Wife is getting interested in diving. Where to go with easy shore entry - Near U.S.

[00wabbit]

Hi

It seems everytime I come back form a dive my wife is a little bit more interested in the idea. She tried discover diving before but couldn't get the hang of equalizing. SInce then she did a helmet dive at 20ft at an aquapark in the caribbean. It took her a while to get down equalizing every foot or so but at least we know she can do it.

She really likes snorkeling so I think she will like diving and I am letting her come to this decision on her own. I'm not forcing it on her.

Anyway - I did my OW up here in Jersey at a quarry. I don't think she would enjoy that and I don't want it to turn her off of the idea so I was thinking it would be good to find a location with easy beach entry and cool sites to see so that we could take a trip and she could get certified in warm clear water. Then after she is certified we can dive in the area. The reason I am thinking shore entry is that she gets seasick so I don't want that to add to the stress of certification and with a shore entry the descent is easier to control and slower since she is learning to equalize.

Where should we go? I think places on or near the East coast of the US would be best because travel distance will be shorter and water should be warmer.

I dove at a beach club in cozumel on a discovery dive before certification and it was great. Gentle slope to 30-40 ft. Some tall coral formations, interesting sea life. Great visibility and warm water. I am think of something similar to this.

 

[TSandM]

Maui doesn't meet your distance requirements, but as long as the surf isn't up, Maui offers some very easy beach entries and short swims to reef structure. It also has a lot of turtles!

 

[dpaustex]

Best shore diving is, hands-down, Bonaire. Easy flight from U.S.

You can shore dive in Ft. Lauderdale area, but not that great.

You can also shore dive in the Caymans (has a few good spots).

 

[redacted]

bonaire has many shore dive sites - some with easy entry and many with varying levels of difficulty. none are easier entry than the house reef at buddy dive.

 

[divad]

Bermuda. It's close and you can get cheap flights.



I just looked and a non-sale flight is $300.00. I't's a two hour flight from EWR. Why aren't I doing this?

 

[koozemani]

Get a prescription for the transderm scop patch(scopolamine), it works wonders for sea sickness, and then head to the keys for some easy shallow reefs with lots of pretty fish.

 

[diversteve]

Best shore diving with beach access is Curacao - hands down. It's on the same reef as Bonaire so basically the same diving. Almost every shore dive site (there are about 50) is either a sandy beach entry with the reef just offshore or there's a dive facility with dive dock. Playa Jeremi - a nice beach and dive, is also one of the top 10 snorkel locations on Frommer's Caribbean list. The Tugboat at the Tugboat dive site is in 20'. And there's a pier there also that's encrusted with stuff. At Varsenbaai we saw seahorses at 40', squid near the dive dock and turtles feeding in 6' of water off the beach.

There's also a lot more to do on Curacao, shopping, restaurants, nightclubs, a dozen casinos. One stop flight from Newark thru MIA. 8 hrs. each way.
Curacao Travel- Caribbean, Curacao, Dutch Caribbean

Bonaire has a lot of ironshore/coral rubble at most of the dive sites. The dive resorts have docks/ladders to get you over it. All of the dive sites on either end of town have no facilities and most require navigating some combination of ironshore at the waterline or just offshore. And it's sharp - why everyone suggests good treaded boots. If she goes down and gets cut up there, good luck trying to get her interested again. Bari Reef would be a good snorkel/shallow dive to get her interested. They have stairs off their dive dock, the most counted species of fish in the Caribbean and parts of it are 10-20' or less. I found 30 or 40 fish species in the hurricane rubble 20' from the dive dock. And then I stood up. Info Bonaire - The Bonaire Information Site - The Most Current and Up-To-Date Information

The advantage Bonaire has for those wanting to do a lot of shore diving is that the sites in some areas are back to back. Most of the western Curacao sites require a short drive in from the main road. We managed 4dives/day on Bonaire easily, on Curacao 3 was our norm unless we dove a site twice.

You can also get to Bonaire in about 8 hrs. but it's $250 more pp. More flight choices for Curacao also - for BON it's a Delta flight thru Atlanta or multiple connections. I used mid sept. for the comparison.

Compare/contrast the site entry pictures for Bonaire vs. Curacao and you'll see why it's the better choice for a new diver doing beach entries.
Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

There's a dozen plus accessible shore dives on Grand Cayman. It's by far the most expensive of the three locations - probably one of the most expensive locations in the Caribbean. Almost all of them are off dive resort dive docks except for a couple in town which will be congested when the cruise ships are in - daily. Seven Mile Beach is a nice beach but since it is, the snorkeling is lousy. The Marriott has a man made snorkel trail for that. Some of the dive operators will pick you up off SMB via flatboat to dive the reef. Dive site descriptions but no pictures: Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Cayman Islands, Caribbean - many of these sites have affiliated dive operations on-site - they own the property to the waterline so you rent tanks from them. A couple don't exist anymore as they've been replaced with condos.

To see some of the typical entries look at the websites for Sunset House, Cobalt Coast, Eden Rock or the Cracked Conch restaurant (I know it's weird but the header picture for their outdoor deck also hows the dive ladder leading out to the reef) There's lots of turtles, rays, tarpon, and smaller stuff. Typical first boat dives are deep - 100' or so - off the wall followed by shallow 2nd dives. Some dive operators do shallow 1 tank dives in the afternoon - Aquarium was one site I could do again - 45' and several fish cleaning stations to observe. There's also Stingray City - the dive is 15', the snorkel is 4'. She can also snorkel above you on the dive with some operators and swim down to participate. The Kittiwake shipwreck is another combo dive, the bottom is about 60' and the top almost breaks the surface - done deliberately.

There's also a few beach sites on St. Thomas. Coki Beach is an easy entry, shallow site - bottoms out at about 50' Cruise ships take their divers there. They also do snuba, snorkeling etc. There's also a shallow dive off Sapphire Beach resort - we saw a lot of snorkelers out there as well. And I think Bolongo Bay shore dives off their beach - at least they do their OW checkouts there from what I saw.

I've (obviously) been to all these places so if you have any questions send a PM.

 

[Couv]

Lauderdale by the Sea near the Commercial St pier.
Fill Express -- The Best Shore Dive in Florida

Easy in, easy out-can walk to a dive shop for a refill.

or in Cozumel right behind your room at the Blue Angel Resort
Gallery | Blue Angel Resort

 

[salth2owannabe]

I know I'm a little late in the posts but my wife and yours could be twins in the dive world. She recently got certified however, and I was more than a little apprehensive. At the very least I'd have her do the on-line course and do the referral whereever you decide to go. No sense in sitting in a class room on vacation. We are going to Belize this January but I seriously considered going back to Bonaire for the same issues you bring up. Bonaire is perfect for a new diver, IMHO, No current and you can dive any profile you wish. She can follow the contour and clear her ears and get comfortable at any depth. If you want to dive at 20-30' no worries you aren't affecting anyone. 1 dive, 4 dives a day, you are on your own schedule, not someone elses. Happy diving!

 

[dolesorchard]

Plus 1 for Bonaire.