My wife and I took about half of a PADI course, including two open water dives, in the Seychelles. Now, we want to get certified and are planning to do it sort of last minute over the next few weeks. Our plan is to do the class and pool work over the long weekend in New York, and then go away for about five days the following weekend to do our open water dives and for additional dives. What do folks recommend for a good combination of colorful, beginner diving, good operators, and decent topside activity? And because we don't have that much time, we're pretty much limiting our search to places in the Carribean, although if there are strong opinions about Belize or something, please let us know. Thanks!
Pettifogger
October 8th, 2003, 02:46 PM
Bonaire.
Tons O' Diving, 85-90% with no current, no climbing on boats (unless you want to take a trip to Klein), and a fair amount to do topside.
Almost all dives are shallower than 150', but most of the interesting things are in the 40 to 60 foot range, anyhow.
Grand Cayman.
Same as above, (except shore diving in the north west, and most other dives accesible by boat only) only also having wall diving and stingray city and more to do topside than Bonaire - but crowded and getting worse. Still, it is my favorite place to go...
ggunn
October 8th, 2003, 03:52 PM
Air fares to Cozumel are cheaper right now than I have seen them in 5 years. Coz is a great destination for divers of all levels of expertise, accomodations and food are relatively cheap, and the diving is world class.
MB_diver
October 8th, 2003, 05:34 PM
Grand Cayman is good for a couple to do some good all around diving and still enjoy some topside activities. I would suggest you also, when comfortable and also not expecting a night life to explore the other Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
caymancase
October 8th, 2003, 08:16 PM
Grand Cayman, of course :)
And there is a direct flight from Newark... quick 3 hours or so and you're there.
Zippsy
October 8th, 2003, 09:25 PM
In the Caribbean, I have only been to Grand Cayman and the Bay Islands. I had my 13 year-old son certified in Cayman though and I can highly recommend it. While he was very comfortable in the water, I wanted him to stick to the 40' limit although I was prepared to let him go to 60' if we really had to to get decent diving. At the big outfit where he took the course, they insisted he go to the same dive sites as the concensus so I ended up buddying him, shallower than everyone else (much to the annoyance of our DM). Towards the end of the trip, we switched to a smaller operator (coincidentally it was the previous forumer, caymancase - fritter queen of the Caymans). Then we had no problem going to some great sites that were perfect for new divers. Apparently, you can find many sites in Cayman that are excellent for new divers.
p.s. please take your advanced course before 130' or serious drift dives.
Tim Ingersoll
October 9th, 2003, 07:52 AM
Turks & Caicos. Two and 1/2 hour direct flight. Better diving than anywhere in the Caribbean except maybe Cozumel or Little Cayman.
jmax
October 9th, 2003, 11:21 AM
Where are there direct flight to Tuks & Caicos from? Miami is all I could find ...
Tim Ingersoll
October 9th, 2003, 11:49 AM
Delta out of Atlanta. USAir out of Charlotte. American out of Miami. Air Canada out of Toronto and Boston. There are charters out of New York.
jepuskar
October 9th, 2003, 12:57 PM
I know from first hand experience...Bonaire is the place to go.
Other places i'm sure are suitable, but easy shore diving, non-existant or very light current/waves, makes it an ideal place to dive.
Nuff said.
Tim Ingersoll
October 9th, 2003, 01:26 PM
Jep: Bonaire: No big stuff. No walls. Long plane ride. 'Nuff said.
Tim Ingersoll
October 9th, 2003, 01:38 PM
jmax once bubbled...
Where are there direct flight to Tuks & Caicos from? Miami is all I could find ...
More information on direct flights to TCI:
American: Boston, Miami and New York.
US Air: Charlotte, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, Pittsburg and Richmond.
Delta: Atlanta (seasonal)
Charters: Toronto, Detroit, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Ft. Lauderdale.
British Airways: London
Damselfish
October 9th, 2003, 02:59 PM
IMHO Bonaire is a really good choice for doing your first OW dives and first warm water dive trip due to the general ease of diving and nearly always great conditions. I prefer Cayman or T&C myself, but personally I'd still start in Bonaire and save those for a subsequent trip.
Depending on your connections Bonaire is probably a much longer traveling day, which would be a real drawback on a short trip.
If you go for Cayman or T&C I think it's important to pick the right dive op for your checkout, while on Bonaire it's harder to go wrong.
ggunn
October 9th, 2003, 04:00 PM
Damselfish once bubbled...
IMHO
Depending on your connections Bonaire is probably a much longer traveling day, which would be a real drawback on a short trip.
Ain't that the truth! From Austin, the travel time to Bonaire is virtually the same as to Honolulu (about 12 hours), despite the fact that Hawaii is just about twice as far.
DiverDave76
October 15th, 2003, 04:02 PM
I fly Delta for business. Had a trip aboard T&C Aggressor booked for 12/01 and was going to fly Delta but after 9/11 they canceled their routes to Provo.
Dave
scubapatricia
October 15th, 2003, 06:16 PM
Have you considered St. Thomas or St. Croix.
We have a waterfront condo at Bolongo Bay, St. Thomas, which is within walking distance of the Bolongo Bay Dive Center. The rent is only $350/week for an air conditioned studio with new applicances, pool, tennis courts, and security. The complex is close to a resort and three lovely restaurants. Visit our website at http://geocities.com/jesus_Christ_islord/condo.htm. which has a link to the dive center. You can also take the ferry to St. John for additional wonderful diving and snorkeling experiences.
Our St. Croix condo is also a terrific bargain. The air conditioned, one-bedroom unit is close to a shopping center and restaurants, and you can shore dive the wall at Cane Bay for only $10 first dive and $4 the second dive (the snorkeling is free). The same costs apply to diving the pier, where you can see rainbow-hued squid, sea horses, turtles, etc. Rent is 350/week or 1000/month. If you log on to our website at http://geocities.com/jesus_christ_islord/condo.html, you'll probably start making your vacation plans now!
barkap
November 8th, 2003, 12:56 AM
As a recently certified diver (6/03) I will recommend St Maarten/ St Martin. I was there the first week of october, and the diving was verry nice, but quite easy30 - 60 ft avg. I used Dive Safaris for my diving, but there are about 5 or 6 other dive operators on the island (both Dutch and French sides). Pleanty of great places to eat, and the frendliest people on any island I have been to. If you want more information, Email me and I will send you several links for information. US Air flies out of Phily, and American flies out of several places in the N.E. . American has even had some sales on flights.
