Suggestions for Caribbean Dive Vacation?

[RussL]

Sorry in advance for the long post.

My wife and I are experienced divers, but we don't dive that often. We're organizing a dive trip somewhere in the Carib with some friends that are new divers. All of us want to go somewhere where there is more to do than just diving. After much discussion, we were thinking of either the Keys, Belize, or Cozumel; mainly for ease of travel and cost. Belize is most interesting because it's one place I've never been.

Lets talk Belize...

Belize is spread out, and it's hard figuring out where to go, even after hours of reading threads on the board. Any suggestions for first timers that want to dive and do other stuff (besides drinking and laying in the sun)?

I haven't had much luck finding flight connections from AZ to Belize other than Belize City ... All I get is "no flights on your scheduled days." After putting every combination in, and still no flights, I gave up. Any suggestions?

Florida Keys

This is certainly the cheapest and easiest travel option for us. It's been a long time since I've been diving there...mainly Key Largo. Visibility was hit or miss because of agricultural run off and it was killing the reefs. Has visibility it gotten and better or worse? How's the diving down in the lower keys? Is that okay for new divers? I was thinking hanging near Key West could be fun... do some diving, plus lots of other stuff to do.

Cozumel

It seems everyone on this board loves Cozumel. We're not huge drift diving fans because we like to take our time and look for micro stuff. We can hang out in a very small area for an entire dive. So, Coz is our 3rd choice, only because it's close, cheap and diving is relatively easy.

Other Possible Places

Cayman Islands - been there many times; great diving, but on the expensive side. Gonna pass.
Roatan - been to CoCoView. Great diving, but not much to do. Airfaire is steep from AZ at $1k pp. Pass.
Bonaire - been there twice; was on the table as an option, but pulled it off since the other divers were there not long ago.

Are there any places/options we haven't considered that we should?

Thanks for reading this who post and providing your feedback. My questions:

 

[Damselfish]

Belize is spread out, and it's hard figuring out where to go, even after hours of reading threads on the board. Any suggestions for first timers that want to dive and do other stuff (besides drinking and laying in the sun)?

I haven't had much luck finding flight connections from AZ to Belize other than Belize City ... All I get is "no flights on your scheduled days." After putting every combination in, and still no flights, I gave up. Any suggestions?

AFAIK Belize City is the only international airport in Belize and probably the only airport served by any airlines that are covered by the usual booking engines like Expedia, Kayak, etc. You've probably uncovered that Belize City is not where most people would stay for a vacation. To continue on to say Placencia or San Pedro/Ambergris Caye, 2 of the more common destinations, that leg will be on a local airline that probably doesn't show up in the booking engines, such as Tropic Air or Maya Air. (Or in the case of San Pedro, you can also get there by ferry.) There are also some places to stay and dive on various small islands, from rustic to nicer, which will typically handle their own transfers by boat.

What other stuff do you want to do? Lots of great things to do inland Belize. If you want to do ruins, tubing, caves etc. my usual suggestion is to split a trip into diving and non-diving pieces and stay 2 different places, especially if you can take more than a week. Otherwise you will be making a big compromise between distance to the dive sites, and ease of getting to the land stuff. You can do land tours from San Pedro, but seeing as you have to get back to the mainland, then to wherever, and getting around is not usually quick - it's not the sort of situation where you will dive ever morning than go off and and do a land excursion every afternoon, if that's what you're hoping for. Someplace around Placencia on the mainland to the south may be a better base if you want to stay one place and do both diving and land stuff, though the dive sites will be further away. Web information on stuff in Belize can be somewhat lacking in general, but once you start to zero in on where to stay I think most places you would stay will be helpful with whatever tours and transfers you need so it's not as intimidating to plan as it seems at first.

If you haven't tried a liveaboard and would like to sometime, Belize is a good place to start as the best diving there is most accessible by liveaboard. That doesn't get you much land time, other than a picnic and some time to explore Half Moon Caye, and maybe time to squeeze in something on the last day when you're back in port. But if you have time to do the liveaboard then head inland for at least a few days it's a good combo.


You might also look into Curacao. It's usually a little cheaper and easier to get to than Bonaire, and has somewhat more variety of things to do. The diving is similar to Bonaire in some ways, but not as much as you might think.

Or maybe Grenada, though I've seen mixed reviews of the diving and my personal experience was just so-so. Interesting island topside.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

I've been to the Keys (I was raised near there), Belize, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Antigua, Dominica, Jamaica and Cozumel. My favorite site was Bloody Bay Wall off of Little Cayman. My second favorite is Cozumel. I also loved Belize but I stayed in Hopkins, in southern Belize.

Belize City is the only international airport in Belize. You must fly into Belize City and then connect to other cities with the local puddle jumpers.

I was last in the Keys a few months before I moved to Japan. I thought to myself as I drove out of the Keys that I would never go there again. Nothing against the Keys or Florida but there are so many places to dive and I started my diving in the Keys in 1978 so I was ready to dive in different locations.

I would not bother diving in Grand Cayman but if you can get to Little Cayman then do it!

 

[KathyV]

My wife and I are experienced divers, but we don't dive that often. We're organizing a dive trip somewhere in the Carib with some friends that are new divers. All of us want to go somewhere where there is more to do than just diving...

I am also curious as to what you and your companions like to do besides diving. Do you like night life, restaurants, shopping, and entertainments? Or do you like nature and outdoor activities and adventure sports? Perhaps you are looking for a spa experience? Or maybe you enjoy visiting historical sites - or a combination of some of the above?

Giving us a better idea of your interests will make it easier to offer suggestions. In the meantime I suggest you look at St. Croix because you said that you like to take your time looking at small stuff. The Fredricksted Pier is a fantastic dive site and you will see loads of wonderful creatures including octopuses, seahorses, and frogfish. Nice, typical Caribbean diving in St. Croix in general.

The Turks and Caicos have great diving (both large and small sea life) and there are fun things to do on Provo, but with long rides to the reef unless you are on a liveaboard.

Since you are traveling from the West, have you considered Cabo? It might be cheaper. It's more famous for big critters but great diving and lots of things to do - but there is a lot of drift diving. Or how about Hawaii? Lots of things to do there and excellent diving.

 

[They call me Tater]

St. Croix. Depends on what you like to do besides diving, but there is something for every dive level.

 

[scubadada]

Personally, I would consider the East End of Grand Cayman. Compass Point/Ocean Frontiers is fantastic. Not much to do but diving if that is really important. More mainstream on Grand Cayman would be Divetech

 

[drrich2]

There was a thread on Belize Land Activities.

Recent thread on Overall Impressions from First Visit to St. Croix.

Discussion about St. Croix as a dive destination.

Aldora, Living Underwater and another op. (IIRC) offer 120 cf steel tanks in Cozumel; might be nice for air hogs, people who like really long dive times, etc...

In the Florida Keys, with Rainbow Reef Dive Center I could get in 4 dives per day (2013 Trip Report).

If you've been to CocoView, you might try a different part of the island. Perhaps somewhere with more other activities close at hand?

Curacao comes to mind if Bonaire was on the table but you passed because some had been to it recently. Curacao vs. Bonaire. Scuba Board did an invasion trip there not long ago, so it's gotten considerable attention on the forum.

Richard.

 

[Charles2]

Lets talk Belize...

Belize is spread out, and it's hard figuring out where to go, even after hours of reading threads on the board. Any suggestions for first timers that want to dive and do other stuff (besides drinking and laying in the sun)?

A couple of years ago, my wife and I, along with some other friends, stayed at Hamanasi | All Inclusive Belize Resort | Adventure Resort Belize . All you have to do is to get to the Belize City airport, they will arrange the remainder of the travel to the resort. There are more activities available than you will probably be able to partake in one week.

 

[RussL]

He everyone, thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate you taking time to provide information and ask clarifying questions. As for other activities we like to do....sightseeing local sites of interest, ruins, any outdoor/adventure activity, sailing, certainly some shopping and nightlife would be nice but aren't primary activites.

It sounds like Belize is kind of a 2 part trip....diving from the islands, and excursions from the mainland. That's good to know.

Thanks again.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Sorry for my pedantry here but Belize's international airport is near Ladyville. you can take a taxi to Belize City but then why would you? Well, some do because they haveland taxi take them to the water taxi dock to get the water taxi to Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker. It's cheaper than the puddle jumper flight but not anywhere near as convenient.