantastic to talk to and very informative. I soon received the information packet and knew that I had found the solution to my problem.

When I go on a dive trip, I dive as much as I can. For me, it’s a once-a-year endeavor that I literally submerge myself in. How could I be a mother and dive at the same time? I decided that attending Kids Sea Camp would provide the answer. By week’s end, I had logged thirteen dives, made friends with several other divers and had quality vacation time with my son. While I was diving, my son had great instruction with well-planned daily activities. He was well cared for and made friends while at Kids Sea Camp. The additional bonus of Kids Sea Camp was having a night off during the week with kids pizza movie night so parents can do a night dive!

Kathleen, Mom of Kelvin, age 8

My whole family is loving Kids Sea Camp

We got to Bonaire Kids Sea Camp a day early to spend a little time getting used to the place. My kids, although avid swimmers, had never really felt comfortable in the ocean. Kids Sea Camp changed everything. The first day in Curaçao, my kids wouldn’t go past where they couldn’t touch the bottom of the water. By day two, they were swimming the channel with local kids, back and forth. I was thrilled that he was loving it!

I had spent my whole childhood enjoying the ocean, and I’d always watched Jacques Cousteau and even got to go to some of his lectures through Cal Tech in California, but after seeing Jaws, I was terrified of getting eaten. Years later, after a really wonderful impromptu snorkeling shark experience with about 50 wonderful leopard sharks, I finally became a scuba diver, a rescue diver and then a divemaster. I finally realized many of my dreams of interaction, observation and the amazing feeling of being in what I think is heaven that scuba diving has to offer. I thought my kids would never see it that way. They were always nervous because of the shark movies they’d seen, whether we were snorkeling or kayaking. Those days are over now.

My son, who really had an aversion to studying, read his scuba certification book nightly with an enthusiasm I had never seen. He worked hard, and his instructor, Steve, worked with those kids in amazing ways. Every day, I saw a personal and intellectual growth in both kids that I could never have imagined. The best part is, they were just having fun and had no idea what huge obstacles they were overcoming.

I have to say, the most exciting day for my husband and me was the day we dove with them for the first time. I dove with Megan in PADI Seal Team, as she wasn’t old enough for the full PADI open-water certification. She actually showed me around the “In Ocean lagoon” and knew what animals hung out where what their personalities and tendencies were and how to interact with them. She took me to all the different areas so I could experience all her new friends: the friendly stingrays, the enormous goliath grouper and the blowfish that just loved to hover right in front of your mask all the time. We laughed and giggled underwater at all their personalities as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She monitored my air and me as if she had to make sure I would be OK in her newly found playground. It was great!

My husband went with Michael on his PADI open-water dive. My son had done it. He was certified. He could go out off of the rocks with his equipment and make good decisions about the current and depth; he was really good at buoyancy and was a natural at looking out for others. There he was in the open ocean, loving and appreciating its vast, amazing beauty with respect and awe, just as I had always dreamed he would get to do.

Michael’s always been like me, feeling close to animals and nature. I used to try to describe to the kids the amazing and beautiful experiences I’ve had as a diver, how it feels to lay on the sandy ocean floor and look up through the Kelp with the sun shining through, how it feels to play copycat with the sea lions, what to do and what not to do so you can enjoy being a guest in their world. Now when we talk about it, Michael gets that same look, that one only divers know and share.

This experience wasn’t available when I was a child. We could only watch the occasional Jacques Cousteau special and dream of what it might be like. But now, my children and I have a world of exploration, beauty, and heaven to explore together. It would be impossible to describe the feeling, as a parent, that I have every time I think about the joy on their faces at their own accomplishment, and whenever I remember the relationships, both human and animal, that they developed through Kids Sea Camp. We’re going again, for two weeks, to do different programs. My kids, who love piles of presents under the tree, were ecstatic when I asked them if it was OK if we did a really small Christmas so that we could go to Kids Sea Camp instead.

Nothing in the world has given them what Margo’s Kids Sea Camp gave them, and we are so fortunate that we have the opportunity in today’s world to give our kids this gift that will start them on a path that will last a lifetime. I am so grateful to Margo for having this dream for her and her kids and making this program a reality for those of us who see the great value in it but never really thought it was a possibility. Not only is it a fun thing to do, but it makes a huge change in the children and the parents who have done this. Our lives will never be the same, and we have been truly blessed by the experience.

Margo is a mom and a diver, so she has high expectations as a parent and that makes me as a mother feel safe and comfortable at her Kids Sea Camps. This was an amazing family experience that we will treasure forever and hopefully will continue to create new ones each year.

By Gloria, (Happy Sea Camp mom) of Michael and Megan

Kids Sea Camper’s diving experience

I’m going SCUBA diving for the first time in all my life and I’m only ten! I’m so excited. My mom tells me all about it after she comes back from one of her diving trips. It’s going to be my mom, my brother and me going on the trip. We are leaving tomorrow!

Family Dive Adventures, Family vacations, Kids and diving, Family dive trips

We are at the airport now and we are just sitting here bored as can be. It was kind of starting to take the fun out of the whole trip. I’m just sitting here playing on my laptop again and very bored. My mom told me to start packing up because we were about to leave. So with that, I’m packed up and excited to leave one of the most boring places in the world.

We are FINALLY landing on the dry soil of the Grand Cayman Islands. I was shocked at how little their airport was but man, it was a lot more fun than the one we took on the way here. We are now at our hotel, Cobalt Coast. The ground looked dry and the bricks felt rough. I met all the people in my group…there were only four people in my group!

Today was the first training day for our class. At first, we trained in the pool. I soon found out that that was the easy part. The next day we started to review, but this time it was in the ocean! I should actually be kind of glad that I was in the ocean, even though it smelled like nasty salt water. Either way, the sights were glorious.

Today was the day that I had to take the final deciding test. I’m taking the test and I can’t hear a sound. I’m so nervous. The test was fifty questions and I passed.
We then used this tiny computer that told you how long you could stay underwater for certain depths. I’m taking the diving test and I couldn’t be more nervous. The next day I got the results back…I PASSED!!! I can’t believe it, I was now a CERTIFIED SCUBA diver! Me, Jack, a certified scuba diver…I’m so proud of myself!

Since the tests were over and all four people in my class passed, we decided to just go free dive as much as we could. Whenever I came back from a dive I could still taste the salt water from the ocean on my lips. The water seemed so much bluer and the fish more colorful. It was probably since I didn’t have to focus on my dive masters and I could roam around with the group. Whenever I saw my favorite fish, the Hogfish, I always got overjoyed. This is probably the proudest moment of my life.

By, Jack, age 10