Suggestions please for relaxing, healing 'real' destination with good diving...

[Alice Mutasa]

I've recently suffered a terrible bereavement, & I really need to go away somewhere relaxing, healing, with a beach and good diving (but doesn't need to be spectacular or too much hard work). I haven't dived for over 2 years (but before this had done around 200 dives so am reasonably experienced). Somewhere I can laze about on the beach and dive when I feel like it. Somewhere quite simple & 'real' would be ideal - not a plasticky resort type place. I may not be able to go away until after about June next year though, as I have to go somewhere else in February. I would be very grateful for any suggestions.

 

[Wookie]

I'm keen on True Blue Bay resort in Grenada. Easy to get there on BA from Gatwick, the diving is excellent, the beach is OK, and it's laid back.

 

[boulderjohn]

I recently visited a place that might be quite good for what you are looking for. It was a resort called Small Hope Bay Lodge on Andros Island in the Bahamas. There is nothing else around it. You are right on the beach, and you have to cross a mangrove swamp to get to it. There are no other buildings for quite a ways away. Diving is the primary activity, but there are other activities as well. It is quite rustic--the cabins in which you live are really best for sleeping only. It is nothing remotely like a typical modern high rise resort. There are no televisions, no telephones in the rooms, and we could not get cell phone service. When not diving or doing something else, most people hang out by the central lodge area, either on the stone patio and bar outside or inside the lodge itself. There is WiFi there, and the signal is pretty good. It is all inclusive, as it has to be without anyplace else to eat very near.

It is not a large place, so there are not a lot of people there at the same time. You will all usually eat lunch and dinner at the same time, and pretty much everybody gets to know everyone else. Most of the key staff members (divemasters, etc.), eat then, too, and you get to know them as you chat with them over a meal. The bar is all inclusive, and it is pretty decent quality stuff (Jack Daniels, Tanqueray, Crown Royal, etc.). You can make your own, but at the common cocktail hours, one of the staff will be there to pour for you. At 6:30 they serve the fresh conch fritters. The food is very good.

My flight arrived at 7:00 AM. I had breakfast and then made the 9:30 departure for the morning dive. I joined a large group that had been there for a week and were on their last day. Consequently, they weren't up for the afternoon dive, and I was the only one who expressed an interest. No problem. The boat was preparing to take me out alone when another diver jumped on at the last minute.

 

[pasley]

I have never been to Bonaire, but from all accounts, it is the place to go.

Lots of beach diving, many packages include a truck, just pull up, load tanks any time of the day or night and head for the ocean, or just walk out your front door 50 steps and hit the resort house reef. All I have talked to who have been have raved about it and the great diving. Dive beach or boat, easy, set your own shedule.

 

[JMorben]

I recommend three places on Fiji: Nakia, Koromakawa, and Moody's. The reports on Tripadvisor are all very accurate.

 

[Woodiver]

Sounds like a trip to Bali might be in order. You can shore dive Bali or fly over to LBJ and hop on a Komodo liveaboard for a while. The June timeframe works for this area.

 

[diversteve]

Bonaire doesn't have a lot of good beaches. Most of the resorts don't have much of one, some none at all. Two resorts that do are Harbour Village and Eden Beach. Both have good diving with on-site operators but IMO neither is focused purely on diving like many of the other resorts there are.

Lodge Kura Hulanda on Curacao is nice, peaceful, somewhat upscale with great boat/shorediving onsite. It's in a quieter part of the island 45mins. away from the more bustling downtown. They shuttle guests downtown should you want to shop/sightsee one day but it will often be crowded as the cruise port is also downtown. Check their website to see if their beach is what you're looking for - it's somewhat narrow and rocky in that area also. There are good beaches elsewhere on the island - most are also shore dive sites. At several the only people there during the week - some are locals beaches so slightly busier on weekends. If you don't mind a larger resort, the Marriott Emerald Beach is one of the nicer Marriott's I've been to in a decade. Nice beach/pool area and onsite dive operator.

Utopia Village on Utila might be another option. Barefoot Cay on Roatan also. Pretty much the only people there will be the staff and maybe a dozen other guests max - both are smaller resorts and somewhat isolated in that only people who stay there go there - both require a boat to get to. Both have great boat diving nearby - Utopia also has good shore dives. It will be humid in June though. They have a nice beach - we rode by it - but it's fronted at waters edge by ironshore/reef afaik.

Possibly one of the resorts in mid-central Belize also, Hamanasi, Roberts Grove, Turtle Inn, there's others. It's a longer ride to the reef from there but they have spas and other relaxing options. Also jungle tours, mayan ruins tours, river tubing etc. Also humid in June.

There's some outstanding (and fairly expensive) get away from it all places on Virgin Gorda as well. Little Dix Bay, Nail Bay, Biras Creek, Bitter End Yacht Club might all be options. All have beautiful beaches. DiveBVI does boat diving there and there's another option for the last two resorts since they're farther NE and even more isolated. Virgin Gorda has a population of 3000 people so it's not ever really crowded - the cruise ships go into Tortola across the channel. It's the British Virgin Islands so I would assume easier to access from London also.

Another option might be the Caymans. Either the quieter Grand Cayman East End - Compass Point resort or maybe Little Cayman or Cayman Brac. Both sister islands are small and undeveloped with beaches and excellent diving - it doesn't get much better than Bloody Bay Wall. Little Cayman Beach Resort might be one option - I've never been there. Possibly Brac Reef Beach Resort also - although some friends told me there's reef just off the beach there so not the best for swimming.

Nearby Turks/Caicos might be an option, great wall diving but some of the resorts can be larger - more "plasticky" - there's 2 AI's that are. Depends on where you stay. One that appealed to me (haven't stayed there) was the Veranda but it's a larger resort (168 rooms/suites) Grace Bay is called the most beautiful beach in the world - diving is 10mins. by boat at NW Point. Excellent wall diving is 45mins. by boat to West Caicos or French Cay.

 

[Darnold9999]

Sounds like a trip to Bali might be in order. You can shore dive Bali or fly over to LBJ and hop on a Komodo liveaboard for a while. The June timeframe works for this area.

That was my first thought.

NorthWest part of Bali - far away from everything Bali Diving, North Bali Diving - Reef Seen Aquatics, Reef Seen Turtle, Reef Gardeners and about as relaxed as you can get. For more upscale next door Aneka Hotels Bali : Aneka Beach Hotel Kuta and Aneka Bagus Pemuteran.

Lots of other choices. Bali is a good place to do what you are trying to do. Just need to get away from the tourist centres.

 

[vladimir]

My first thought was Bali as well, probably since I was there a few weeks ago. Tulamben would perfectly fill the OP's requirements—except for the beach. When she says "beach" I assume she means a sandy one, not a rocky one. That also rules out most of Bonaire, as has been pointed out, except for Harbour Village and perhaps one or two others. A nice beach is probably the kiss of death for nice shore diving, since it attracts the hordes, so it becomes an either-or proposition. While Bonaire is not my first choice for diving, it is my first choice for vacation, and I always stay at Harbour Village. There is nothing quite like strolling down a gently sloping sandy beach to find quality diving. That said, the diving in front of Harbour Village is not the best on the island, and it takes a bit of a swim to get to even decent diving there.

Back to Bali. There are certainly nice beaches, but if you want to laze around and dive when you feel like it, you might have to settle for a hammock or lounge chair near the rocky shoreline. I recommend Mimpi Tulamben. If your budget allows, the oceanside villas are nice and the diving is quite good right out front. But you can do it more economically at Mimpi, or much more economically elsewhere in Tulamben. The entry over the rocky shoreline can be a bit of a nuisance, but otherwise the diving is as easy as it gets, usually.

The nicest sandy beach I have ever seen next to a dive spot is Flinder's Cay. It is deserted except for an unmanned weather station and is only accessible by boat, since it sits well outside the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea. Nesting turtles and birds, a beautiful crescent of sand, and great diving.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

If you really want to get away to somewhere secluded with decent diving and great beaches, try Barbuda (sister island of Antigua) Total population is under 1000. Fly into Antigua and take the ferry over. The diving is all run by locals, not much of a tourism industry at all. When you get there ask for a guy named Levi, tell him I sent you (They call me Sea Wolf there). Everyone knows everyone.

Shout if you want to know more.
Bryan
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