Beginner diver - Carribean/Mexico/Ctrl.Amer. preferred?

[jontay]

Hi Scuba folks. I thought this might be a good forum to pose the following question;

I'm a 57 yr old male looking for laid back/chill vacation (traveling solo, for 10-14 days) w/some random scuba diving thrown in amongst other activities. Looking for mid Jan/2018 trip. PADI open water certified (@ Lake Tahoe) 17 years ago but no ocean dives or other experience since. Assume I would need something where I could take a refresher course(?) and would want to rent everything (although, I may still have my goggles and snorkel from PADI class?).

I live in Idaho so I was thinking the Caribbean, Mexico or Central America might be a reasonable travel distace/time. From the articles and forums that I've read, the overall $ expenditure for a Carribean area trip could be somewhat reasonable and also provide a great diving experience. My goal is to become more acquainted with scuba diving and to see wide array of colors, coral, fish, animals, etc. and become even more enthused to pursue more diving adventures.

Scuba diving has been a lifelong bucket list item and my New Year's resolution is to address this desire. Looking for a new hobby/sport and this is what I really want to pursue. I love to travel so taking future dive vacations would be right up my alley.

Appreciate anybody's thoughts, suggestions, ideas and opinions on the matter.

Thank you SO much!

 

[drrich2]

w/some random scuba diving thrown in amongst other activities.

What sort of 'other activities' do you have in mind? A place with good scuba diving shouldn't be hard to find; Cozumel, Roatan, the Caymans (Grand, Little or Brac) all came to mind. But are you wanting zip lining, touring rainforest and/or Mayan ruins, deep sea fishing, surfing, shopping, photographing quaint Caribbean architecture, etc...?

Richard.

 

[rongoodman]

There are some nice all-inclusive hotels in Puerto Aventuras, south of Cancun, with various non-diving activities in the area. Dive Aventuras can set you up with a refresher as well as dives in the area.

 

[NorCalDM]

What about Hawai’i easy to get to from the west coast plenty of dive shops to get the refresher done. The Big Island has great diving and lots to do topside and no passport needed.

 

[Rocketman3]

Our first dives (other than training) was with Scuba Cancun. We stayed in a resort in Cancun and then took the bus to the boat shop. Worked out well. My three days of diving with them were all good - a nice 50’ hard floor,saw lots of cool stuff. Since then I have dived a bunch more Cozumel is great!

 

[drrich2]

Oh, general dive travel realities. Dive Resorts often assume 2/room, and if you're solo, you may pay a LOT more 'per person' that one of a pair. Joining a group and being assigned a same sex roommate could help with that. When not staying at a dive resort, hotels are often not much more expensive for extra people; traveling with 2 or 3 buddies can cut down cost (of course, with me that's wife, kid & mother-in-law, many rooms have 2 beds & a couch, so depending on how 'close' you are with your friends...). Live-Aboards often charge no extra to solo's, as long as you're willing to have a same sex roommate assigned to you.

I'm a 57 yr old male looking for laid back/chill vacation (traveling solo, for 10-14 days) w/some random scuba diving thrown in amongst other activities.

Any chance you might dive one week and spend the next doing something else? Here's my thinking...

1.) Belize's best diving is at the outer atolls, far from the mainland, mainly done by live-aboard, but also Huracan (a land-based option), that I know of off-hand. It's main topside glory is on the mainland; rainforest, Mayan ruins, etc... I've seen people recommend staying at Placencia and using Splash Divers (IIRC) when trying to enjoy both the mainland and diving at the same time. But you could do, oh, say, a week on Ambergris Caye (not an outer atoll, but popular) then a week on the mainland?

2.) Cozumel is famous for drift diving, and as a major cruise ship port, has lots of topside excursions. You could stay in town and eat out at a variety of places, or if you're more of an all-inclusive resort kinda guy (and like sandy beach, from what I read), the southern A.I.'s might be nice. Or Scuba Club Cozumel for a budget option? Then again, I keep seeing the combo. of Casa Mexica and diving with Tres Pelicanos praised. Only got 2 dives in Cozumel (liked Living Underwater); been itching to go back!

3.) Grand Cayman is popular for the 'diving plus' traveler, but has a rep. for being expensive. For a solo? Well, price it yourself but if you're not with a group, it might just blow your budget... On the other hand, it has the option for shore diving in some places.

4.) Roatan. The 3 names I see often on this forum are CocoView Resort, Anthony's Key Resort and Turquoise Bay Resort, with occasional mention of others (e.g.: Media Luna). But if you want to spend much time wandering 'in town' rather than on the grounds of a dive resort, pay attention to where yo consider staying. I've not made it to Roatan.

5.) You don't have to leave the U.S.; Key Largo and Islamorada in the Florida Keys have a lot to offer, with the option to drive to mainland Florida for land-based attractions. When I stayed at Key Largo, there wasn't really a 'beach' convenient to where we stayed.

There are a bunch of other places that could work. I've named off some I see more in trip reports.

Richard.

 

[jonhall]

traveling solo, for 10-14 days

Got a little jealous when I read this part. There are so many great places in the Caribbean, but do check in regards to places that may still be recovering from the hurricanes as it may factor in your decision. Although I'm lucky enough to travel/dive with wife/friends and love every minute of it, a "solo" trip got me thinking about what I would want to do if given the opportunity to go by myself.

1. A place where my room was a 5-10 minute walk from a dive op, beach, and restaurants. Have stayed in places such as Cozumel, St. Croix, St. Maarten, and Antigua that cover those requirements although Cozumel and St. Croix would better cover your diving requirements better than the others. Wouldn't say there are 2 weeks worth of topside activities on any of the islands but there are some fun things to do and get some sightseeing in on most and more importantly have that laid back vacation.
2. I would go on a ScubaBoard Invasion trip

Hope you find your perfect spot.

 

[Oldbear]

Don't over look the small places. Sometimes the large resorts leave you feeling like you are just another number. I did my Open Water course in a small village in south of Cancun in Puerto Morelos with Brett Nelson. The personal attention he gave me was so special. The quaint town was also refreshing after spending so many vacations at large resorts.

 

[yle]

What about Hawai’i easy to get to from the west coast plenty of dive shops to get the refresher done. The Big Island has great diving and lots to do topside and no passport needed.

Hawaii is wonderful, of course, but compared to the Caribbean...

1. Hawaiii water is cooler. Not much, but it is cooler.

2. Hawaii diving (and most other things in Hawaii) is more expensive. I found a two-tank trip in Hawaii to be almost twice the cost of the same trip in Cozumel. That really adds up over the course of a week.

3. Idaho to Hawaii is further than Idaho to Coz (2800 miles vs 2300 miles.)

If the OP is looking for sunny, warm, clear water, and cheap, the Caribbean beats Hawaii. And needing a passport isn't that big a deal. If a passport is an issue, Key Largo is a very nice substitute for the usual Caribbean locales, much cheaper than Hawaii... and only 2400 miles from Idaho. (Note: all distances taken from Boise.)

 

[jlcnuke]

Just wanted to mention that if you have 10-14 days, you might consider spending a week doing a liveaboard dive trip (for a bunch of diving experience at a variety of dive sites) and then spending the rest of the time doing (mostly?) surface activities on land.