Caribbean Dive Trip

Looking for suggestions, thinking Roatan, Cayman Brac, or Cozumel....other? Our family, Parents, brother/wife, me/wife did our first trip to Bonaire and loved it. Looking for a 2014 trip.

We'd prefer easier diving as some of us are newer (might have 4 more joining our group as well). & somewhere with good snorkeling as there may be 2-4 non divers. For the divers I'm looking to see bigger creatures; turtles, rays, morays, sharks, etc. we only saw 2 turtles and 1 moray our week in Bonaire. Also some fun underwater landscapes, walls, swim throughs, pinnacles, etc.

Cozumel is intriguing due to seeing what I mentioned, all-inclusive, & reasonably priced but most trips don't allow for more than 2 dives a day and I'd like more. Also curious about the quality of diving post hurricane as compared to the rest of the Caribeann?

Our dive shops we've worked with are heading to Cozumel and Cayman Brac but Roatan has gotten some good vibes & the dive shop is willing to help get us a package/group rates to wherever we want.

The number of dives thing is why we keep going back to Bonaire. Some people dive on their vacations, and diving is not the primary focus. For us, its all about the diving.

We did Coz last month and found that we didn't feel we got enough reef dives for our money. It was great diving. We stayed at Scuba Club, a great place, with unlimited shore diving, but the shore diving is just so-so in my opinion.

Roatan meets most of your criteria, easy diving, most resorts offer three dives per day, some have good snorkeling and shore diving, but I am afraid the non divers would be bored unless they are happy with a good book and just chilling.

I have done some great diving in the Bahamas, but both trips only two dives per day.

Its always a tough decision.

Caribbean diving just does not get much easier than Bonaire. Cozumel can be a bit more challenging. Scubaclub is one option for getting more than a 2-tank dive per day. I find their shore dive quite enjoyable. I have seen divers who do 2-tank am and pm dives in Cozumel and it looks like it kicks their asses. I often stay at the Occidental Grand (great for non-divers also) and usually do 3 dives per day there. I use one of the smaller 6-pack ops for morning dives and take a 10 dive package with the Grands on-site op (Dive Palancar) who does 4 single tank dives every day. Wife and I split this package and then round it out with a night dive or two with them also.

Hello to a fellow Minnesotan! It doesn't get much easier than Cayman Brac. My wife and I stayed at Brac Reef Reach Resort in late 2011, and I highly recommend it. You'll get almost everything you're looking for there. I haven't been there, but you should also consider Little Cayman Beach Resort on Little Cayman. It's the sister resort to BRBR. The two islands are only a few miles apart, so when you stay at either, you typically get a half day of diving at the other island. One of our two dives at Little Cayman (Bloody Bay Wall) was the best dive of the trip. The top of the wall starts in only 15 or 20 feet of water, so it's perfect for snorkelers. Then the wall drops off to who knows how deep, which attracts bigger animals like reef sharks. On that one dive we saw reef sharks, stingrays, a turtle, morays, and some very large fish - possibly tarpon. Plus all the usual reef creatures and some very nice topography.

I haven't been to Roatan, but all of my research on that island indicates that it's mostly small stuff, like Bonaire. It's been over a decade since I was in Cozumel, but I know it's mostly drift diving, which may not appeal to the newer divers in your group. I think snorkelling opportunities may be limited in Cozumel, too. I loved Bonaire and would highly recommend it, but it sounds like you're looking something different for your next trip.

Hope that helps,
James

For Roatan about the only place you'll see sharks is the Shark Dive. As far as canned shark dives go it's one of the best - they only feed them a small amount near the end of the dive. Vis/currents can be hit or miss at the site though - we had a really good day - but it's not uncommon to have to "hide" behind the amphitheater wall during most of the dive.

We dove on the north side mostly with a day trip to the south. There's a few broken up wrecks, we saw turtles practically on every dive - often more than one. A couple shadowed us during the entire dive - I've shot about 10mins. of video of the same one once. Saw some Stingrays but not many. Quite a few grouper and a few Barracuda. One big Eagle Ray out in the blue off the wall once - even the DM hadn't seen many of those. Also lots of smaller fish - it's a pretty healthy reef in most places.

The other interesting thing is the day trips out to the Cays on the east end. That's supposed to be a lot more pristine diving. I think they snorkel at those sites also. Other interesting dives off Roatan are Spooky Channel on the north side, the Prince Albert wreck at Cocoview and Mary's Place on the south side is another signature Roatan dive. If you stay far enough east - mid-island on the north side, there's a dolphin graveyard site but it's advanced and overhead obstructed.

The AI resorts are pretty isolated on the south side - Cocoview, Fantasy Island and farther east Reef House Resort. Barefoot Cay is sort of closer to French Harbor. Anthony's Key Resort is on the north side about 5mins. drive to the West End - where most of the shops/nightlife/restaurants are on Roatan.

West Bay beach about 2 miles farther east is named one of the nicest in the Caribbean. And you can boat dive from the resorts there. Bananarama or Infinity Bay might be options. There's also a water taxi to the West End.

Since you have a family group, you might also look at Luna Beach Resort. It's on the far west end of the West End - about a 10min. walk to town. They have these really decent looking "tree houses" - they're 3-4 bedroom fully furnished nice looking properties - not waterfront but a few minutes up the hill from the resort.

There's also some nicer condos on the tip of Half Moon Bay - they're 3-4 bedrooms right on the point. Coral something - they're listed on vrbo.com. This is one of them: http://www.vrbo.com/104801 For the non-divers, good snorkeling is just out front. Boat dives with Coconut Tree Divers or other shops are typically 10/$350. They typically do 3-4/day. We liked them, Reef Gliders would've been my 2nd choice.

I rented this house once also - it might just work for your group also if the others don't join you - just 3 separate bedrooms with a shared kitchen and upstairs living area. 10 would be too crowded. Lots of decks both down and upstairs. They didn't have the fancy kitchen when I rented it either - it needed one. On the water but ironshore so no water access there. It's a five minute walk to the West End from there. http://www.roatanpropertymanagement.com/images_sealodge/photos.htm

About the only decent shore diving is off Cocoview. For the non-divers there's West End shopping, the ziplines, some other tropical rainforest related things. The bar crawl down the West End is pretty popular later in the week also.

There's also the whole Dolphin Dive/Snorkel/Beach Encounter program at AKR. Some of the non-divers might like that. We did the dive, some have posted the snorkel has more interaction.

There's good snorkeling on both sides of the island also. Some of the best is both sides of Half Moon Bay - the bay in front of the West End. I recently posted on that here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...rator-cruise-ship-passengers.html#post6747087

Also there's good snorkeling off Cocoview and Fantasy Island on the south side. And Barefoot Cay advertises it also, they have a dock that gets you partly out into their protected lagoon.

A place overlooked but meeting all your needs is Small Hope Bay Resort, Andros Island Bahama A Bahamas All Inclusive Vacation:. Great diving, sharks, blue holes, all inclusive. Check it out.

As the others mentioned.... Cozumel you CAN get in more than 2 boat dives per day, but you have to arrange it. Scuba Club Cozumel does offer extra boat dives as add-ons, per enough divers signing up. Usually only 4 divers minimum and they will send out a boat. If you have 4+ divers in your group, you are golden. They put out a clip board and other people at resort do sign up anyhow. We got in extra dives with no problem. We have to disagree about the shore diving there though... if you love fish, you can do that shore dive over and over and never see the same thing.

my shore diving guide to Scuba Club Cozumel:
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As far as the diving in Cozumel... IMHO it is the best in Caribbean for many reasons. Great wall diving like Little Cayman, but also many swimthroughs and coral pinnacle dives, shallow dives, big fish (turtles, sharks, etc) as well as all the usual schools and little critters. Great night diving, best, vis, a nice wreck dive.. Just the best overall diving in Caribbean, to me.
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As for snorkeling, it isn't the best in Caribbean, I would say Roatan and Bonaire are better.

As far as Roatan, we love CocoView Resort, unlimited diving 24/7. Vis is much lower and fishlife is not as abundant as Cozumel. Great overall experience, quality dive op and boats. It is a SMALL resort though and no kids allowed, only divers, plus groups book it full months ahead of time. It may be hard to get rooms during certain times of year, it is that popular. If you have families with kids I would look at Anthony's Key Resort on other side of island. I think they do 3 boat dives per day. Skip Fantasy Island, it is a dump.

robint:

As far as the diving in Cozumel... IMHO it is the best in Caribbean for many reasons. Great wall diving like Little Cayman, but also many swimthroughs and coral pinnacle dives, shallow dives, big fish (turtles, sharks, etc) as well as all the usual schools and little critters. Great night diving, best, vis, a nice wreck dive.. Just the best overall diving in Caribbean, to me.

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If you think the wall diving in Coz is just like the wall diving in Little Cayman, either you have been to a hidden part of Coz I have never seen, or you haven't actually been to Little Cayman. The two could not possibly be more different, and I can't recall having seen the wall diving on Coz listed in the top 3-5 on any list of best in the caribbean locations. The diving in Coz is all drift diving...the diving on Little Cayman is all moored diving. In Coz, the wall starts at around 40-50 feet or deeper and slopes away to a few hundred feet deep...On Little Cayman, the wall starts around 20-30 and is nearly vertical for most of the wall and drops away to around a thousand feet. Yes, LC has lots of swimthroughs and pinnacles, yes, LC has great shallow dives as well, and yes LC has sharks, rays, turtles, etc. I know "best diving in the caribbean" is an argument that could go on and on and it is definitely a personal preference thing...but don't mislead people by claiming that the wall diving in Coz is like the wall diving in LC (it isn't...at all) or implying that LC doesn't have swimtrhoughs, shallow dives, or sharks/turtles/etc. The two places have different types of diving and some folks like each of the different types better.

As for the OP's question, my question would be what do the non-divers like to do when they tag along. If they live to snorkel or like quiet places to relax, i would suggest Cayman Brac. There are a few places to look around on the island to keep them busy...the Brac itself, the caves, etc. And they can usually tag along and snorkel off the boat since most moorings are shallow enough to give them something to look at. Otherwise, it is a very quiet island with no shopping or nightlife if they are into that kind of thing. Little Cayman is even quieter. So if you have non-divers that like to shop, sightsee, or go out partying, I would scratch the Cayman Sister islands and go there when it is just the part of your group that dives.

Given what I said above about Coz, it is a decent place to go for mixed groups of divers and non-divers. Belize is another option I would consider. Normally, I would add Roatan to that list, but the last few times I have checked airfares to Roatan, they have been pretty outrageous compared to fares elsewhere in the Caribbean.