Loooking for a caribbean diving vacation -- novice divers

My wife and I will be in the FL keys next summer (June - July '13) to visit family (during which time we'll dive Key West and Key Largo). Afterwards we'll have some time for my retirement vacation (WOOOO-HOOOO!!!) and we'd like to do some diving, since we'll be on the FL coast there we thought we'd check out the Caribbean options. I have been reading some of your threads herein but maybe you can help me better if I tell you what we're looking for:

we are novice divers with less than 50 dives each but we love expanding our abilities a little at a time
we go with a dive guide at least the first time on a new dive site and I imagine that will still be the case next year
we do want good, reliable dive operators and guides, particularly since we will rent most of our equipment
we're still trying to get comfortable with shore dives
we would love to see some large pelagics!
we were on a dinghy for diving a few times in Zanzibar -- great diving but getting on and off that thing was not fun for me (I am 6'6" (198 cm) tall)
we're in late 50's early 60's but in good shape for our age
we like to travel to different countries, we love diving but it's not all about the underwater experience for us
we are learning French
we'd like to spend no more than $2,000 per week including everything including air fare
at the conclusion we will go back to SF which is our home

I was reading some threads and got a bit confused. What's an "AI" ? Also, what is "Turks & Caicos"?

If you are able to suggest to us some ideas I can check them out! The first idea that occuired to me wha Grand Cayman except that I hate those cruiser crowds. <Maybe it's still OK. What about a combo of GC and Little Cayman? Does one need more diving experience than we have to enjoy those spots?

Thanks!!

- Bill & Emily

we'd like to spend no more than $2,000 per week including everything including air fare

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Is that each or for both of you? What are you including in "everything" besides accommodations and air? Diving, food?

It's quite easy to do Grand Cayman and be nowhere near the cruise ship crowds. However, while it would be easy and probably pretty reasonable to get there from FL, Cayman is not a cheap place.

We went on several diving vacations in Hawaii where we spent $8,000 for four weeks for both of us all total with 100% guided boat dives. We stayed at a nice B&B with king bed, but didn't eat "out" every night. That's where my $2,000 per week all-inclusive for both of us comes from. It's a planning figure, not a hard limit.

OK, well maybe I need to review the budget again.

I would appreciate suggestions not tied to that $2,000 limit but that reflect our other concerns: novice divers, pelagics, good dive operators, interesting places to visit. Is Little Cayman good diving for us?

Thanks!

Bill & Emily

remember too, while the flights to Hawaii may have been more expensive (though sometimes not) you were amortizing the cost of the tickets over 4 weeks, which I assume you're not doing this time.

Little Cayman is a good place to get away from it all, relax, and do some nice wall and reef diving. They get their share of novice divers - and it's famous for the wall starting quite shallow, which is nice for newer divers. I've only dove (many times) with Reef Divers at Little Cayman Beach Resort, but AFAIK all the few hotels/ops are good and it's really a matter of preference. As far as bigger stuff, you will probably see turtles, some larger fish, the occasional nurse or reef shark, and the very occasional eagle or manta ray - though you could be unlucky and not see any. But as far as interesting places, well it depends how you define interesting places. There's not much there, which is the attraction of it for many people. If you get off on taking a walk and looking for iguanas, it's perfect.

I don't think of Cayman as a pelagic destination, places like the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos are more known for that - but actually spots in the Caribbean noted for pelagics are somewhat far and few between.

For the kind of money you're looking at an AI resort is probably about your best option. But even some of those will be out of your price range - depends on your priorities.

Unless you can significantly increase your budget, I can't see Grand Cayman or Turks/Caicos as an option. I'm not sure which qualifies as the most expensive place I've ever dove but one surely does. A good week there with flights would be around $3K. Also if you want to split between GC and LC, in addition to the local flight charges, you'll burn two days non-diving since the flight is pressurized. And there's not much else to do on Little Cayman...

Since you're learning french Saint Martin/Sint Maarten might be an option. 1/2 the island is French, the other Dutch. IDK much else about it or if you can do it within your budget. Octopus Diving is recommended here occasionally. I believe it's more small creature diving though - esp. off nearby Saba. Cruise traffic there also. A couple of links to get you started:

Official Website for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau
Welcome to Sint Maarten - Saint Martin!

Roatan is a good option but larger pelagics there will be Stingrays and turtles, maybe a few grouper. It's more about small stuff, the only sharks seen there reliably are at the paid shark dive. For Dolphins, Anthony's Key Resort has a dolphin dive with up to 3 of them for 45 minutes. About $140 for non-guests. Sometimes wild dolphins are seen on the SE end of the island - boat accessible only.

Roatan should easily be within your budget - besides the AI resorts - Cocoview, Fantasy Island, Reef House Resort, there's also a lot of affordable options in the West End or West Bay. Options in that area: Bay Islands Diver Home

Cruise ships do dock on Roatan but either downtown at Coxen Hole or Mahogany Bay - near nothing. You don't need a rental car on Roatan, cabs are cheap and plentiful. Dives on the north side (West End) are $35 ea/10 for $250. We used/liked Coconut Tree Divers - they have two larger boats with swim steps. Native Sons does also. Many operators in that area and nearby West Bay use pangas off the beach. No shore diving to speak of except off the AI's.

For that you need to go to Curacao. There's about 50 easy entry shore dive sites, escorted shore diving with the Dive Bus to get you started, and some really good boat dives. Mostly smaller stuff, we saw mostly turtles, eels, grouper, lots of fish, stingrays, a few seahorses, squid etc.

There's several AI options (Breezes, Lions Dive) but it's one of those places you can reasonably do non-AI also. Flights might be a little more but non-resort rentals are very reasonable. A duplex condo in the Piscadera Bay resort area cost me $125/nt. per unit not pp. Fully stocked full-size kitchen, small living room, huge outdoor deck and large private yard. AC only in the bedrooms as is typical in that area and I had to pay $75 in electricity + $100 cleaning deposit. Nice places, recently remodeled - water view not waterfront - 5min walk to their private beach. Gated security also. There's an old Hilton and a nicer Marriott across the street. Both hotels have on-site dive operators and an average shore dive off their beach. Centrum Market 2 miles away for groceries. Piscadera Bay Resort

Food ranges from McDonalds to Expensive. Not much over $30 for dinner anywhere. I spend pretty freely on vacation, my total for that trip was about $1700 - not including flights.

World famous shopping district downtown, some historical sites (famous synagogue?) about a dozen smaller casinos - usually on hotel grounds. Some nightlife - at least one good jazz club. Cruise ships go there - they moor downtown - why they have the famous floating bridge - but were usually gone by mid-afternoon. We barely noticed them except the saturday we went shopping downtown.

Or for quieter, move further west. All West Apartments in Westpunt is one option. They're on one of the best shore dives on the island, Playa Kalki, and have Go West Diving on site for boat dives. They have nice rental gear also, my buddy commented it looked better than his...Westpunt has a few local restaurants nearby and Lodge Kura Hulanda but not much else - it's pretty residential. About a 45min. drive from Willemstad. If you stay at All West, stop at Centrum Market before you drive out - they sell cheap styro coolers for perishables.

Curacao Travel- Caribbean, Curacao, Dutch Caribbean

but it's not all about the underwater experience for us

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Then you probably don't want Little Cayman...from the official Cayman Islands tourism site:

The least developed and the smallest and most tranquil of our three Cayman Islands, Little Cayman epitomizes the definition of &#8220;an island getaway.&#8221; Our beautiful island offers seclusion and striking scenery everywhere you look, making it the perfect honeymoon island and a top Caribbean destination.

With a population of less than 170, most of Little Cayman remains uninhabited. Only ten miles long and one mile wide, this island getaway offers you a rare combination of sun drenched solitude, glistening beaches, and miles of untouched tropical wilderness.

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http://www.caymanislands.ky/

DiverSteve did a bang up job of summarizing options. I'll try to add a little. Let's get your priority list tightened up a bit.

Caribbean
novice
go with a dive guide at least the first time
good, reliable dive operators and guides
still trying to get comfortable with shore dives
love to see some large pelagics
like to travel to different countries, we love diving but it's not all about the underwater experience
we'd like to spend no more than $2,000 per week including everything including air fare

Let's break it down. First, $2,000 for 2 including air fare is not going to happen in my opinion. When I hit Bonaire for a week, I budget around $2,500/person including airfare; if I lived near Atlanta instead of flying there from Nashville, then to Bonaire, could save a bit. Cheapskate eating could trim it further.

Per week? For how many weeks? It's a lot easier to get the cost down if you're staying a few weeks, because air fare can easily run $600 to $1,200+/person.

Shore diving isn't a good option at many Caribbean destinations. Bonaire, Curacao, Roatan at select locations (CocoView is popular for this), Grand Cayman (though shore diving doesn't seem to be the main draw there). Of these sites, Bonaire is the most focused on for shore diving. Curacao seems to mix shore & boat quite a bit. I think at CocoView you get a couple of boat dives, then the option to shore dive additionally if you want (in a given day). Bonaire is a nice, rustic, not heavily populated place. If you want more civilization, Curacao would likely be a better choice. Another poster in a different thread pointed out that unlike Bonaire (where people rent a truck & drive around the whole island), divers to Roatan often 'stay on the reservation' (so you may not be hitting town every evening, driving all over the place yourself, etc...). Grand Cayman has a rep. for being expensive.

Big pelagics would narrow things down a good bit. The Bahamas are famous for shark sightings on dives, but best dove by live-aboard. If you're determined to have an exotic civilization topside experience, you may not be open to live-aboards. On 2 dives in Cozumel I got to see a large Black Grouper and a big Eagle Ray swam close; not sure how big you need your 'big' to be. I don't know much about the whale shark destinations, but there are no guarantees of seeing one, and you could have a disappointing trip if you go for that and miss out.

Traveling to different countries. Well, St. Martin has a Dutch half & a French half yet isn't known as a particularly good diving destination. It's near Saba, which is. Perhaps you could do a 2 week vacation (so only having to pay round trip airfare once); a week on St. Martin & a week on Saba? From what I read, Saba features deep 'pinnacle dives' (think diving tops of submerged mountains). A rustic island without much going on; if you need civilization, you won't be happy on Saba alone I fear.

Cozumel wouldn't offer much shore diving, but an AI resort, land-based excursion availability, an exotic (albeit touristy) experience, great diving that can be novice-friendly, the option for big tanks (120 cf steel) at some reputable dive op.s (e.g.: Living Underwater & Aldora, I believe) and many trip reviews on the forum to educate yourself would be big draws. Seems airfare to Cozumel is good compared to some destinations. You can go AI or non-AI, and probably read a number of reviews about whatever hotel you consider. I think Aldora has some inexpensive lodging as an option, if memory serves. I've dove with Living Underwater and had a great time; both are very reputable op.s.

Belize could be an option, especially if you want some land action like Mayan ruins, rainforest tour, etc... Someone claimed the best diving was by live-aboard, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have a good time with a land-based charter.

I've never dove Curacao. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be the best shore-diving match, though it's said to having diving like Bonaire, and Bonaire isn't known for large pelagics (aside from tarpon, the occasional fairly big sea turtle or big green moray eel, and once in awhile somebody sees a manta or whale shark - but don't expect that). If good shore diving isn't a big deal Cozumel might be a good bet (note: there's some limited shore diving in Cozumel; I think Scuba Club Cozumel has that?).

Another option is do 2 separate vacations, or 1 week here & 1 week there. An AquaCat live-aboard in the Bahamas for heavy diving and to see sharks one week, then a week in St. Martin practicing your French?

Richard.

The Turtle Nest Inn on Grand Cayman offers attractive, clean, air-conditioned, one or two bedroom apartments with a full kitchen. The price of a week's stay in a one-bedroom usually varies from $1000 to $1200 (depending on the season) and includes a rental car. Eating out 3 times a day on GC is very expensive so it is very nice to have the option to make some meals yourself.

TNI is on the beach and there is very nice snorkling right out in front. That price doesn't include diving but they also will arrange a dive packages (or you can make your own arrangements) with a local dive operation.

TNI is located in Bodden Town which is a small, quiet area away from Georgetown and the 7 Mile Beach and all the cruise traffic, so if you are comfortable driving on the left side of the road then you can go into town to enjoy those attractions during non-busy periods, when there are no cruise ships in port.

Here's the link for the inn, my husband and I have stayed there twice and we are going back again in the fall, good luck!

http://www.turtlenestinn.com/

My wife and I fly from Little Rock to Cozumel, stay all-inclusive and airport transfers for around that price for 9 nights at Hotel Cozumel which is walking distance from city center San Miguel. Sabor is a couple hundred dollars each cheaper, but is several miles from city center. Rental cars are very inexpensive there too. We have been to Cozumel and cruised to Grand Cayman, we love Grand Cayman but Cozumel is SOOO inexpensive. The scuba diving is drift diving, divers descend to the site, float along the reef system and surface as a group to be picked up by the boat. Very little swimming is involved unless one wants to go back for a closer look. We both enjoy the drift diving.