Looking for a new dive spot

[RyanNM]

I've been to several dive spots on the Yucatan Peninsula; Roatan; Belize; Cozumel; Puerta Vallarta; and Baja. We like the Caribbean. We prefer places that have at least some local culture (and haven't always found it); for this reason, we've shied away from the islands that are primarily resort islands with mostly wealthy visitors (like, from what I've heard: Bonaire, Curacao, T & C, Bahamas, Caymans, etc.). And we're not wealthy so overall cost is a consideration.
We're looking at Puerto Rico and Vieques or Dominican Republic for a trip in the fall, maybe October.
Can anyone suggest something that has local, more laid-back vibes, with decent diving? We would greatly appreciate any ideas you can share.
Thank you!

 

[KathyV]

It's true that Grand Cayman is a sophisticated, developed resort destination but the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are small, rustic, quiet places with great local culture, excellent diving, and very little development.

Cayman Brac has only one hotel dive resort, the Cayman Brac Beach Resort. It is a small place with about 40 rooms and they recently renovated the property with a beautiful 2-level beach bar and a huge, freeform infinity pool. It is an all-inclusive, diver-dedicated resort, the food is served buffet style but it is very good. Reef Divers is the onsite dive-op and they offer valet diving as part of the service at no extra charge.

Brac also has some condos and a few other rental properties and restaurants and one other dive shop, the Brac Scuba Shack. Both of Brac's dive ops have excellent reputations.

We are heading back to the CBBR for the 4th time in November. They are currently offering an Autumn Escape Package that is $1325 US per person double occupancy. That covers your lodgings, all meals, diving, airport transfers, taxes, and service charges. It doesn't cover your air travel or dive shop tips.

The Autumn Escape only includes 2 dives per day but you can upgrade to add on an afternoon dive. They also usually offer 2 night dives a week. They have other packages with different options, see the link below: Cayman Islands All Inclusive | Cayman Islands Vacations

Little Cayman Beach Resort is a sister property owned and managed by the same family. It is also a small, diver-dedicated, all-inclusive and Reef Divers is also the onsite dive op. The diving off Little Cayman is even better than Brac IMO but it a little more expensive and books up very quickly so it may be too late to get a reservation and find flights for this year. We were at LCBR last year and it was a wonderful trip, see the link below: All Inclusive Caribbean Vacation Packages | Caribbean Vacation Packages

Both Cayman sister islands have nature preserves and seabird nesting areas and the local people are very friendly. You don't have to worry about drinking the water or eating the food in the Caymans and they have good healthcare facilities and mosquito-abatement programs.

Below are some links that you may find of interest. The water will be warm, low to mid 80s in the fall.

Good luck, finding a great dive vacation destination wherever you decide to go!

Cayman Brac: http://caribjournal.com/2015/09/15/journey-to-cayman-brac/

Cayman Brac video: https://vimeo.com/165357805

Little Cayman:
https://www.caymancompass.com/2015/07/24/From-Grand-to-Little--a-relaxing-island-hop/

The differences between the 3 Cayman Islands:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147364-i260-k8593445-The_differences_for_a_diver_between_the_3_Cayman_islands-Cayman_Islands.html

 

[KathyV]

BTW, where did you hear that Bonaire is a resort destination geared toward wealthy visitors? That is completely inaccurate information!

Bonaire is the most diver-dedicated place that I have ever experienced. Sure you can find expensive accommodations but there are resorts and rental properties available for all price ranges and the diving is usually very inexpensive. Eating out 3 times a day gets pricey but there are lots of opportunities to rent apartments and condos so you can easily prepare some simple meals, and there are good grocery stores and good restaurant options.

You should enjoy shore diving to get the most out of Bonaire - although excellent boat diving is available - and many properties have a house reef so you can dive right off the dock.

You will need to rent a vehicle to get around. You can load up the van with tanks, drive down the road looking for yellow-painted rocks indicating dive sites, gear up on the shore and swim a short distance to the reef.

The island has a unique culture too. It is part of the Netherlands and there is a lot of Dutch history to experience. The topography varies and includes desert, mangroves, seaside, and jungle. There is a Flamingo Preserve and a Donkey Sanctuary. You will see white hills of salt against the blue sky from the salt industry, and you can visit the slave huts still standing from the bad old days when slaves worked under the hot sun to rake up the salt for their European masters. The predominant culture of the island is "diving freedom".

Another great thing about Bonaire is that (like Curacao) it lies below the hurricane belt so you are less likely to get hit with a tropical storm in October - although it may be rainy and the vis may not be the best - but that will be true all over the Caribbean in the fall.

It can be expensive and difficult to get to Bonaire but sometimes you can get a good price on flights. Also, be aware that petty thievery is a constant issue and you can't leave anything of value in the car while you are diving. Not a whole lot of beach on Bonaire but there are some beach areas. You should go there at least once!

 

[DeputyDan]

Bonaire "ain't" for the wealthy.

But the wealthy can go there.

 

[RyanNM]

Thanks for your inputs! Good info. I've just always seen only $$$ flights to Bonaire.

 

[Stoo]

While I have not been there, friends have gone to Caye Caulker in Belize and loved it. I understand it's a super laid back artsy-fartsy place with some cool little bars etc. Diving around the area involves some longer boat trips, but it's high on our list of places to visit, but likely as an add-on to a trip to the outer cayes or something.

Go Caye Caulker.Com - Caye Caulker, Belize - Go Caye Caulker

 

[Damselfish]

Thanks for your inputs! Good info. I've just always seen only $$$ flights to Bonaire.

The price of flights to a place is determined by many things, but how expensive the destination itself is isn't really one of them. Sometimes it's just the opposite. While Bonaire can easily be an inexpensive place, flights do tend to be pricey unless you get lucky. Cayman is generally expensive, but it's much easier to find good airfare. There's simply more more competition and volume to Cayman than Bonaire. When it comes to costs all that matters is the bottom line so you have to look at the whole picture.

Bonaire and Curacao do have some fancier, more expensive places, but also plenty of ways to stay and dive inexpensively, and lots in between. Neither particularly caters to wealthy visitors. Bonaire in particular is considered a budget dive destination by many. Curacao tends to have more & less expensive flights, and can also be done on a budget, it's just a little less convenient with maybe fewer such options than Bonaire. Cayman and T&C actually are known for being expensive places and could be thought of as "resort islands," though there are still ways to save. (Unfortunately shore diving isn't one of them - there is essentially none in T&C. And while there's some good shore dives in Cayman it's limited, practically speaking, and you'd miss a lot of what Cayman diving is famous for if you skipped boat diving.)

 

[drrich2]

We prefer places that have at least some local culture (and haven't always found it); for this reason, we've shied away from the islands that are primarily resort islands with mostly wealthy visitors

Might be useful to know what aspects of 'local culture' matter to you. It's like when people talk about topside non-diving activities, and someone asks if that's shopping, bar hopping, rainforest tours, kayaking, etc... Here are some aspects of 'local culture' that might appeal to some people:

1.) Seeing 'ethnic' looking people in tribal-looking attire.
2.) Seeing 'native' dance rituals (e.g.: some displays in Hawaii by Polynesians).
3.) Ethnic food (e.g.: Mexican food, goat stew, iguana soup).
4.) Foreign architecture (e.g.: Willemstad in Curacao, or maybe the Mayan ruins of Belize).
5.) Talking with non-industry working class locals at a bar.
6.) Exposure to a foreign language (e.g.: some people want to practice Spanish when they travel).

Someone wanting to see a Hawaiian luau, someone photographing Dutch Caribbean architecture in Willemstad, someone carousing with locals & speaking Spanish at a bar in Mexico are all experiencing local culture, but in drastically different ways.

Richard.

 

[RyanNM]

Thank you, Damsel- all good, helpful info to make my decisions with.
DrRich, thank you, too. I'm not really looking for "ethnic-looking people dressed in tribal-looking attire" LOL.
Just normal life of the people who live there, not just a place swarming with an excess of cruise ship tourists with lots of expensive shops catering to norteamericanos. Locals in local bars more than North American-filled fancy Hilton restaurants. Mexican towns vs. Cancun-style resorts. Pretty subjective, I guess, now that I try to elaborate on it. Thanks!

 

[LarryHinDC]

Have you thought about Saba? It is very laid back, there are no throngs of tourists and no cruise ships. Local Sabans are very friendly and easy to get to know. A common, and very safe and acceptable, way to get around the island is by hitch hiking. We once got a ride from the island Commissioner. We didn't even know until he pulled into his official parking place at the government offices.

There is great hiking and for a small island, the restaurants are good and not terribly expensive. Did I mention the diving? Saba has some of the best diving in the Caribbean, from deep pinnacles with large pelagics to fantastic shallow reefs with many, many adolescent green and hawksbill turtles. Plus Sea Saba, the best of the operations on Saba, is among the best dive ops in the Caribbean. Fly into St Maarten and then either take a 15-minute flight to Saba or a 1.5 - 2 hour ferry ride. You usually have to book the flight to Saba separately from the flight to SXM as WinAir, the flight to Saba, doesn't have code-sharing with many other airlines.