Poll on the Carribean

We are looking to do a week of diving in the Carribean and are trying to stay at a nice place with a good dive op, but at reasonable prices.

We are going to Cozumel in May (our third trip), so would like to try a different place. I like quiet, but also a reasonable level of service. I like good food, but don't care about night life. Since I have bad knees and back, I like it when dive ops load your equipment for you and have you take your BC off and hand it up before climbing up the ladder. I like a good ratio of divemasters to divers (1:6 or so) as, although we are AOW and Nitrox certified, we still only have around 33 dives under our belts.

I am looking for great dving with great vis-- more interested in reef life and critters than wrecks. I need A/C and would like to avoid too many insects (get huge reactions to mosquito bites).

We have recently seen some good airline fares and/or dive deals to various places. I might spring for a trip to Little Caymen Beach Resort, though, as so many people have told me it's great, even though it's expensive.

Shore diving, if it involves trekking over sharp coral with equipment on to get to the site, does not appeal to me. Given all these considerations, answer the poll and let me know the reasons for your "vote."

ET

What month do you want to go? What is your price range? Where do you stay when you go to Cozumel?
What is your gateway city? Do you want this trip to include your meals?

A little more info, then I can take the poll.

I have dove with Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan, Caicos Adventures in Turks & Caicos and Little Cayman Beach Resort. They are all three top notch dive destinations and operators. If I had to rank them I would put Little Cayman at the top of the list. You just can't beat Bloody Bay Wall and the food was the best. We generally rent a villa on Provodenciales so I can't speak for their resorts. If you go to Caicosadventures.com Fifi has some dive/hotel packages. They are definitely the best on the island.

Natasha wrote:

"
What month do you want to go? What is your price range? Where do you stay when you go to Cozumel?
What is your gateway city? Do you want this trip to include your meals?"

Month is mid Jan to Feb anytime. Price range $3000-$4000 for 2 of us for a week. Gateway could be Wash DC or Richmond (where I live). Meals should be where the food is good -- if it's good where I'm staying, then all-inclusive is OK. If not, then I want my pick of restaurants. All things being equal, I'd rather sample the local restaurants rather than have the same menu every night.

ET

Doc:
Thanks for filling in the blanks. One more ..where do you stay when you go to Cozumel, and are you happy with it?

Hi Doc, there is great diving to be had with Caicos adventures, he usually has a pkg with "The Sands". Little Cayman Beach resort is very nice and the diving is very easy but it is a bit pricey. To curb the price and still dive Bloody Bay an idea would be to use the Divi on the Brac since they go there nearly every other day, and when you sit down on the back of the boat they bring your gear to you, and put it on you, when you come up, they take it off and change your tank - then you do it and they do it all again. If your knees are a problem this would be a big plus. Bonaire is very easy diving as well. Coz. is good but there are other places to see and go. There is not a big night life at any of these places - which I'm happy about!

Dive Safe,
Caymaniac

A very laid back place, nothing fancy and designed totally around divers. The food is good and the service excellent...from office staff to dive staff. The only night life is night dives! There are a few activities planned during the week such as local dancers, a bar-b-q, etc. but you chose to attend or not. Honestly, we're usually in bed early in order to get up for the dawn shore dives!

You can truly dive 24/7, tanks are available to you around the clock. Shore diving couldn't be easier, just a short walk from the gear area to the waters edge where you simply walk into the water. No climbing over rocks, no driving to specific shore diving areas, and there's tank racks at the waters edge to leave your empty tanks as soon as you exit the water. I also have bad knees and back and I find the shore dives very easy. Same with removing gear in the water, the DM's will take it from you. By the time you actually get back on the boat, your tanks are changed for you.

Your gear can be loaded by the DM's onto the boat each morning if you wish. But your gear storage area is literally only about 10 ft from the boat. There's two 2-tank boat dives daily to some fantastic sites within a 10-15min boat ride. We frequently skip the boat dives for the shore dives. There's a ship wreck, the Prince Albert, right in front of the resort as well as 2 vertical walls for easy diving.

The only things that doesn't meet your criteria is the DM/diver ratio. The dive boats are 50ft and hold 16 divers when absolutely full with one DM. Sounds crowded but it isn't, there's plenty of room. If you would like, a second DM can be added if you ask. Jan/Feb isn't yet high season so I doubt your boat would ever be full. The other is the no-seeums, they don't have mosquitos. But as long as you use bug spray in the early evening, it's never been a big problem.

CCV resort is my favorite place to go. Not only for the resort but for the diving. You won't be disappointed.

How 'bout something off of your list: SABA

The diving can't be beat, the scenery is beyond incredible, and the prices are fair.

Lot's of info on SABA if you do a search.

Doc:
I went ahead and voted. I voted for Bonaire. It doesn't have the bugs, has very good food, and has unlimited shore diving.
I would say either the Plaza Resort or Buddy Dive Resort would be your best choices. They are quite different from each other, so it would depend what you like on which property would best suit you.
Hope we helped.

DivingDoc once bubbled...
We are looking to do a week of diving in the Carribean and are trying to stay at a nice place with a good dive op, but at reasonable prices.

We are going to Cozumel in May (our third trip), so would like to try a different place. I like quiet, but also a reasonable level of service. I like good food, but don't care about night life. Since I have bad knees and back, I like it when dive ops load your equipment for you and have you take your BC off and hand it up before climbing up the ladder. I like a good ratio of divemasters to divers (1:6 or so) as, although we are AOW and Nitrox certified, we still only have around 33 dives under our belts.

I am looking for great dving with great vis-- more interested in reef life and critters than wrecks. I need A/C and would like to avoid too many insects (get huge reactions to mosquito bites).

We have recently seen some good airline fares and/or dive deals to various places. I might spring for a trip to Little Caymen Beach Resort, though, as so many people have told me it's great, even though it's expensive.

Shore diving, if it involves trekking over sharp coral with equipment on to get to the site, does not appeal to me. Given all these considerations, answer the poll and let me know the reasons for your "vote."

ET

Click to expand...

Since you've put an odd mix of isalnds/resorts in your poll, I'll skip it.

IMHO, Little Cayman offers the best of Caribbean diving. I know nothing about the Little Cayman Beach Resort, but would not hesitate to recommend the two places I've stayed, Pirate's Point and the Southern Cross Club, for their ambiance, dining, and dive operations.