mikeycanuk
Contributor
Looks that way! Looking forward to Grand Turk. We love the small island vibe. Provo is nice but not our cup of tea so to speak.
Bonaire, Turks and caicos and Grand Cayman...Which one?
- Thread starter buton
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SEVADiver
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Since we have been to all these places I'll offer my ranking.
1. Little Cayman
2. Grand Turk
3. Cayman Brac
4. Bonaire
5. Grand Cayman
6. Provo
Notes: Bonaire is lower only because we aren't big on shore diving. I know some people love the "freedom," but IMHO it is too much work! Provo is low if land based.
1. Little Cayman
2. Grand Turk
3. Cayman Brac
4. Bonaire
5. Grand Cayman
6. Provo
Notes: Bonaire is lower only because we aren't big on shore diving. I know some people love the "freedom," but IMHO it is too much work! Provo is low if land based.
OP
buton
Contributor
I Google little cayman, not bad could you tell me more?
<< Provo has no shore diving and the wall off Grand Turk is a longer swim out from what I was told by a local. >>
@DiverSteve:
As I recall, the wall off Grand Turk (West side) is about 150-200 yards offshore. Or maybe I could swim faster in those days. :>)
@DiverSteve:
As I recall, the wall off Grand Turk (West side) is about 150-200 yards offshore. Or maybe I could swim faster in those days. :>)
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sullivan
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We've visited Provo 7-8 times, Grand Cayman 2 times and Bonaire just this past Christmas. Our favorite diving trip was Bonaire; a ton of diving, easy on the wallet (granted the airfare is more expensive). If I was coming off a crazy time at work and wanted a more relaxing vacation without 3-4 dives per day, I'd go to Grand Cayman as they have good shore diving plus beautiful beaches where I can lazily spend the day reading (not much in the way of beaches on Bonaire).
Some things to consider. Direct flights to Bonaire can be expensive but if you fly into Curacao or Aruba and grab an island hopper across the cost can be a lot less. I just returned from Bonaire, direct flights were anywhere from $1200 to $1500, god knows why, I got a flight into Curacao for $570 and an island hopper across for $130 ($30 of which was departure tax) for a total of $700. I just did a quick check of DFW/CUR, it was right at $600, odds are that price will drop to mid to low $500s if you watch. Point is, airfare can be less if you are willing to do some transfers. It's a little bit of a PITA but not bad.
Most rooms on Bonaire are condos. If you are so inclined, you can cook breakfast and/or lunch to save quite a bit of cash. That option may or may not be available other places. This can make up for a good bit of airfare.
The other issue is how much diving do you want to get in. If you are doing just 2 a day and relaxing the rest of the time then other places with cheaper air may be the way to go but if you want 4 or more dives a day then at most places, that will require more boat cost which will very quickly override the extra airfare to Bonaire.
You will often hear people talk about how expensive Bonaire is compared to other places, I find the complete opposite to be true if you fairly compare what you are getting. A simple X cost $2000 and Y cost $3000 so X is cheaper is not a good comparison. The way I rate the cost of a dive location is $ per minute of bottom time, the vast majority of the time Bonaire wins hands down for me. I simply add the total cost of the trip, food, air, diving, room and anything else and divide that by the total minutes of bottom time I get. My average on Bonaire is 4 dives per day at 75 minutes per dive. On boat only trips to places like Coz, that drops to 2 dives at 45 minutes per dive. The extra dive and extended bottom time add up quickly. Value increases a lot if you add in intangibles like not having to deal with a herd of divers or ending a dive with 1500 psi due to a air hog on board.
Most rooms on Bonaire are condos. If you are so inclined, you can cook breakfast and/or lunch to save quite a bit of cash. That option may or may not be available other places. This can make up for a good bit of airfare.
The other issue is how much diving do you want to get in. If you are doing just 2 a day and relaxing the rest of the time then other places with cheaper air may be the way to go but if you want 4 or more dives a day then at most places, that will require more boat cost which will very quickly override the extra airfare to Bonaire.
You will often hear people talk about how expensive Bonaire is compared to other places, I find the complete opposite to be true if you fairly compare what you are getting. A simple X cost $2000 and Y cost $3000 so X is cheaper is not a good comparison. The way I rate the cost of a dive location is $ per minute of bottom time, the vast majority of the time Bonaire wins hands down for me. I simply add the total cost of the trip, food, air, diving, room and anything else and divide that by the total minutes of bottom time I get. My average on Bonaire is 4 dives per day at 75 minutes per dive. On boat only trips to places like Coz, that drops to 2 dives at 45 minutes per dive. The extra dive and extended bottom time add up quickly. Value increases a lot if you add in intangibles like not having to deal with a herd of divers or ending a dive with 1500 psi due to a air hog on board.
sullivan
Contributor
I agree with what Herman wrote but poor typing skills prevented me from providing that info in such great detail in earlier post 
.
We had a helluva time finding flights to/from Bonaire using standard travel search engines like kayak. I posted a thread about how best to use the search engines to get to/from Bonaire; just do a search under my name. We looked at how best to fly into Aruba and Curacao and then how to use the local airlines (DAE, Insel, Tiarra) to get from either Aruba or Curacao. Based on the days of the week you travel, the flight options will change.
Bonaire is hands down cheaper than Provo and Grand Cayman. You can get a really nice place on Bonaire, including truck rental and unlimited Nitrox/Air for less than the cost of just lodging on Provo/Grand Cayman. Bonair has low taxes while Provo lodging adds 21% to all the published rates (10% tax plus 11% "resort fee" charge by all places).
.We had a helluva time finding flights to/from Bonaire using standard travel search engines like kayak. I posted a thread about how best to use the search engines to get to/from Bonaire; just do a search under my name. We looked at how best to fly into Aruba and Curacao and then how to use the local airlines (DAE, Insel, Tiarra) to get from either Aruba or Curacao. Based on the days of the week you travel, the flight options will change.
Bonaire is hands down cheaper than Provo and Grand Cayman. You can get a really nice place on Bonaire, including truck rental and unlimited Nitrox/Air for less than the cost of just lodging on Provo/Grand Cayman. Bonair has low taxes while Provo lodging adds 21% to all the published rates (10% tax plus 11% "resort fee" charge by all places).
OP
buton
Contributor
Great tip Herman on the flying.. Plus staying a night or two in curaçao will not be bad at all...
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All the options to get between Bonaire and Curacao (or from the states): Info Bonaire - Airline Information and Connections
You can also do some logical routings here - they won't show Tiara or all the smaller regionals though. Matrix - ITA Software
You can also do some logical routings here - they won't show Tiara or all the smaller regionals though. Matrix - ITA Software
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