new2scuba

[uyedas]

Is there anybody out there? New diver here. 7 OWDs so far. Am looking for a fun place for my first tropical diving paradise. Don't like big waves to fight if doing shore dives. Like to swim with big sea life (except, of course man eating sharks or othersea life that does not want me around) love to be warm and not have to wear a 9 mil suit and hood and stuff. Don't want to dive with anyone who wants to kill something. Have gear, will travel. Where to is the question. Am considering Kona, Cozumel, Belize and Bonaire. Can someone help me out?
Thanks.

[ScubaTwo]

Is there anybody out there? New diver here. 7 OWDs so far. Am looking for a fun place for my first tropical diving paradise. Don't like big waves to fight if doing shore dives. Like to swim with big sea life (except, of course man eating sharks or othersea life that does not want me around) love to be warm and not have to wear a 9 mil suit and hood and stuff. Don't want to dive with anyone who wants to kill something. Have gear, will travel. Where to is the question. Am considering Kona, Cozumel, Belize and Bonaire. Can someone help me out?
Thanks.

Sorry I have never been to any of those places so Im not sure If they have hostile man eating critters. Good luck with your travels tho, sounds fun :)

[crabball]

Is there anybody out there? New diver here. 7 OWDs so far. Am looking for a fun place for my first tropical diving paradise. Don't like big waves to fight if doing shore dives. Like to swim with big sea life (except, of course man eating sharks or othersea life that does not want me around) love to be warm and not have to wear a 9 mil suit and hood and stuff. Don't want to dive with anyone who wants to kill something. Have gear, will travel. Where to is the question. Am considering Kona, Cozumel, Belize and Bonaire. Can someone help me out?
Thanks.

Have not been to any of those so i cant comment on that. But maybe you can try southeast asia. U will only need 3mm wetsuit at the most and most of the dives are from boat. The sealife is diverse and color and of coz not deep :)

Just some suggestions

Andrew

[MoonWrasse]

Ditto for SE Asia, however that was not on your list.

There was a recent review in one of the Scuba mags on Bonaire for novice divers. Check it out :)

[MoonWrasse]

Scuba Diving, March 2005 issue. "World's Best Diving for Beginners."

[DiveMaven]

The Florida Keys isn't on your list and should be. EXCELLENT place for beginner divers to go since there are many shallow reefs to explore. There are also more challenging dives should you choose to partake as well.

[uyedas]

Sorry I have never been to any of those places so Im not sure If they have hostile man eating critters. Good luck with your travels tho, sounds fun :)

Thanks for your reply. Do you have a suggestion other than these places?

[dannobee]

Bonaire. You buy the tag for your BC, then dive the spots numbered 1 through 50 something. Literally. As you drive down the road, there are numbered signs posted at the dives sites that correspond with a map that gives the details on each dive. If it sounds too advanced, go to the next one.

[uyedas]

Have not been to any of those so i cant comment on that. But maybe you can try southeast asia. U will only need 3mm wetsuit at the most and most of the dives are from boat. The sealife is diverse and color and of coz not deep :)

Just some suggestions

Andrew
Thank you for your suggestion. I never thought of Asia.

[uyedas]

Ditto for SE Asia, however that was not on your list.

There was a recent review in one of the Scuba mags on Bonaire for novice divers. Check it out :)

Saw the article, read the article. Just wanted to get some info from someone who has actually experienced the dives and country.
Thank you for your reply.

[uyedas]

Scuba Diving, March 2005 issue. "World's Best Diving for Beginners."

Read the article and Bonaire sounded interesting so decided to ask for input from other divers. Thanks for the input.

[JenM]

Read the article and Bonaire sounded interesting so decided to ask for input from other divers. Thanks for the input.

Go to either Bonaire or Curacao. That's the first place I went after I was certified. Diving on both islands is very similar. Reefs start in 25-40 ft, plus there's lots of little stuff in the shallows, very little current, reefs are very close to shore so very little swimming if you shoredive. It's a great place to work on your bouyancy and the reefs are some of the best in the Caribbean. The only thing you won't get are big critters other than the occasional turtle and the 6 ft. green moray eels. However, there are so many fish and small critters, and the reefs are so good, that I doubt you will miss the lack of big sealife.

[DeputyDan]

Your post is really an Oxymoron.

Places that would be good for you to increase your experience level and become a better diver will not have "big" animals.

Places with big stuff are generally (Not always but almost) advanced dive sites.

Because of where you are located I would suggest Kona. If you can go to Bonaire for the same $, go there. Its an excellent place to gain experience with a variety of dive options.

[hammerhead man]

I have been to Cozumel 3 times and it is great. My three kids and I took our first dives after being certified there and experience no problems. You will experience wonderful reefs, lots of fish, eels, and other critters but not many big fish. If you go to Cozumel I would recommend that you dive with Luis Cabannas, a local dive op that has over 10,000 dives in Cozumel. He treated our family exceptionally well and took time to find all the critters on the reef. He was also very safety conscious. His website like is http://www.cozumel-diving.net/luis/ One other place for you to consider is Provo in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We found that place to be incredible. Lots of large pelagics as well as wonderful reefs and walls. We saw reef sharks on almost every dive as well as large rays, eagle rays, and turtles. We dove with Fifi of Caicos Adventures. His website is http://www.tcidiving.com/ The dives were not hard in either place. The best bang for the buck, in my opinion, is Cozumel. We stayed in an all-inclusive and found it to be great. Loved sitting on the beach and having as many virgin fruit drinks as you wanted without any additional costs. Visit tripadvisor.com for reviews of places to stay in both the Turks and Caicos as well as Cozume. If you have any questions feel free to emal me at wjames3@cox.net

[uyedas]

Go to either Bonaire or Curacao. That's the first place I went after I was certified. Diving on both islands is very similar. Reefs start in 25-40 ft, plus there's lots of little stuff in the shallows, very little current, reefs are very close to shore so very little swimming if you shoredive. It's a great place to work on your bouyancy and the reefs are some of the best in the Caribbean. The only thing you won't get are big critters other than the occasional turtle and the 6 ft. green moray eels. However, there are so many fish and small critters, and the reefs are so good, that I doubt you will miss the lack of big sealife.

Thanks so much for your reply. Bonaire was my first choice, but almost everyone I talked to says to go to Cozumel first. Am not sure about "drift" diving and I don't particularly want to go through tunnels, but Cozumel is where we are going this time. You know, I love diving with the sea lions at the Coronado Islands, but I just love diving period. I am still amazed that I can be under water, breathing with a whole new species of life, including non fish and everything. It is such an umbelievable feeling for me that I could probably dive and only see the sea and I would be happy. So far the number one place that people have suggested is Cozumel. It is also nice that it is an "all inclusive" hotel and has a dive shop on premises.

Thanks again for your help. Next year I think that it will be Bonaire.

[uyedas]

I have been to Cozumel 3 times and it is great. My three kids and I took our first dives after being certified there and experience no problems. You will experience wonderful reefs, lots of fish, eels, and other critters but not many big fish. If you go to Cozumel I would recommend that you dive with Luis Cabannas, a local dive op that has over 10,000 dives in Cozumel. He treated our family exceptionally well and took time to find all the critters on the reef. He was also very safety conscious. His website like is http://www.cozumel-diving.net/luis/ One other place for you to consider is Provo in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We found that place to be incredible. Lots of large pelagics as well as wonderful reefs and walls. We saw reef sharks on almost every dive as well as large rays, eagle rays, and turtles. We dove with Fifi of Caicos Adventures. His website is http://www.tcidiving.com/ The dives were not hard in either place. The best bang for the buck, in my opinion, is Cozumel. We stayed in an all-inclusive and found it to be great. Loved sitting on the beach and having as many virgin fruit drinks as you wanted without any additional costs. Visit tripadvisor.com for reviews of places to stay in both the Turks and Caicos as well as Cozume. If you have any questions feel free to emal me at wjames3@cox.net

Thanks so much for all the info. We have, in fact, decided to go to Cozumel. We garnered the most favorable responses about diving there. I'm not sure about "drift diving." I hope that does not mean that we have to keep moving all the time downstream. I like stopping to explore new life forms and stuff that catches my attention. Also, am wondering how strong the current is. I don't like being thrown around much. I also understand that there are "tunnels" to go through. Not sure that appeals to me much. I am going to take your suggestion and book with Luis.

Thanks again

[hammerhead man]

Thanks so much for all the info. We have, in fact, decided to go to Cozumel. We garnered the most favorable responses about diving there. I'm not sure about "drift diving." I hope that does not mean that we have to keep moving all the time downstream. I like stopping to explore new life forms and stuff that catches my attention. Also, am wondering how strong the current is. I don't like being thrown around much. I also understand that there are "tunnels" to go through. Not sure that appeals to me much. I am going to take your suggestion and book with Luis.

Thanks again

You will find that Luis will take you where you want to go so if you don't want much current, he will take you to places where there is not much current. The current will vary sometimes it is very slight and sometimes it is strong. Either way you will be able to see plenty of things. I never had a problem stopping at a spot to see something if I wanted to. I will admit that if the current was fairly brisk I did have to fin into the current to stay in a spot but there is so much to see that I don't think you will mind riding the current. The beauty of drift diving is that you get to see the reef with very little effort on your part. You just go for the ride and the boat picks you up at the end of the dive. Explain to Luis and his partner Linda (she is Canadian) that you are new divers and they will start you off in easy dives. Then during the week they will take you to more difficult dives if they feel your skills are improving. I would suggest that you meet them for a shore dive at Paradise Reef when you arrive or the morning after you arrive. We have had more great experiences at Paradise Reef and there is no current. The last time we did that with Luis we saw an eagle ray with a 6' wing span that stayed around us for about 15 minutes. He was magnificent. Mention my name, Bill James, to Linda and Luis they will remember us and say hello for us. Tell them we are planning a trip back to Cozumel next May and will be in touch with them. Here is a link to my last trip report to Cozumel with some of my pictures http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=2639 Let me know if you want any more information.

Regards,

Bill