Caribbean vacation advice needed

My wife and I just got certified on our honeymoon (St. Lucia, Grenada) this past July and are planning another trip to the Caribbean this February. In general, I’m looking for an island/hotel along the following lines:
- Good diving.
- Moderately priced (<$250 per day, excluding food/diving)
- Somewhat isolated: Don’t want a place right next to a lot of other hotels
- Smallish hotel: we don’t like places that have a “resort” feel and prefer places with <50 rooms.
- Good beach: My wife is a big beach person and since we will probably only dive every other day, we want a nice place to lay out/swim. She loves white sand, but that may be too much to ask.

After reading a lot of posts on this board (including responses to my earlier post as to how to get started) and thumbing through my well-worn copy of Fodor’s Caribbean, I have come up with a few ideas. I would love to get folks thoughts on my list and other suggestions that fit what I am looking for. Thanks in advance.

Grand Turk, Turks Head Inn.
Good: Good price ($200/night) for an ocean view room. Close to two well-known dive shops, Oasis and Sea Eye. Looks like a decent hotel. Diving sounds like it is among the best in the Caribbean. The island is supposed to have good beaches.

Concerns: The diving sounds like it is mainly on walls with a deep drop-off, which I am not sure is the best thing for beginning divers- we are used to starting our dive at the ocean floor and using it as a “guide.” This fear was exacerbated by the fact that Grand Turk won the Rodale’s award for best advanced diving- not sure if this implies that it is not good for beginners. The hotel is not right on the beach, and not sure how nice the beach across from the hotel is. The Turks are pretty north in the Caribbean, so I am worried about the weather in February.

Sugar Mill, Tortola
Good: Have heard that Tortola has good diving for beginners (though I’m not quite sure what this means). Hotel and restaurant have received very good reviews.

Concerns: No dive shop nearby, so we would need to drive or take taxis. Rooms in our price range do not have an ocean view ($215 for a standard, $310 for an ocean view). No pictures of the beach on the web site, so I’m not sure if it is nice.

Southern Cross Club, Little Cayman
Good: Diving sounds great, beach looks beautiful.

Concerns: More than we wanted to spend- $500/night, but it includes all meals. Same wall diving concern as with Grand Turk. Biggest issue- have heard that weather at Grand Turk in February is stormy (based on one post I read, not sure if this is right)

South of Cancun, Villas de Rosa (betweeb Akumal and Talum)
Good: Looks really nice, very reasonably priced ($120/night)

Concerns: Not sure how good the beginner diving is. Area seems known for cave diving and other advanced pursuits


Again, I would love thoughts on the places above and am open to other islands/resorts and would love suggestions. I understand that Cozumel and Belize in general offer a good value, but I don’t know much about either place yet. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

I promise a detailed trip report when we return!

It has been a number of years since I last visited St. Kitts, but the memories are good. The Bird Rock Beach Hotel had nice rooms, but not luxurious. The pool there was very pleasant: perfect for a sun lover. There is(was) a white sand beach, but I liked the pool better.

We used the onsite dive shop, St. Kitts Divers; the dive sites were limited to about 4-5, but the good news was that they were only about a 15 min. boat ride away. The dive sites are perfect for new divers: 40-60 feet, lots and lots of sealife, some very safe wrecks to look at with no penetration required; and, of course, crystal clear, warm Carib water! Oh, yes, the view of St. Kitts and the neighboring islands from the dive boat was grand. Be sure to take your waterproof throwaway camera aboard: the scenes of the clouds forming halos around Nevis and St. Kitts are worth recording

You should rent a car--stay on the left side of the road--for a reasonable amount: you will want to do that to enjoy dinner and lunch in town, about 5 minutes away. However, the local taxis abound and will take you around for a reasonable price. One thing to do is explore the various restaurants for their "rotis". These are a wonderful Caribbean dish that is a mixture of burrito and East Indies: some are served with chutney and that makes for a very pleasant lunch.

St. Kitts is a small island and not a big profile tourist mecca like St. Maarten or the Bahamas, but it is a delight! Check out your guide books and some web sites.

Scorpionfish

We stayed at the Arawak Inn and dove with Oasis Divers in June, 1998. The hotel used to be an apartment building on the south end of the island. The rooms were huge, had a kitchen and were very nice at the time. I hear they've been remodeled since then and are even nicer! They have a salt water swimming pool at the edge of the beach that was really nice for sunset watching. In June we had the beach to ourselves, literally!

Drawbacks:
It's a couple of miles to town so you either need to call a cab or rent a car. Oasis Divers picked us up every morning for diving.

While beaches near the hotels were very nice, other beaches were not (at least when we were there). We drove around the entire island and found beaches in some areas that were desperately in need of litter control. Hopefully this has changed over the years.
____________________________________________________
The diving is not beyond a beginner. All dives with Oasis Divers were guided, there was a DM watching the group at all times. There are good places for beginners as well as advanced divers and the DM's would not take divers to sites that were beyond their abilities. All dives started in shallow water then went "over the wall" where you just followed the DM while he pointed out interesting features of each site. Pay attention to the briefing and monitor your depth gauge and/or computer frequently and you will be just fine. Some of the sites were just as interesting without going over the wall, I believe "The Anchor," "The Library," "Finbar's Reef," and "Coral Gardens" had many areas that weren't over the wall. I have depths of 40-72 feet recorded for these sites.

All the sites are close to shore so you come back to the island for your surface interval. It's nice to be able to get lunch at a restaurant!

The boats were were on were called Carolina Skiffs. The only way off this type of boat is a backroll entry, if you're not totally comfortable with this type of entry you will be by the end of the week! Personally I was terrified of backrolls until this trip, now I really enjoy them!

They say the water temp. in the winter is about 78 degrees, I'm not sure what kind of weather they have that time of year but I'm guessing it's nice since it's a dive destination. It was EXTREMELY humid when we went in early June!

Good luck on your search! Keep us posted about your choice!
Ber

From what you have said in your two posts, I believe the Sugar Mill on Tortola would be a good choice. It is on Apple Bay on the northwest shore, just a bit south of the Cane Garden Bay area I suggested in your previous post. It is just across a narrow blacktop shore road from the beach. As I remember, the beach in this area is a bit narrow (maybe 100' or so) but very private and long enough to walk a good distance in either direction. The Sugar Mill is definitely "somewhat isolated" in an area of a few shops, private residences, restaurants, and similarly small hotels) and certainly "smallish" (like a large bed & breakfast place with a restaurant). We stopped here for lunch one day.

The narrow shore road in this area connects a series of small villages. As you drive north or south along the shoreline the road suddenly rises and falls several hundred feet with a maze of switchbacks between each sparsely populated area. To the north you have Cane Garden Bay with a fantastic beach and several good restaurants. To the south you have Long Bay with several quite large resorts, shops, beach and restaurants too. Smugglers Cove is a must-do day trip with snorkels and bag lunch....really isolated on a point farther south of Long Bay.

Tortola is very mountainous. You'll need a car and every turn inland off the shore road will be a thrill ride. Tortola is not like any tourist destination you've heard about or experienced. Wild roosters in the hills crow all night long and freely roam the streets. People in the mountains actually ride donkeys! Although very civilized in the towns and villages, don't expect the amenities of a St. Thomas, Nassau or Cancun.

You will probably dive with Blue Water Divers at Nanny Cay. It's an easy 25 minute drive south then east on the shore road for about 5 miles. They have good boats and staff, and visit all the normal dive sites including the wreck of the Rhone. You can check them out on the web and dive boards, but if you want more detailed dive information you can e-mail me direct. You will not have to worry about your skill levels. Tortola diving is very, very good.

You can fly directly into Tortola, but the airport is a grueling 25 miles or so across tough mountains from the east end of the island to where you'll be.....definitely NOT fun. Most folks fly into St. Thomas and take the ferry from Red Hook to West End on Tortola (about 45 minutes). The dock is only about 1 ½ miles from the Sugar Mill and you can rent a car in the dock area.

I don't know where you'll finally choose to go, but I guarantee that Tortolla would be memorable. We were there in 2001 and plan to return in 2004. If you'd like more specific information feel free to e-mail me direct at beachfolk@cox.net until Oct. 31, or keyfolks@juno.com after that when we head south to our place in the Keys for the winter.

Happy planning.......

Marty

Another suggestion for your upcoming trip:
Dive Cozumel, but stay in Playa Del Carmen. PDC is on the mainland, and a ferry runs between PDC and Cozumel from the dock. The place I would recommend staying is called Fisherman's Village. It is a smaller, beautiful resort with very nice amenities and outstanding, personal service. They have a nice pool complete with swim-up bar, and a beautiful, private, white sand beach. In addition to taking the ferry over to Cozumel for some excellent diving, the staff there can also arrange cenote (cave) dives with a guide.
Have fun whatever you decide to do...
Scuba Legs

Hi,

Could I also suggest Cayman Brac.

The diving with Reef Divers is superb ! Staff are excellent, go watch Craig blow bubble rings. Amazing.

Diving is superb, the chance to dive a Russian Destroyer should not be missed.

http://www.thebrac.com/divesite.html

Accomodation

http://www.thebrac.com

I've stayed here twice and its a really nice place.

Brac Reef Beach Resort
Amenities: A/C, color TV, on beach, pool, jacuzzi, patio bar,dining on premises, Reef Divers --full service dive shop, photo center, tennis, shops, conference facilities, handicap accessible. (40 rooms/units)

Per night:
Winter $133 US, Summer $117 US
Government tax of 10% applied to all units.

(345) 948-1323 (Cayman Brac)
(Winter rates Dec 16-April 15 / Summer rates April 16-Dec 15)


Let us know so we can be really fed up here in the cold and wet UK.

Have a good one !
Hoppy

Try the BelMar in Bonaire. We've been there twice and will be going again next year. It meets the criteria and the diving is suitable from novice to 'old hand'. I recommend it without reservation.

http://www.BelMar-Bonaire.com/