Hey Tamas, I run one of the dive centres on Carriacou and have been following this thread closely. I can not fault anything Todd has mentioned about Grenada, being that it is an incredibly warm, vibrant and safe place to come and stay. The diving between Carriacou and Grenada is like chalk and cheese though!
Grenada has some good reef and some amazing wrecks. Where the reef is best there tends to be a little current too. In Carriacou, which is Arawak Indian for the 'Land of (many) reefs', the diving is all about the reefs. We have a couple of wrecks which are great, but we're not a wreck destination. Some of our reefs are in excellent condition for the region and we have really high levels of marine life diversity and biomass, this is helped by having small a island which does not attract too much fishing or tourism. I have a video which I put together earlier this year from a couple of tge dives we did which is on YouTube (Underwater Carriacou with Deefer Diving - YouTube).
The island itself is a little rustic. There is no resort based tourism and no international hotels - its kinda like how the Caribbean used to be. The beaches are quiet and public (no private beaches at all) and there are a myriad of small cays and islands just waiting to be explored. Food is basic, but plentiful. In my humble opinion, the diving is better in Carriacou, but the facilities are more modern in Grenada.
Tobago Cays - I get to dive there quite often. I like it a lot, but always feel that something is missing. There can be quite a bit of current, particularly around horseshoe reef, but the reefs there, around Petite Tabac and Mayreau Gardens are quite spectacular. When I say I feel there is something missing.... the old manager of the TCMP (Tobago Cays Marine Park) described diving there perfectly, he suggested it was like "diving in one of the worlds most lavish theatres, where the stage sets were perfect, the colours amazing and the experience ethereal. But you find yourself constantly wishing for the missing actors". Tobago Cays has an amazing turtle sanctuary and is home to quite a few rays too, but has been blighted with over-fishing. This is something the authorities is trying to address.
I hope you do manage to convince your family to come down here and give Grenada a chance, and come and try out the Diving in Carriacou too - you will not regret it.
Gary
Grenada has some good reef and some amazing wrecks. Where the reef is best there tends to be a little current too. In Carriacou, which is Arawak Indian for the 'Land of (many) reefs', the diving is all about the reefs. We have a couple of wrecks which are great, but we're not a wreck destination. Some of our reefs are in excellent condition for the region and we have really high levels of marine life diversity and biomass, this is helped by having small a island which does not attract too much fishing or tourism. I have a video which I put together earlier this year from a couple of tge dives we did which is on YouTube (Underwater Carriacou with Deefer Diving - YouTube).
The island itself is a little rustic. There is no resort based tourism and no international hotels - its kinda like how the Caribbean used to be. The beaches are quiet and public (no private beaches at all) and there are a myriad of small cays and islands just waiting to be explored. Food is basic, but plentiful. In my humble opinion, the diving is better in Carriacou, but the facilities are more modern in Grenada.
Tobago Cays - I get to dive there quite often. I like it a lot, but always feel that something is missing. There can be quite a bit of current, particularly around horseshoe reef, but the reefs there, around Petite Tabac and Mayreau Gardens are quite spectacular. When I say I feel there is something missing.... the old manager of the TCMP (Tobago Cays Marine Park) described diving there perfectly, he suggested it was like "diving in one of the worlds most lavish theatres, where the stage sets were perfect, the colours amazing and the experience ethereal. But you find yourself constantly wishing for the missing actors". Tobago Cays has an amazing turtle sanctuary and is home to quite a few rays too, but has been blighted with over-fishing. This is something the authorities is trying to address.
I hope you do manage to convince your family to come down here and give Grenada a chance, and come and try out the Diving in Carriacou too - you will not regret it.
Gary
How about Carriacou and Tobago Cays? How do they compare in terms of reef health, fish diversity, visibility, currents etc. to the "regular destinations" (Bonaire, Coz, Roatan)?