Dive Rates...Am I Missing Something

[Roger Leslie]

We have been to Roatan several times and decided to head to either the Lesser or Greater Antilles for a change. Checked into flights and then into boat dive rates....WHAT!!! In Roatan you can still dive for $35 per dive....$30 if I get a bundle. It's more than double that every where else I checked like Cayman, Dominica, Bonaire, Saba, Coracao. If I get in 15 dives it will cost $500-$700 more. Am I missing something or are things that much cheaper in Roatan?

 

[Trailboss123]

We have been to Roatan several times and decided to head to either the Lesser or Greater Antilles for a change. Checked into flights and then into boat dive rates....WHAT!!! In Roatan you can still dive for $35 per dive....$30 if I get a bundle. It's more than double that every where else I checked like Cayman, Dominica, Bonaire, Saba, Coracao. If I get in 15 dives it will cost $500-$700 more. Am I missing something or are things that much cheaper in Roatan?

So, $30-$35 per dive in Roatan is $60-$70 for a 2 tank boat dive. Grand Cayman is going to run you $100-$120 for 2 tank boat dive-- so yes, much more. I can't speak to any of your other choices, except Bonaire, which in fact is the absolute best value for diving in the Caribbean, in my opinion. Bonaire is all about shore diving and you can get unlimited tanks for a week with free nitrox for $120-$180 a week depending on the operator. You can then add on 2 tank boat dives (if you purchased the unlimited shore dive package) for $56 for 2 tanks on the boat. I am using Dive Friends as an example: Bonaire Boat Diving - Dive Friends Bonaire

 

[drrich2]

You're pricing the cost of apples vs. oranges, but yes, it differs by destination.

A nicer topside often entails a higher cost of living, such as with Grand Cayman. Do you like to get out & drive around the island? Do you like sandy beaches without sand fleas biting you? Would you like ready availability of modern health care? From what I understand, Grand Cayman offers all that. How's Roatan stack up? If you aren't at CocoView Resort, Reef House Resort of Fantasy Island Resort on Roatan, how readily can you shore dive? Does that matter to you?

I've seen pretty cheap round trip airfare to/from Grand Cayman. How's your ticket compare? Airfare to/from Bonaire is NOT cheap, although dive costs for shore diving are.

Cozumel and Roatan are known as over-all budget dive destinations (optionally; they don't have to be). A number of group organizers in my area choose Turquoise Bay Resort on Roatan, which was favorably reviewed in Undercurrent and offers a lot of diving for your buck.

Richard.

 

[tkaelin]

I agree with drrich2. The cost of diving is only one variable. Airfare, food and lodging are other cost variables. Other activities, quality of diving and topside activities are other non cost variables. While Bon has very affordable diving and reasonable accommodations, the airfare is very high - 2-4 times that of GCM and CUR (at least from the east coast. GCM has expensive boat diving but are airfare and shore diving is reasonable. Eating out and accommodations on 7mb can be very pricey. CUR had very affordable accommodations and dining out and diving were very reasonable.

 

[Roger Leslie]

You're pricing the cost of apples vs. oranges, but yes, it differs by destination.

A nicer topside often entails a higher cost of living, such as with Grand Cayman. Do you like to get out & drive around the island? Do you like sandy beaches without sand fleas biting you? Would you like ready availability of modern health care? From what I understand, Grand Cayman offers all that. How's Roatan stack up? If you aren't at CocoView Resort, Reef House Resort of Fantasy Island Resort on Roatan, how readily can you shore dive? Does that matter to you?

I've seen pretty cheap round trip airfare to/from Grand Cayman. How's your ticket compare? Airfare to/from Bonaire is NOT cheap, although dive costs for shore diving are.

Cozumel and Roatan are known as over-all budget dive destinations (optionally; they don't have to be). A number of group organizers in my area choose Turquoise Bay Resort on Roatan, which was favorably reviewed in Undercurrent and offers a lot of diving for your buck.

Richard.

"How does Roatan stack up?" Well, the airfare is about the same or cheaper, the diving is fantastic, the atmosphere is totally kickback, the restaurants are great & cheap, hotels are less. No, Roatan doesn't have a lot of first world amenities, but that is a plus!!! I would like to have more land based activities to share with my wife which is why I have been checking other destinations. Shore diving? Since my wife doesn't dive, I would have to find dive buddies so I would probably be doing boat dives anyway.

 

[drrich2]

Roger, you're breaking it down into those important differentiators. You're not the first to express preference for a more laid back, less built-up setting. I think some people like that about Saba, from other threads. Or someone may say some island is what the Caribbean broadly was decades ago.

But somebody with a shopping-loving wife or non-diving teens might see it differently. I passed on Roatan as an option for a trip when our daughter was very young and hit Key Largo instead, partly because if she got sick, first world healthcare was immediately at hand. Not an issue for some folks.

I've got a couple of old threads linked that might interest you:

Your Favorite Repeat Travel Destination - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/your-favorite-repeat-travel-destination.516556/

Total Cost Mid-range Budget Florida & Caribbean Trips - Total Cost Mid-range Budget Florida & Caribbean Trips

Richard.

 

[ScubaJill]

We have been to Roatan several times and decided to head to either the Lesser or Greater Antilles for a change. Checked into flights and then into boat dive rates....WHAT!!! In Roatan you can still dive for $35 per dive....$30 if I get a bundle. It's more than double that every where else I checked like Cayman, Dominica, Bonaire, Saba, Coracao. If I get in 15 dives it will cost $500-$700 more. Am I missing something or are things that much cheaper in Roatan?

That seems a little pricey - $60+ per dive? I've come to expect somewhere around $40 per dive +/- 20%. I got serious sticker shock in Belize.

Do you know if equipment is included in those dives? Also, is there an option to bundle the dives so the more you buy, the cheaper the cost of each dive? Nitrox? The proximity of the dive sites can play into costs as well.

Saba was more expensive than St. Maarten. But depending on where you dove in St. Maarten/St. Martin you could be paying about $15 more per dive.

 

[Kharon]

You get what you pay for. Roatan (particularly Coco View dives) you will most likely see few fish, certainly no mature fish. Elsewhere you might.