Good place for both beginners and non-divers?

[DarinJ]

I've dived and vacationed with my family on Maui and just last month in Playacar--just south of Cancun. Both were great for divers and non-divers. I dive with my 13 year old son, so we are always looking for shallower & easier dives. On Maui, we stay in South Kihei and dive with Scuba Shack. They are great for beginners. We did boat dives with them for 3 days of 2 tank dives. Meet the boat early (6:30am) but back on the beach by 11:00 to spend the rest of the day with family. Maui is mostly condos, but we loved our 2 bedroom condo across from the beach--walking or short driving distance from many restaurants and shopping areas. In Playacar, there are many AI resorts, but again we had a condo (right on the beach). Boat diving again, but only about 20 minutes to some great reef dives around Playa del Carmen. I was told that the diving is better off Cozumel, but we loved the reef diving in Playa. Saw turtles, barracuda, lobster, crabs and a huge number and variety of tropical fish. The coral was healthy and colourful. We dove with Jason at Fantasea Divers. Jason took great care of me and my son and made sure we had dives that were perfectly suited to our abilities.

 

[editmojo]

Not trying to silt up the water too much but Beaches at Turks and Caios seems like a good fit. Probably not the cheapest option but the diving and all the gear is included as part of the AI package. You'll be on one the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. No shore diving but they have there own boat and usually dive the north reef just minutes away. There will aways be a dive master. There is some snorkeling west of the resort.

Easy to get to(for us southerners) but the airport was a pit as of 3-4 years ago. I've heard it's improved since then.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

When are you planning your trip? Got some great ideas, if after July 2015.

 

[TSandM]

We just got back from a group trip to the Caribbean coast of MX. We had non-divers, brand new divers (two finished their OW dives during the trip!), and experienced divers. We based at an all-inclusive in Puerto Aventuras, about an hour and a half south of Cancun. The resort will send a van to pick you up for a modest additional fee, so no need for a rental car. The hotel has a nice beach and reasonable snorkeling, and also has bicycles and small sailboats. It is easy to book a trip to one of the parks like Xel-Ha, or to the ruins in Tulum or Coba. The diving IS from boats, but the boat rides are short. Our divers were picked up at the hotel at 0830, and were back by about 2 pm.

If you'd like more information or specifics, please feel free to PM me, or check out the web page we did to promote the trip on BelowandBeyond.biz.

 

[Dhboner]

Give the south coast of the Dominican Republic a look. You fly into La Romana and stay near the fishing village of Bayahibe. Great affordable, all-inclusive resorts and great, easy diving. If you go contact ScubaFun...they have the best dive boats on the island (or any island for that matter) and a great crew of fun, friendly and very safe divemasters.

 

[flots am]

1. As really new divers they need some shallow (up to 50 ft?) easy reef with colorful corals/fish. No strong current, no walls (is it the right name?), really easy-lazy dive...
2. They won't do more than 1 dive a day, maximum 2, so the sleep&dive packages are not the best idea
3. Ideally - shore dives, no long boat rides required
4. They don't have their own equipment yet, so we need a place where they can rent
5. Accommodations - nothing fancy. All inclusive would be ideal (at least for me, so I don't need to cook), but an apartment with a kitchen and nearby grocery store is ok too.
6. Something to do other than diving. Nice walk on the beack and/or snorkeling for me would be an additional bonus

I see that people recommend Bonaire, Curacao, Caynam Brac... But all those places are reviewed by people who dive a lot. I want some place where my husband and son can dive once a day, and then enjoy the rest of the day above the water.

Buddy dive on Bonaire (or anything near their reef).

It's quiet, protected, an easy shore dive from a sandy beach or stairs, great for easy diving, and more challenging diving (once you get over the edge of the wall) and snorkeling.

There's lots of non-diving stuff to do on the island if you're happy with "really pleasant and interesting" and don't need non-stop excitement.

There's a great park you can drive through or hike, flamingos, donkeys and neat buildings, wind surfing, restaurants and great places to take naps.

If you need more excitement than that I'd recommend The Dive Bus on Curacao. They'll drive you to the dive site, and the island has a ton of stuff to see and do.

flots.