Where to dive next??

Hi

I'm trying to figure out where to dive next.
I've been to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Aruba.
Cozumel was by far my favorite.

We are looking to dive in the Caribbean or
Mexico. Don't want a location where there
is nothing but diving like Bonaire (I have
my Advanced Cert, but my friend is just going
for her OW).

Any Suggestions?

I was thinking of St.John and St. Thomas, but heard
the diving was mediocre. Turks and Caicos was a
thought. Key West is another thought, but is that
mainly shallow diving? I really like the wall diving
and big drop offs. Love all the swim throughs in
Cozumel.

Thanks!!

Pam

Pam, if you like walls you need to go to Roatan! We stay at CoCo View Resort. Right in front of the resort are two excellent vertical walls..CoCo View Wall and Newman's Wall. We do them both several times a day. There's usually very little current and I can photograph to my hearts content!

Unlimited shore diving, two 2-tank boats dives a day, truly 24 hr diving available. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to help.

Hi Pam

I would have to say that St. Thomas was medicore. I went with a local operator that was contracted by a cruise line.

They had poor equipment, a pontoon boat the local Police harassed them about, and the Divemasters didn't know about the local fish population (I had to stop a diver from picking up and playing with a Fireworm while a divemaster just watched). The Vis was bad and the area we were taken to had been fished out. I was not impressed.

I agree with Dee on the choice of destinations. CCV was an excellent week of diving. Take a camera if you have one.

Pam,
I have to agree with Dee also. Sounds like Roatan is the place for you. Great walls in Roatan. I have dove St. Thomas, which I would say the exact same thing as Luv said. I have also dove Bonaire which I would say is spectacular. It might be good for your friend as a new diver. Very easy "bath tub water" diving, most of the time. But not wall diving.
I've dove the keys but not Key West. I would compare the Keys, to the Bahamas. Good diving, not spectacular, and not walls.
I also love Cozumel. Been there 5 times, and going next week. Dee's been there 16 times. She's going to have to pay country taxes pretty soon!
Anyway, let us know what you decide.
:sunny:

Another vote for CoCoView and Roatan!

Here's a link to their website:
http://www.cocoviewresort.com/

The wall-diving is spectacular, and the people who run the resort do a great job of taking care of you.

Also, just yards from the resort, you can take a shore dive to the wreck of the Prince Albert, as well as an airplane wreck.

Good luck, and happy diving!

Rick

I have heard that Roatan is a diver's paradise. Is there
anything to do there other than diving? (that's all I need,
but I'm thinking about my friend). And, where is Roatan located and how easy/hard is it to get to?

Thanks for the replies!!
Pam

I have thought about diving in Belize but have heard there is absolutely no shore diving. Can you shore dive in Roatan? I was in Bonaire earlier this year and my wife and I LOVED the easy shore diving.

am/pm,

Well, since we just got back from there, maybe Hawaii is on my mind! But I suggest you consider Maui and the Big Island. Both locations have lots of great diving and non-diving activities! The diving is different than the Carib because all the coral is hard coral. The fish life is wonderfully abundant and you can go to sites that have very large numbers of turtles that will let you get quite close (one to two feet away!).

If I had to choose just one island, I would probably select Maui because Molokini's back wall can be quite spectacular. However, the Kona Coast has wonderful dives, too. Kauai has beautiful diving, but the non-diving stuff is limited.

Try the following sites: http://www.sandwichisledivers.com ,
http://www.pacificrimdivers.com
http://www.mauiscuba.com ,
http://www.mauidiveshop.com ,

Because the WTC bombing caused people to cancel travel, there are some great bargains in Hawaii--both for airfare and condos. And, since you have done a lot of diving in the Carib, give the Pacific a shot!

Joewr...still thinking about the school of raccoon butterflyfish that swarmed around him on the Big Island--and the wonderful Tinker's Butterfly that winked at him!

Roatan is an island just off of the coast of Honduras. The time that I went there, we were able to fly directly through Houston International Airport to Roatan on Taca Airlines (some people say that's an acronym for "Take A Chance Airlines")
There is a small town called West End(?) not too far from the resort that my wife spent an afternoon investigating. Apparently there's a bunch of stuff to do there including shopping (cheap artwork and jewelry, etc.), horseback riding, and there's a few beach bars.
The resort itself has volleyball, a fitness center, kayaking, deep-sea fishing, and more. You can see a current list here:
http://www.cocoviewresort.com/activities.htm

But I would be remiss if I didn't mention their excellent bar which has a number of talking parrots, a pool table, and great atmosphere.

Buff,
Yes, there is plenty of shore diving in Roatan. However, Bonaire has quite a bit more. You just have to be careful of the sand fleas in Roatan.
PS. West End is a cool place
:sunny: