Diver/non-diver vacation spots?

[DolphinWannabe]

I'm brand-y newly certified, I live in New England, and am greatly looking forward to getting back to the Carribbean where snorkling fueled my yearning to go scuba.

I'm married to a confirmed non-diver -- my wife is severely phobic even about snorkeling, due to a bad near-drowning experience as a kid. My quandary is: how to plan a vacation together that will give me an opportunity to get in some good diving (appropriate of course to my newbie skill level) yet that has enough other non-diving activitites available to be enjoyable for her too.

A cruise is of course an option. Other suggestions? Are there resorts that are good for diving but are also good for other things?

 

[soonerwink]

I have the same problem, my wife hates diving. She does however enjoy snorkling, and great beaches. I have been to Cozumel and Cancun. My wife enjoyed Cozumel more than Cancun. Mostly because of the smaller crowds. I think the diving is better in Cozumel especially for a new diver. Very easy drift dives with great vis.

 

[herman]

Take a look at Curacao. Really great shore diving, nice sandy beaches, plenty of places to eat and a good bit to do topside like shopping. The water is very calm and clear, who knows, she may even try a snorkle. I much prefer it over Coz.

 

[divingjd]

There are three places in Mexico that might work. My wife and I love Cozumel, and she loved it even before she learned to dive. Cancun has some fairly good diving and there would definitely be things for her to do. It's not really our style, way too developed, but I have been there before and been diving there. Down the coast from Cancun is an area known as the Riviera Maya, which is a series of towns and resorts, centered on Playa del Carmen. Playa is a very fun place, there is some fairly good diving offshore, and some excellent cavern diving in the cenotes. Save the cenotes until you feel very comfortable with your buoyancy control and finning techniques, but put them on your list of things to do.

We also enjoyed St. Lucia, a very scenic and romantic place with some pretty good diving.

I have never done a cruise, but have talked with a number of people trying to schedule diving on a cruise and it sounds like it can be a challenge. It seems to be difficult to schedule, particularly with regular dive operations.

 

[divingjd]

Sorry, duplicate post, it didn't look like it was doing anything.

 

[Chocoholic]

Another option is Cabo. The diving is just ok, lots of fish but not lots of coral. The nicest thing about being there with a non-diver is that the dive sites are about 5 minute boat ride from the shore. So you do your diving and then you can get back to your mate before they barely have time to miss you. Cabo has good food, shopping, snorkeling, whalecruises, ATVs and stuff like that. Oh, I just noticed that you are from the east coast. Go to Cozumel its better diving and closer to you than Cabo.

 

[cleung]

You can also try a Caribbean cruise. You go diving at various ports while she shops. The scuba Club Meds are also good for both divers and non-divers.

 

[DolphinWannabe]

We've settled on a cruise, seemed like the safest way to hedge our bets. In fact my wife made the reservation today. Ports of call are going to include St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados and St. Kitts. I think should be able to find some decent diving among them.

 

[cleung]

I actually have an article on diving during cruises at my website below. I suggest you do some research since you don't necessarily have to go with the cruise ship dive tours which will cost much more.

 

[DolphinWannabe]

Excellent! Thanks for the link.

With the possible exception of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas where I might to do cruise-excursion diving because it's the only game in town (it's Holland America's private island) I'd figured on making my own arrangments. As we've done a few cruises we've discovered more and more the premium you pay for the convenience of arranging any sort of shore activity through the cruise.

And what's more the cruise plays the other side of the coin too -- since they're just serving as middleman for someone else. Among my experiences arranging for snorkling trips through a cruise ship, I had one in which they got me back nearly two hours later than expected -- leaving my wife frantic with worry -- and another where the trip was cancelled due to weather but I didn't find out until after I'd gotten up early and tendered ashore with my gear. In both cases the cruise people were less than helpful or apologetic.

I will eagerly read your article for hints on rolling my own.