where to go with young kids?

[alyne99]

Hi - we are based in the UK. Looking for a week to 10 days dive holiday with 2 kids (age 8 and 10). 10 year old has PADI seal team already, and we would look to get him diving on the holiday (probably do the 2 day Junior Scuba diver course), and the 8 year old will do some snorkelling and maybe bubblemaker / seal team stuff too.
Ideally we'd like to be together as much as possible - so shore diving would be good so one of use can dive with the 10 year old and one snorkel above with the little fella and then vice versa.
Some boat diving trips would be good too - so would need a resort with a kids club so the little fella has something to do whilst we go out on the boat.
We have dived a fair bit pre-kids (4-500 dives each) and are Instructor and DM.
We've dived UK Wrecks, Maldives, Australia, Red Sea, Sipadan, a little caribean, Galapagos and many more but that was all pre kids.
I'm not expecting to be able to do world class diving given the constraints of having the kids with us, but I would like something worthwhile!

Any ideas?

Springing to mind at the moment are Read sea - Marsa Alam has shore diving, so does Dahab and some sharm areas.
Cayman- Expensive, but I work for an airline so can get a deal on the flights - but need ideas for suitable hotels / dive operators.
Bahamas maybe? I've dived with stuart's cove in Nassau on a layover with my airline, but have not ventured any farther afield in the bahamas.

Any other Ideas?

 

[Wingy]

Thailand?

 

[ColoDale]

Beaches, Turks and Caicos for the kids? Maybe an off site site shop for more unrestricted diving. Shore diving might be more limited tho. For heavy shore diving maybe Bonaire/Curacao but I have no idea on ammenities for children.

 

[diversteve]

A few options - I don't have a lot of time now so just some quick ideas...

The Westin on Grand Cayman has a kids club. Also Red Sail Watersports on site. They'll pick you up off the beach sometimes for diving. Places like Stingray City, the Kittiwake wreck, Turtle Reef, Smith's Cove are all dual dive/snorkel spots. Dive365cayman.com has a lot more details. Any dive operator there also picks up along Seven Mile Beach and shuttles you to their boats nearby at a marina. Up to 4 boat dives/day is possible with some. Cayman is pricey though as you've notice - around $50/dive - about the best I've seen is 10/$460

Beaches on Providenciales, Turks/Caicos is very kid friendly. They have kids programs for all ages. Also have a dive operator on site for local diving off NW Point or Grace Bay Beach but the best dives are the deep walls off West Caicos/French Cay with other operators - about an 8AM to 2:30PM trip with free pickup and a 45min. boat ride. No shore diving there though. T/C might even be pricier than Cayman...

The Sunscape AI resort on Curacao. It's a former Beaches/Breezes? kids resort also. They have a kids program, probably still the trapeze classes etc. Ocean Encounters on-site for boat diving and there's a shore dive there. Also 40-50 more on that side of the island mostly all are beaches with dive shops on-site, food etc. Playa Jeremi (one of few with no facilities) is on Frommers Top 10 best Carib snorkels. Also the Tugboat south of town is 17' deep - there's a deeper wall dive there as well. We dove Varsenbaai - 40' to the seahorses, 80' to a pontoon boat wreck. Along the beach south there were turtles living/feeding in 6' and a family of squid living under the dive dock. The operator said they've always been there. Non dive kids stuff there's the Sea Aquarium and the Ostrich Farm.

I also like/recommend the Marriott Emerald Resort - no idea if they have a kids program. Carib Sea Sports on-site for diving, they also have a nice beach and watertoys. And a nice pool arrangement. There's both boat/shore diving there as well. Its' 2 miles north of downtown so none of the cruise ship crush gets up that way plus it's not always the most active cruise port. The famous shopping downtown, the kids will like the swinging bridge possibly and there's the Rif Fort/shopping complex also.

 

[DjDiverDan]

For outstanding diving, including a number of shallow and easy dives for the young divers, look at Cozumel. While I never do All-Inclusive on Cozumel - it's a very safe tourist-friendly destination with a wealth of excellent restaurants - All-Inclusive might be a good option for younger children. Most of the AI Resorts on Cozumel are well south of the Downtown area, have decent beach areas, and are very convenient to the dive locations, and pretty much every Dive Op will pick you up at any of them. I'm not familiar with these AI Resorts, but there are several, including Fiesta Americana, Sabor, Aura, Occidental. Cozumel Palace is the only big AI close to town, no genuine beach, but there are several very good Dive Ops that will pick up there. You DO NOT have to use the House Dive Operators at any of these places, and I'd recommend that you check out several of the better Dive Ops, Aldora, Blue XTSea, Tres Pelicanos, Living Underwater, Dive with Martin (not a high end valet op, but an excellent lower-price choice with some very good DMs), etc. (Search for reviews on the Cozumel forum), and make your Dive Op choice independent of your hotel.

 

[diversteve]

I'm not familiar with these AI Resorts, but there are several, including Fiesta Americana, Sabor, [-]Aura[/-], Occidental. Cozumel Palace is the only big AI close to town...

Aura is adults only.

Welcome to Secrets Aura Cozumel: a luxurious adults-only resort located on the picturesque island of Cozumel.

It's funny how Sabor has changed also - 4-5 years ago there was a clothing optional section inside the resort, now it's a Sunscape Family resort.
Sunscape Sabor Cozumel