50th birthday getaway

[taintedtattoo]

Hi all, after countless hours online reading reviews and forums, I am more confused than ever as to where to stay. My background,, myself, an avid diver, experienced, but only dove Punta Cana, Cozumel, and Bonaire.. My wife, just a beach bum, happy to be anywhere there is sun and a lawn chair. I normally travel with another couple to Boniare, I think this year will be the 12th year in a row. While I love the folks we dive with and the island, quite honestly I want to try something different for my birthday. I have considered, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Turks and Caicos, Belieze, Mexico, maybe back to DR, or St Lucia. Now the hard part, I get motion sickness bad, so I am not a fan of boats, even with dramimine I still get a little weird, I can handle about 30 minutes tops. So this limits my destination. Another hard part, we like the "resort" type property, or all inclusive. I don't like the small ma and pa places. I also hate the huge vegas style 5 story complexes like Cancun. My favorite was the Iberostar in Cozumel, large sprawling grounds, nice pool, ok beach, good entertainment.. The trip does not have to entirely revolve around diving, I like to explore outside a bit too. If I get in a dive or two a day that will be great plenty. I want hit Bora Bora some day but the 10k is not quite in the budget yet, I could spend with airlines around 6k, maybe slightly more if it would really be perfect. Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated.

 

[robbcayman]

You will never beat the affordability of a Cozumel. As you know from Iberostar it is a short boat ride to most to the dive sites. For the money, I haven't found a place in the Caribbean that can offer as good of value as Cozumel.

Turks and Caicos boat rides are about 45 mins one way from Provo. However, they are done on big Cats, so the motion isn't as bad. The beaches there blow away Cozumel. It is my favorite place to go and we have been back 4 times. It is the exact opposite of Cozumel: No all-inclusives,
very expensive hotels, high-priced food and not as many excursion type things to do. If price weren't an issue, I would pick Turks and Caicos. If you are trying to stay cheap then Cozumel would be my choice.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Have you taken a look at Grand Anse beach in Grenada? Pretty special place, is Grenada. I dive with Aquanauts and they're awesome. But based on what you and your wife seek, I'm recommending against staying at True Blue Bay Resort because not only is it not on Grande Anse beach, it has no beach at all. Aquanauts has a satellite op at Spice Island Resort if I recall correctly. They'd come and pick us up at our resort, and take us to the satellite op for our dives. Truly stunning island with lots of activities, if you're still interested after seeing Grande Anse.