Another "Which Aggressor?" recommendation

[diversteve]

Does anyone have any idea how often they miss the crossing in November/December?

I'm pretty sure the website has weekly trip reports so you might review this years?

Trailboss makes a good point - GC is really the only place of the four where it's easy to do shore dives. The best shore dive on Roatan is CCV and you'd have to book a week. I don't believe there is any on Provo and the local shops take you to the same sites you'll dive on the Aggressor for their extended day trips.

Any of them are farily easy for extra boat dives but Roatan ia about 1/3rd the pirce. Not much to do on Roatan though besides diving or barhopping in the West End.

One other consideration about south Belize is that the boat rides from there average an hour out - it impacted the amount of boat dives we could schedule per day.

 

[chillyinCanada]

. . .

Any of them are farily easy for extra boat dives but Roatan ia about 1/3rd the pirce. Not much to do on Roatan though besides diving or barhopping in the West End.

One other consideration about south Belize is that the boat rides from there average an hour out - it impacted the amount of boat dives we could schedule per day.

With regard to Belize distance to dive sites depends on where you stay in the country. 45-60 minutes from Placencia and Hopkins. 5-15 from Ambergris Caye. That said, if you want to take a couple of days after a liveaboard, truly the most awesome inland adventures not offered on any of the other 3 locales. Look up "Actun Tunichil Muknal" or "ATM cave"

Roatan, to me is a very beautiful island and I very much enjoy a day touring the island lunch at Punta Gorda and catching all the amazing views as the vehicle weaves along the drive.

There are a couple of zip lines on the island, if you're up for that kind of adventure. The West Bay beach area on a non-cruise day, is a great place to hang out, snorkel, have lunch, catch the ray's or again, just enjoy the beautiful view. Easy to get back and forth from West End, by inexpensive water taxi. There's also an iguana zoo . . .shudder.
I really enjoy West End's vibe . . .

 

[Darnold9999]

IMHO the diving on Bloody Bay wall is way better than Belize but the diving on Grand Cayman itself is not at all. Prefer Belize over a trip on Cayman that does not do the crossing.

Also prefer Belize on land. Way more to do and see. Cayman is much more first world however so if that is important than Cayman.

 

[JohnnyC]

A friend of mine just recently did the T&C boat. She really liked it and is planning on going back. I don't like the non-croporate-owned boats. I think their QC is all over the map and have heard some less-than-ideal stories about the franchise boats. I'd have no problem going on a corporate boat however.

 

[bee kay]

Thank you all so kindly for the tips and feedback.

drrich2, I appreciate all your write ups and information.

Please correct me if I am wrong - From what I gather, most of the diving is comparable, and they are all good.

Airfare is a consideration. From Canada, GC and Belize are the easiest for me to get to. To get to Roatan, the prices go up considerably and the funds I would save from topside lodgings would be lost there.

Currently, I have weaned it down to either GC and Belize. The advantage of Belize being extending my stay a little more and going on land based excursions which some posters have mentioned to explore the caves and ruins. But if I knew for certain I could cross to LC and CB, I would pick the Cayman Aggressor for sure. *Anyone has a crystal ball?*

I do have a follow up question: How do I know which Aggressor boats are corporate owned and which are franchisees?

Thanks again.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @bee kay

I've been to Grand Cayman many times, Little Cayman twice, Cayman Brac once, Roatan once, and Turks & Caicos once. I've not yet been to Belize.

I had an unexpected opportunity to dive for a week at the end of November and couldn't pass up the Aggressor 35% off. I had it narrowed down to Cayman and Belize. The Belize Aggressor IV was not available for my week (I am also a solo traveler and prefer side by side beds over bunks, BA III). So, I went with the new Cayman Aggressor V. I hope we get to Little Cayman .

Good diving, Craig

 

[mcohen1021]

Based on my travel window and budget, I am considering:

- Turks and Caicos
- Cayman
- Belize
- Roatan

I scoured the board and it seems that most of the diving are similar.

Not all the same. I too am considering a caribbean aggressor trip for 2019, and out of those choices, it would be turks and caicos or belize. lots more creatures there.

That being said, the cayman aggressor dec 8 this yr is super affordable and you'd get the best of bloody bay out of it.

 

[Carlos Diver]

Thanks for adding T&C to my decision lol.

Land wont influence my decision. I have been to GC and Belize before, but didnt dive. I probably wont have the time to add too much before or after anyway.

If I can talk myself into not worrying about the crossing I might end up seeing you there Craig haha.

 

[KathyV]

I've been on the Cayman and T&C Aggressors and on a different LOB in Belize, but I have only done land-based diving in Roatan.

Of those 4 choices I like the diving best in Cayman and the T&Cs but both of those 2 destinations have pros and cons.

Cayman has beautiful reefs and healthy populations of sea life but not many sharks, but you should see a few sharks and you will probably have an opportunity to dive all 3 Cayman Islands. You will also see turtles and stingrays and (if you make the crossing) lots of friendly groupers and eagle rays. Many divers feel that Bloody Bay Wall off Little Cayman is some of the best diving in the Caribbean - so that is worth a trip!

And if you are interested in wreck diving their are some interesting wrecks around Cayman like the Kittiwake and the Tibbetts (a Russian Frigate). There is always the risk of weather issues that will prevent you from making the crossing but I am sure that the Captain will do his best to make sure that you have a good week of diving.

The Cayman Aggressor is a newer and larger boat so that might be nice. The toilet was inside the shower in our cabin on the T&C Aggressor 5 years ago. You might actually get a separate shower and toilet on the Cayman Aggressor!

The T&Cs have healthy walls and reefs and good sea life and a better chance of seeing lots of sharks and eagle rays, but the walls are prettier around Cayman IMO. The T&C reefs start a bit deeper so if air consumption is an issue of concern then that is a factor to consider. I can't recall any good wreck dive sites in the T&Cs but I may of forgotten something.

The T&Cs were hit hard by hurricanes last year and I don't know if the best sites are fully recovered yet so that is something to check - ask if they are regularly diving French Cay and West Caicos. If not, then I would give the T&Cs a pass and more time to recover.

On the other hand, you have a shorter window of opportunity to dive the T&Cs from a LOB because they divert to the Silver Banks from January to March for whale-watching. Since you are planning a trip later this year it might be a good opportunity to dive the the T&Cs - before the water gets cold and the boats relocate.

However, the land-based diving is very good around Cayman, because the reefs are close and you have short boat rides and shore diving is available. That may make the T&Cs the better choice for a LOB. In my opinion, the best way to dive T&Cs is from a LOB because the reefs are far from Provo and you will spend a large part of the day in small boats just to dive 2 tanks with land-based dive op.

Like I said, they both have pros and cons - so pick one for a trip this year and plan later for a trip to the other(s). And you may not want to limit yourself to the Caribbean Aggressors. We also did Aggressor trips to the Red Sea and Kona, HI and they were great, too! It's nice to have choices!

 

[Carlos Diver]

Awesome Kathy, thanks.

Kona is on my list, just not enough time this fall to make it happen.

Craig, which week did you pick?