where to go for next Caribbean dive trip

[bjd001]

I've actually been to both LCBR and Turneffe Island Resort. But it was quite a while ago. (I had to go look it up...) Went to LCBR in 2001 and Turneffe in 1996! That could be why I remember more about LCBR...

I preferred the diving on Little Cayman. There was also more to "do" there besides diving. The only thing I didn't like was that our room was too close to the open-air bar and the late-night revelers.

But if you really want to dive, dive, dive, a liveaboard is definitely the way to go. They usually have great valet service and great food. And you get to do a lot more diving (could be up to 5 dives a day). So it depends a bit on what you want to do.

 

[Turneffe Flats]

You should definitely consider some of the Belize atoll resorts for convenient, full-service diving, with some of the very best diving in the Caribbean. Lots of live, healthy hard and soft coral growth, and lots of fish. There are a number of resorts in all the price ranges as Diver Steve listed above.

 

[Scott from LongIsland]

I agree with Rhone Man...T & C all the way followed closely by Saba.

I felt that Turneffe paled in comparison to either of those and the diving was not in the same league. The marine conservation or lack thereof in Belize was quite disappointing. I like Belize quite a bit and have been there several times but I also feel that the country has many turnoffs/negatives that are not encountered in a place like Saba. T & C is best done by liveaboard IMO. Traveling through the ghetto which is Belize city sucks and the Turneffe resorts are exorbitantly expensive compared to the rest of the country. While the majority of the country is rather cheap, the island resorts are not.

People don't lock their doors on Saba as there is little to no crime. Nobody tries to hustle you or try to sell you their wares or drugs as in Belize. The diving off Saba is fantastic and it is not all pinnacle diving as many people think. There are plenty of shallower reefs to dive there and there only a few pinnacles (3 I think?). Diamond Rock and Man of War Shoals are some of the best dives that I have done in the Caribbean. The island has a charm that I have not found elsewhere in the Caribbean. The residents take pride in their island and it shows.

Turneffe flats advertising for convenient diving seems a bit self serving. It is not at all convenient to get to any of the atoll resorts and you will most likely lose a day on both ends of your trip getting to and from the resorts. There is no more convenient way to dive then off of a liveaboard.

 

[tarponchik]

I remember we checked atoll diving in Belize and their schedule seemed too relaxed to us, with just 2 dives a day. So we opted for a liveaboard instead.

 

[Cpt. Jack]

I'd have to say probably not. That said if I were you I would check into Bonaire. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's probably the best blend of everywhere else you have dove.

I agree with the Bonaire recommendation. decent diving and you can set your own schedule.
Check out Dive Friends at Hamlet Oasis. Good people and drive through tank fills!

 

[LarryHinDC]

One of the things about Little Cayman that is different than T&C - the LC wall mostly starts pretty shallow, allowing a shallower average depth and lots of time hanging out shallow at the end of the dive with stuff to see. I can't talk my airhog/photog hubby into returning to T&C because of this. Also makes Saba a tough sell.

I agree with Scott from Long Island that there are lots of dive sites on Saba besides their pinnacles that are not very deep. Tent Wall, for example, starts at about 15-20' and goes down from there. The dive crews listen to the divers, and if there isn't a clamoring for a pinnacle, will be happy to go shallower.

And I'm not sure what kind of "exceptional service" you're referring to, but Sea Saba really does have some of the best service I've ever encountered in a dive operation. There are no "all inclusives" on Saba, but Sea Saba partners quite a bit with Juliana's hotel, plus there are a number of cottages available to rent as well, at prices going from not much different than the hotels on up.

 

[AggieDiver]

I will preface this by saying that I have not been to Bonaire or Turks and Caicos, but T&C is eventually on my list. If what you loved about LC was how effortless the diving was, you might want to look very carefully at what you are paying for on Bonaire before deciding to go that route. Shore diving on Bonaire has many similarities to LC, in the form of shallow dives, mostly easy currents, no "follow the leader" divemaster parade, etc. But it also has what LC does not...carting your gear out to the truck, driving to a dive site, carrying your gear down to the water, carrying your gear back to the truck after the dive, driving back to your hotel, rinsing out your own gear, getting stuff stolen from your truck if you leave anything of value in it, leaving your hotel to find a good restaurant, paying for the food, etc.

At least to me, what makes LC such a relaxing experience is that you don't have to do any of that. You show up at the boat, setup your gear once, and after that, you don't mess with it for the rest of the week. You don't have to decide what restaurant to go to, you don't have to decide how much you are willing to spend on food each night, you don't have to worry about stuff getting stolen, you just dive, eat, relax, and sleep. If that is what you loved about LC too, then maybe Bonaire's shore diving isn't what you are looking for.

I think those kinds of experiences are pretty rare in the rest of the Caribbean...and where they are, they are not cheap. I have looked at Small Hope Bay on Andros as an option, haven't pulled the trigger due to air connection issues trying to get there from Houston. T&C is in the same boat for me...not as easy to get to, but on the list of places I want to try, although as a committed air hog, I am worried that I won't enjoy T&C as much because I will be forced into shorter dive times. The Belize atolls can be good, but frankly, I wasn't as impressed with the diving there...same with Roatan. It is good, but just not the same level of variety in the terrain and health of the reef that we are used to on LC. And it is getting obscenely expensive to fly to Roatan these days. Now that TACA isn't having to compete with anybody and United is content to make their price whatever TACA wants to charge, it is hard to get there for less than $700 RT.

But in the end, don't take our word for it...as you can see, there are lots of different opinions out there and the best way to see if you like a place is to go try it yourself.

 

[ronscuba]

For me, live aboard is the easy pick. In the Caribbean, Belize, T&C and even Cayman if you really like LC. Of the 3, I liked Belize live aboard the most.