Best ocean dive sites for beginners--Caribbean preferred

Me and my business partner have had our open water certification or going on 4 years, but unfortunately have been relegated to quarry or inland diving. We haven't had the opportunity or funds to take a dive trip until we recently landed a project lucrative enough for us to afford ourselves the reward of finally being able to go somewhere a little more exotic than an abandoned Rock Quarry.

Anyway, we are trying to look into a few options in the Caribbean. What we would like to know is where are some of the best locations for beginner divers going into the ocean for the first time. a few of the places we are looking at are places like the Caymen Islands, Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, places like that. As beginners we aren't looking for anything too deep or beyond recreational dive limits. 80' to 90' is about our max comfort level at this point.

We are looking for recommendations on the best spots for newbies and for good safe dive charter companies that you all have had experience with in those regions. Our hope is to possibly find a 4-5 day package deal for somewhere down there probably in January/February. Is that even good time for diving down there, I'm pretty certain they don't really have much in the way of "seasons" down there.

You are going to get a mountain of various responses but if I may offer one suggestion - that being no matter where you settle on going - hire a private Dive Master for the first couple of dives. The thing about oceans is that they are always changing - viz, currents, etc. Having your own personal DM with local knowladge is money well spent.

I did my 2nd and 3rd ocean dives in Curacao with Welcome to the Dive Bus and had a great time. Mark gives a thorough briefing and after dive talk. It was a guided dive with someone who was willing to throw in some instruction on the side.

Some places have seasons. The Bahamas get cool water in winter, as do the Florida Keys. Which means you wear a wet suit when you might not in summer (a highly personal think; I usually don't wear a wet suit in 75 degree or more water).

Since money has historically been tight, I'd scratch the Cayman Islands off for now, especially for now.

4 to 5 dives per day sounds like shore diving Bonaire, or doing a Live-aboard like Blackbeards or the AquaCat in the Bahamas. Or maybe do CocoView in Roatan and do a lot of shore diving in addition to the boat dives.

You'll find most charter trips assume you do a 2 tank boat dive, not 3 or 4. Of course, boats often go out twice per day & so can you, but the day may be a long one.

To keep it economical (relatively), I'd probably price trips to Bonaire (use Buddy Dive Resort for a package deal that's a comparable value to others, as a start), Cozumel (I like Living Underwater, but Aldora & Blue Xstacy seem quite popular, as do some others - Cozumel is one of the few places some op.s have steel 120 cf tanks, which are great for some of us), Black Beards or AquaCat in the Bahamas, and be mindful of total package price.

Bonaire - resort with shore diving overall cheap. Airfare pricy. Groceries somewhat expensive. Rental truck stick shift unless you arrange in advance about $150 extra. Can boat dive but don't need to.

Cozumel - you can stay at one place, use a dive op. from another. Scuba Club Cozumel seems popular & is where I'd start. Aldora has some places you can stay, I believe.

Florida Keys - I'mm considering this one. Stay at a hotel in Key Largo and walk to your dive boat in the morning. A lot of this diving is rather shallow.

Live-Aboard - Not much to do but dive, and you'd better not be prone to sea sickness (or have effective medication). Haven't been on one yet; my wife and my best dive buddy are prone to motion sickness.

Bonaire and Curacao are below the hurricane belt, and water's warm all year.

Roatan has a rainy season and is in the hurricane belt, so the time of year you travel is quite important.

If you are still interested in the Cayman Islands, reach threads on Cobalt Coast and Sunset House for Grand Cayman, and Little Cayman Beach Resort.

Richard.

I think anyplace with really low current. I think allot will say Cozumel anyway, but depending on the currents it can make it rough for a beginner. Bonaire has a really low current but shore diving too can be rough, although you can stick to the boats but where's the adventure in that. Also look for a place that offers valet services so your not killing yourself lugging gear back and forth to your room.

Key Largo the boats run twice a day. 30 minutes to the reef. You can grab a boat between 8 and 9 do two hour long dives and be back by noonish. Have a lunch and go back out for 2 more if you want. I have done 4 in a day several times. There is also deeper stuff if you want. Basically 20-40 for the reefs. 60-80 if you do a drift on the outer edge of the reef. 100ft if you do duane/bib/speigel. They also do night reef dives. I usually stay at the holiday Inn at the Marina and use one of the boats from the Marina. Horizon, Ocean Divers, and some others. Lots of folks have their own favorites. If diving in Jan bring a full 3mm.

I fly to Miami and rent a car. One hour from airport to milemafker 100 which is the marina.

Also some like Horizon allow you to store your gear at their place. Tanks and weights provided and placed on boat for you.

Got your heart set on outside US? Bonaire. Try S. Fla/keys if you don't.

Wherever you choose, be sure to tell the operator that you are new to the ocean, and tell them that you want to ease into things. I agree that going with a local divemaster is a good idea.

An operation like Dressel (at the Iberostar in Cozumel) is good for beginners because all their dive guides are Instructors and used to taking new divers around. They are also very safety conscious. Once you get more comfortable, you can choose other places and other ops if you like.

We have taken several brand new divers there and had good experience. Here is a video where we took some new divers, and you can see that they even put out a down line to help the new divers in case they had problems equalizing...

Actually there are seasons. You're planning a trip during high season. So everything will be more expensive. Also areas of the NE Caribbean are more weather affected during the winter months. That can lead to storms that close certain dive areas/sites. Or even limit the boats from going out at all in the case of Roatan's north side or Cozumel.

Based on your criteria, timeframe and experience level some to consider are:
(sort of least to most expensive for a week)

Curacao - easy to get to, easy beach diving, might be as warm as 80^o in Jan/Feb. The above mentioned Dive Bus will help you get started. Nightlife and other things to do also. You'll need a car also to take advantage of the diving.
Bonaire - almost the same as Curacao except entries are rougher. It's more of a diver's island than anything else. Most people do 4-5 dives/day, eat, sleep, repeat. May be harder to get to mid-week since it runs on a Sat-Sat schedule. And Dutch Antilles Express just lost their fleet and landing rights on Curacao. So one option to Bonaire is most likely gone. Most resorts on Bonaire bundle diving/truck/accommodations so all you pay for is food. And boat dives.
Roatan's south side at an AI dive resort if you can do a full week - Sat-Sat. The north side if you can't and want to risk weather closures. It can be pretty inexpensive. Flights are a little more but good, clean accommodations are cheap. Boat dives are 10/$300 in the West End. Food is cheap also. Won't need a car.
St. Thomas with a day trip to St. John - the East End has a lot of good dives under 60' Also there's about 20 shallower wrecks south of town. It's the US so no passport needed. St. John is much more expensive to stay on. There's a car ferry so you can move back and forth daily.
Nassau (or Freeport, Grand Bahama) but both are pretty pricey to stay. Diving is a little more also - 2/$110+ boat dives.
Grand Cayman - priciest place I've dove. Winter rates at hotels will be $400 and up. Boat dives are 2/$100 but there's a dozen+ shore dives.
Turks & Caicos - 2nd priciest place I've dove. Grace Bay Beach is one of the nicest in the Caribbean - priced accordingly. It's all boat dives with a 45min ride to the best sites. There's also some decent dives off NW Point - a short boat ride. Dive ops pick you up so on a 4-5 day trip you could do it by cab.

A liveaboard isn't a bad idea either. Besides BlackBeards there's Aquacat, Explorer Ventures NE Caribbean trip or Carib Dancer (Aggressor Fleet). CD has had some problems lately. The Turks/Caicos liveaboards are all whale watching Jan-Feb - no diving. Nice thing about any of them is that it's all inclusive pricing plus taxes/fees. And flights. 4-5 dives per day is standard. And they'll provide a DM for that price anytime you ask. Most have really excellent food also. All of them will be a week long though. Get on Explorer Ventures mailing list and they'll send you special pricing for certain weeks. If you drill down thru the Availability section on their website you can find current deals also.

hth, I've been to all these places (except Cozumel) within the last 5 years so can answer any questions as you narrow it down. PM as I may not get back here.

If you want a liveaboard, some of the easiest diving I have done was on the Aqua Cat. The crew is fantastic! Easy to get to, and flat out fun. This was the most dive intensive vacation so far. I would go back and do it again without hesitation.

If you want shore diving, though I have never been there, Bonaire is great so I am told. I would hire a DM for the first day or so if it was me. Even with my dives I would want some local knowledge to help navigate the choices there. Sounds like a wonderful experience. Some day I will make it there.

If you want boat diving that is easy, I like Roatan. I had a great time at Anthony's Key. Great service great diving. First class service for diving, excellent DM's. Roatan has that something special for me. Not much for partying but great for meeting people and a an all around good time. Beautiful Island, wonderful people. Great diving for beginners and experienced divers all. ( I have been to Roatan 3 times and would go back tomorrow)

If you want easy boat diving, I really liked the diving from Sunset House on Grand Cayman. It is still a bit spendy if you ask me. But the diving was wonderful and very easy. There may be better choices of a place to stay but I can't speak to them. I would love to go back to Grand Cayman again......when I have the money.

Now, if you want good diving and some current doesn't scare you, you could do what I did for my first OW dives after certification. Go to Cozumel. There are many great operators there that will provide you with a wonderful experience. Where to stay is the big question. Depending on what you want there are AI and Condos and hotels and resorts. Too numerous to mention. My initial trip was to Hotel Cozumel and diving with Dive Paradise. My last trip there was a Condo (El Cantil) and Blue XT Sea. Different experience. Both were great! ( I have been to Cozumel 4 times and enjoyed them all)

Good luck making a decision, I have yet to go on a trip I didn't really like and would not do again. Each place has it's own special place in my diving experience. Not much help am I.