Suggestions for shore diving destination

[Sunset]

Hey guys

My name is Peter, 38, and I'm from Swizzerland. Currently my gf and I are looking for a scuba destination (for about 2-3 weeks) that meets following conditions:

-Place not too small. Id prefer either staying on mainland or going on a bigger island. We have been on smallish islands before with just awesome scuba diving. But that was about it, there wasn't really anything besides scuba. We love to scuba but we dont need to scuba like 24hours a day. And probably not every day either. We'd like to be independent, probably have a rental car and drive around, see lakes, rivers, forests, animals... just enjoying nature.
-Not too crowed. Well actually not crowded at all. I hate being somewhere with hotels after hotels after hotels and seeing nothing but tourists. For instance islands like Mallorca would be like a torture for us. Instead we enjoy wandering around, seeing and hearing nobody, have a chat with locals every now and then. Its nice to be able to go on sandy beach and lay in the sun. For a half hour. Thats it for me, after that I get bored. Instead I'd walk for hours on rocky shores, looking for all kind of marine life between the rocks.
- As mentioned we want to scuba . We own all of the equipment needed so it would be great if we could just rent weights and tanks. And it would be even better if we could put all the stuff in our rental car, drive to a spot and head into the water right from the beach. Again, this is our understanding of being independent. This having said, I think one or two boat dives would also be acceptable. What we want to see? Well corals, nemos, baracudas, mantas, sharks... really doesn't matter. If the water is wet we are in the right spot


We had been looking on islands like Bonaire or Curacao a few days ago. There are many shore diving spots and I'm sure its great to scuba there. But the islands are quite small, crowed (probably more tourists than locals) and there is not much to do besides scuba.
Mabe someone here could give us some advices, we'd really appreciate it. We would also consider south america, africa, indian ocean... really doesnt matter where


thx
Peter

 

[DeputyDan]

I would suggest either

Belize or Bali

Two places that have a good combination of activities.
However, Belize is boat diving - not shore diving.

 

[Sue Sue]

Hi Peter,

Shore diving is the key for Bonaire, no doubt, however, as far as other activities I find it difficult to make the call for your wish list. The reason why is that opinions of crowded/not crowded and touring can be so subjective. Bonaire does have mostly small hotels, condos and guest houses. There are a handful of larger dive resorts such as Divi Flamingo, Buddy Dive Resort and Don's Habitat to name a few. There are also small dive resorts such as Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn and the Belmar which is larger, but does have a small "feel" to it . For my number once choice my DH and I do enjoy The Deep Blue View. It is a 5 room B & B with a dedicated Dive op it's own dive boat, air/nitrox and boat diving options is on the premises. The resort is located a few miles back from the ocean and and has a beautiful view of the water and Klein Bonaire. The entire venue is very relaxing and intimate. A truck rental is absolutely necessary, although regardless of where you are on Bonaire I would say a vehicle is required in order to fully take advantage of the shore diving. Contact the owners Menno and Ether - relax@deepblueview.com.

For activities, as mentioned this can be very subjective. There is areas for some very nice hiking in the hills as well as in the Washington Slagbaai National Park. Check out STINAPA Bonaire - National Parks Foundation for more information. A visit to Rincon, a small town located in the north area of the island is also a very nice way to spend at least a half day. Visit the Rose Inn for lunch for a very local type meal. The restaurant is basic to say the least. For those who are meat eaters, they do serve a very good goat stew which is a local fare for the island. Speaking of which, where there is goat stew it is not surprising you will find goats, which is a very normal occurance on Bonaire. The goat herds as well as Donkeys are actually one of the sights to see on Bonaire. In fact, it is difficult to miss them as often the herds block the roads and drivers must wait there turn to move along. There are also many restaurants in the town of Kralendijk of all price levels and dining experiences. Choices include finer sit down dining, small venue casual or take out/fast food type cuisine. Two of my favorites are the BBQ trailer that parks in the lot in town or picking up a delcious gelato at Gio's which is located on the Main Street. The Main street, which is only about 5 short blocks long also is the location for shopping if that is of interest.

Regardless of where you choose, Best Wishes for a wonderful dive vacation.

Sue

 

[diversteve]

I doubt you'd find enough to do on Bonaire for 3 weeks. Maybe do a week on all three islands. It's likely you'll fly into either Aruba or Curacao first anyway, most international flights do first. Curacao has almost as much shore diving as Bonaire, more nightlife, much much better beaches etc. I've never been to Aruba but it may be more of what you don't want - although there is shore diving there - it's also a lot of large resorts in one area. Shore dives are all around the island so some are probably more isolated. Local interisland flights are cheap and short.

In the Caribbean the only other places I can think of with drive to shore diving are Grand Cayman or St. Croix. Neither of which is very big. Both do have nice beaches. From St. Croix you could also take the fast ferry to St. Thomas - it's a couple hour ride or less (depends on the boat) where there's more to do and a few shore dives out on the quieter East End. If you did want some civilization, it's a 1/2 hr drive from there to Charlotte Amalie. From there you can also "drive" over to St. John - via a 1/2 hr. car ferry - for more diving/beaches etc. About 1/2 of St. John is part of the Virgin Islands National Park so pretty much untouched. And Buck Island near St. Croix is a US National Monument.

If that wasn't enough, the BVI's are an hour by ferry from St. Thomas. It's mostly boat diving there but there's a lot of accesible small islands nearby from charter boats - some water taxis even. Tortola is the main island, Virgin Gorda is quieter with great beaches and Anegada is a marine reserve - I think it's one of few Caribbean Atolls. Besides dive boats there's all day snorkel/beach trips to there.

This might help narrow down a location also: Be Alive... ShoreDive!

 

[Lorenzoid]

We had been looking on islands like Bonaire or Curacao a few days ago. There are many shore diving spots and I'm sure its great to scuba there. But the islands are quite small, crowed (probably more tourists than locals) and there is not much to do besides scuba.

This statement is on partly accurate. Something I like very much about Bonaire is that most of the "tourists" are divers just like myself, except when a cruise ship is in port. It is very much a diving-oriented island. Not crowded with hotels at all. Bonaire is not full of beaches with sunbathers. Rather, much of the island is dry, desert-like and sparsely inhabited. Bonaire feels peaceful and slow-paced to me.

Doesn't Dahab or somewhere in the Red Sea have good shore diving?

 

[Damselfish]

One thing to keep in mind about many islands and other places - there may be a town or city of some size, an area with a concentration of lodgings, civilization, people, etc - but the rest of the place is often pretty quiet and mostly deserted. And the civilization part comes in handy for actually having a decent airport so you can get there, and better supplies which can be nice to have. Bonaire and Curacao fall into this category - just because there's a town or city, you don't necessarily want to write off the whole island. Plus being set on shore diving does limit your choices in the Caribbean, and Bonaire and Curacao would be the best for that. But no rivers, though they have lakes of sorts - mostly saline and full of flamingos.

Bonaire I would not consider crowded. There's a town, and outside of that there's a lot of fairly deserted areas to go exploring. It's a laid back quiet place that doesn't feel like it's full of tourists at all, and most of them are underwater. Curacao has much more of a city and other built up areas, but again away from that there's a whole bunch of nothing to get lost in. It's a little bigger than Bonaire and actually has quite a few interesting areas to explore. With some research you might be happy splitting 2-3 weeks between those 2 places. (I've also been to Aruba, and I suspect it wouldn't suit you.)

Belize has tons to do, though I think it works better to split a trip into a diving part and a land part - the good diving and all the other good stuff are not trivial to get between. You could certainly fill 3 weeks there. But as mentioned, it's boat diving.

If you're willing to boat dive, you might look into starting at St Vincent or Grenada, and mucking about the Grenadines by local ferry. (Or even charter a sailboat, which is popular in that area.) St Vincent or Grenada would get you rivers, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, hiking. Bequia is a neat little island to spend some days, one of the larger Grenadines with some interesting stuff to explore. While it's boat diving, you're unlikely to find yourself on anything close to a cattleboat. There's just not huge numbers of divers there even though the diving is quite good.

You might look into Hawaii. There is a fair amount of shore diving there. Don't just picture places like Waikiki beach and Honolulu, there are lots of quiet/laid back areas. And lots of things to do and explore on land. I'd guess the Big Island would be the best bet for what you want, though with a couple weeks it's probably worth checking out more than one island.

 

[Sunset]

Hey thank you all for ur answers and your help, very much appreciated !

I would suggest either

Belize or Bali

We've been to Bali many times. As u drive north and get away from the touristy areas in the south, its just fantastic. There are not as many shore diving spots besides Tulamben but its still a fantastic island. Everything there we were looking for. But like I said, we have been there (too) many times now.
Another great holiday I can remember was Queensland/Australia. The area along the gold cost its truly amazing. The reason why we dont want to go there now is, because we only have 2 or 3 weeks. Plus the australian dollar is very expensive right now.

I did look up Belize a few days ago as well and we put it on our shortlist. I'm not sure though if you can (or should) rent a car and drive around in the country. My girlfriend is a bit concerned about safety as well. If we do end up going to Belize should we book the hotel(s) in advance or would it be ok to do it while we are there (depending where we are and where we want to go)? Would it be possible to just cross to border into Mexico and drive around Yucatan, maybe visit (and maybe dive) some cenotes?

 

[diversteve]

Hamanasi is an upscale resort in mid-Belize near Dangriga. Here's what's posted ahead of driving directions on their website:

While it is easiest to get to Hamanasi if you fly, some guests choose to drive. Please be aware of poor signage, unmarked one lane bridges and slippery conditions. Please make sure that you bring your driver's license. We strongly recommend a 4-wheel drive vehicle that is insured. Please avoid driving at night.

 

[gypsyjim]

Hamanasi is an upscale resort in mid-Belize near Dangriga. Here's what's posted ahead of driving directions on their website:

We have stayed at Hamanasi. Very small, very personal, classy quiet resort run by a young couple. We really loved the place, but it does not offer shore diving. Lots of good boat diving though.

There are a lot of land things to do in the region too, such as jungle or river exploration, and touring Mayan ruins nearby.

 

[Lorenzoid]

There are LOTS of things to do and explore in Belize--Mayan ruins, river/cave tubing, local culture, etc. But I don't recall much shore diving at all. If there is a tropical destination on the planet with extensive coral reef shore diving and nature activities to occupy one when not diving, I'd love to know as well. Bonaire is the best I know of, but the natural beauty and non-diving activities are limited--not much in the way of "lakes, forests, animals" and "nature" that the OP mentions.