Dive Destination Suggestions - Pacific & Caribbean

[robint]

Bonaire or Curacao............... as a videographer, I think Bonaire was the easiest land-based destination I have been to and shot video at for many reasons.
#1 is fishlife - you can see almost every Caribbean fish in the ocean (except for sharks) and at every stage, juvies and adults, whatever you are looking for, you will find it in Bonaire.
#2 is the ease of shore diving - you can dive the same site over and over if you find something particularly cool or you can dive a site for a few minutes and if you don't like it, move on to another site. You are never at the mercy of where the boat is going!
#3 is the lack of current. Shooting video can be challenging if there is current but Bonaire has little to NO current at all dive sites.
#4 is clarity of water even if the weather has been bad.
#5 you can do boat dives if you want over to Klein Bonaire where the underwater topography is different than on the main island. Also, some sites on the main island can only be reached by boat - like Rappel which is a fabulous reef.
#6 is that topside there are iguanas everywhere, donkeys wandering around, cactus and palm trees, slave huts and salt fields. It is very interesting to shoot topside!

Two weeks at Bonaire would be perfect for shooting really great video! We only had a week there and we really didn't feel like that was enough time to even scratch the surface of all Bonaire has to offer.

Just my 2 cents.

robin

 

[diver 85]

Palau or Peliliu are supposed to be #1 in the Pacific.

Red Sea is supposed to be #1 in the world.

Cozumel is supposed to be #1 in the Carib. That is where I am headed next.

I found Fiji to be disappointing, and I would not go back there again. The reefs are generally too small for drift diving, so the boat needs to anchor, and then you need to fight the currents. Otherwise, beautiful. We were at Tavenuni.

CZM #1 ???.....don't believe IMO...Roatan for example and ESP. Little Cayman have CZM beat a bunch for diving....There is no other wall that comes close to Bloody Bay in the Caribbean IMO.......

 

[mjh]

IMHO for fantastic subject matter the South Pacific offers so much more than the Carib. Plus is it still hurricane season in the Carib that time of year?

From Seattle it is not that much more painful to get to SP then the Carib. From your list the Galapagos would be my first pick, we are going in 2010. But it is best from a live-aboard and good luck getting a spot if you are limited on dates. Next choice would be PNG but takes 2 days to get there and again best done from a live-aboard. Reality is there is a price to pay to see the really incredible stuff.

As others have said Palau is fantastic and there are some good shore ops.

 

[tangfish]

So, where does one fly in/out of to get to Palau? Guam and then hopper? Also, is it feasible to do Palau/Chuuk/Yap in one trip (just over 2 weeks) or should I pick one island and stick to it?

 

[ScubaSteve]

If you want land based activities as well, rule out Bonaire. It is some of the best shore diving in the world but on the surface you can either drive through a park or look at Salt. It is my favourite dive destination but I do not try to spend half my time busy on the surface. I am diving only.

Cozumel is beat up so bad it is terrible.

I have never been but from what I have seen/read, PNG and Paulau are terrific.

 

[Damselfish]

So, where does one fly in/out of to get to Palau? Guam and then hopper? Also, is it feasible to do Palau/Chuuk/Yap in one trip (just over 2 weeks) or should I pick one island and stick to it?

Continental Micronesia has a bit of a monopoly in the area. Jets, not hoppers as in small planes, but it can be sort of a hopper route depending where and when. When we went I think we went straight from Honolulu to Palau. Then we went straight from Palau to Yap. On way back from Yap stopped briefly in Guam on the way back to Honolulu.

I think doing 2 islands is reasonable, 3 you might spend too much time offgassing and traveling. The flights aren't daily, and they can leave at amazingly horrible times of day. So you really have to look at the routes and times and workout what makes the most sense.

 

[tangfish]

Alright, looking into flights, the most sane destination I've come up with so far is Turks and Caicos. Anyone been diving there? Which island, town or resort should I look into staying at? Flights to/from Providenciales are around 1300 each, that's much better than the 4K pp numbers I've been getting for everywhere else. Is T&C a good place to visit, how's the diving? I know it probably doesn't compare to SEA, but is it as good as Coz/Caymans?

 

[ScubaSteve]

I dove Providenciales and was not overly impressed. I was told that Grand Turk is great diving but I cannot personally say. I can only say Providenciales was not good (IMHO)

Alright, looking into flights, the most sane destination I've come up with so far is Turks and Caicos. Anyone been diving there? Which island, town or resort should I look into staying at? Flights to/from Providenciales are around 1300 each, that's much better than the 4K pp numbers I've been getting for everywhere else. Is T&C a good place to visit, how's the diving? I know it probably doesn't compare to SEA, but is it as good as Coz/Caymans?

 

[scubadiver888]

I haven't been to Turks & Caicos but I've seen a lot of videos of the place (youtube) and talked to a few people who have been there. It is not a place people have said is a MUST dive but there is some good marine life there. It is on my list of places to go to some day. I was actually hoping to go in March but my wife couldn't get the time off. I'd boat dive, don't think there is any good shore diving there.

 

[tangfish]

What about Dominica, better or worse than Cayman or T&C? Also, I found prices to Bonaire to be sane as well, but we prefer to go boat diving on this trip.