I like the Belize idea. There are some caveats. I'm told the best Belize diving is by live-aboard or from the atolls, rather than the mainland. But the mainland is where you get Mayan ruins, cave tubing (if memory serves), the Belize Zoo, rainforest, etc... If you can go over a week, perhaps a week of diving, and a few days of land tours? Go to Royal Caribbean Int.'s website and find the excursions page for the island you're interested in. That'll give you an idea what's available topside.
I don't hear people talking of Belize being particularly sharky. When people talk sharks in the Caribbean region, seems they generally talk about the lemon shark migration off Jupiter, Fl, some sharks off Jupiter through the year, shark feeding with Emerald Dive Charters out of Jupiter, some nurse & reef sharks off & on diving Key Largo, the Bahamas (where the best diving is said to be by live-aboard) and Turks & Caicos (where I'm told diving tends to be deep, which is also true of Jupiter). And of course coastal North Carolina, such as out of Morehead, but that tends to be wreck diving (with some deep ledge diving to the south).
Pelagics? Doesn't seem like many locations in the region get tagged with that. Your desires don't sound like a match for Tiger Beach diving in the Bahamas. Whale Sharks off Utila part of the year (I don't recall which part). I hear Cocos Island is done via live-aboard, which doesn't sound like your thing. Authentic wild dolphin encounters seem hit or miss most places.
What types of creatures are you calling 'pelagics?'
Have you been to Grand Cayman? Is a rather expensive trip feasible? I don't know just how scenic it would be topside, but I enjoyed the Turtle Farm on a visit.
If you're not too married to the idea of 'Caribbean-like,' and you want some knock out topside photo opportunities, have you considered one of the Hawaiian islands? Get that night dive with the mantas people praise so much. A friend of mine did a little shore diving there & got photos of really large basking sea turtles. And topside photos of coastal cliffs, masses of hardened old lava, lush vegetation, native people in outfits performing entertaining tourists, etc...
If you want Caribbean, are willing to spend a couple of days (I'm guessing) going & coming, and your idea of topside attractions entails lush rainforest type nature, some folks have been praising Dominica highly on the forum. Keeping in mind that Dominica and the Dominican Republic are not the same place! I've heard good things about Saba, but it's a much smaller island than Dominica, and at least the pinnacle diving is deep from what I understand (but there are shallower options).
Richard.
P.S.: You've been to Indonesia twice & Curacao at least once, but where else have you been? Knowing might help us describe other places in a relevant way, or alert us to places you know and maybe don't want to go back to.
. She would also like to stay within 60 ft depths. Shore diving and a nice resort would both be huge plusses.
