Attention travelers, assistance needed. Help me select a location!

[jjhill]

Hi, I rarely post on these forms, (more of a reader than actual participant) but I thought this might be a good place to get some opinions.

I am a NAUI Instructor and have a group of divers including a few OW and AOW students who want to leave our cold, murky Canadian waters to brave the warmer, clear water of the Caribbean. I am trying to pick a location to suit everyone's wants and needs.

I will have 4 students doing their OW dives as part of the trip, they did fine in the pool and classroom, but they are a little older and would like to have some really easy diving. Something with easy entries and exits where they can take their time and go slow. I also have a number of certified divers who would just like to get as many dives in as they can. Therefore my ideal location would include the following...

-Unlimited shore diving, with some boat dives thrown in as well
-All Inclusive (all meals, drinks optional)
-Easy diving, close access to boats and shore dives
-Ability for me to dive with my OW students and still have my other certified divers able to go a little deeper and have the dives they are looking for too.

I have been considering Buddy Dive in Bonaire, but am concerned with all the theft in that area. I have also thought about Scuba Club Cozumel as I have been there before and know the area, however the shore diving there wont be as good as the shore diving in other locations. Roatan is out automatically due to the fact we just ran a trip there out of our store, so our customers will be wanting a different location. Any other thoughts or ideas? I know some of you must have done similar trip, what locations worked best. Any I should avoid?

Thanks for your help.

JJ

 

[diversteve]

Actually if you read the fine print - Buddy isn't an AI - they only bundle Breakfast:

Our Drive & Dive packages include:

8 days - 7 nights in selected accommodations
7 days rental vehicle (double cabin pick-up truck)
6 days of unlimited air or Nitrox fills with or without the option of 6 boat dives
American style breakfast buffet daily
Welcome drink
"Manager's Rum Punch Party"
Airport transfers
All government taxes

Of course for a lot of shore diving, the Buddy's drive-thru tank exchange is nice. Their other two properties - Caribbean Club and BelMar condos also get use of it. We stay at BelMar, they're quieter condos south of town. Not on as good a house reef and the other Buddy Dive shop is there. 5 minutes drive to the Hooker and the start of all the better south shore dive sites. Downside for BelMar is no nearby food. You'll drive 5mins. north past the airport and around the lagoon for that. To the Plaza or restaurants nearby.

There's only one true AI - the Plaza Resort. Most come close since they bundle room/truck/diving. Some include breakfast. Divi Flamingo might be another option, they offer a deal similar to Buddy's. And have pre-paid meal plan options for lunch and dinner. Staying at the Divi, I wouldn't bother, many of downtown Kralendijk's restaurants are walking distance.

The only full AI on Bonaire is the Plaza Resort. They just started doing that this year: Bonaire Vacation Packages & Specials | Plaza Resort Bonaire

If you find a place you all like on Bonaire ask them about a dive pkg. If they don't list one, generally one is available. Dive Friends or Buddy's seem to be options for that.

Theft on Bonaire is generally limited to more remote sites. The dive resorts have security guards typically. Just follow the windows down, doors unlocked, nothing you can't lose left in the truck rule and you should be fine. No one takes tanks and trucks have backseats for moving delicate gear. No resort is more than 15mins. away from just about any dive site - except those in the Park (far north) or far south by the lighthouse. We drove by our condo at least twice a day without trying to.

Another option you might consider is Curacao. Many of the resorts there have on-site operations. 4 of them are Ocean Encounters shops so there's some options to mix boat dives as desired. But there must be close to 50 shore dives on Curacao also - 2nd only to Bonaire.

The true AI on Curacao is Sunscape - formerly Breezes. It's sort of kid-oriented.

Some of the apt./condo complexes also have their own dive operator. You won't find as many situated on dive sites as Bonaire but many are close enough to walk to. It's the same shore diving as Bonaire, possibly easier to get to, definitely cheaper to fly to and entries are much easier for those 4 in your group. Most of the better known dive sites are beach entries. The reef is slightly farther out so at some there's a 5min. surface swim out to the ball.

Many of the dive sites also have on-site operators if you don't want to lug tanks around. At most you'll pay a small usage fee (like $4) which is waived if you rent from them. Additionally the Dive Bus is there for escorted shore diving and Relaxed Guided Dives is a rental/fill location mid-island on the main road.

Curacao is a bigger island so there's a lot more to do there outside of diving. More restaurants, bars, fast food options - about a dozen casinos. The shopping district downtown is world famous. if someone wanted to cook there's an open air fish/produce market downtown.

To compare the entries on Bonaire vs. Curacao look at the site pictures here: The brown stuff in the surfline at many of them off Bonaire is ironshore that your older folks may not appreciate having to climb over with a tank on their back. Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

All things Bonaire: Info Bonaire - The Bonaire Information Site - The Most Current and Up-To-Date Information
All things Curacao: Curacao Travel- Caribbean, Curacao, Dutch Caribbean

 

[redacted]

If you can find good air prices, it is hard to beat the value of Buddy Dive even being on your own for lunch and dinner. We have stayed there 5 times and never experienced or heard of any theft problem within the resort. And it is fairly easy to manage at dive sites - don't bring anything you are not willing to lose.

We also have about 20 visits to SCC under our belts with another coming in Nov. I have yet to tire of their shore dive. Sure, there is no coral to speak of. But, if you go slow, there seems to be an almost endless supply of things to find and enjoy.

 

[DeputyDan]

I would suggest Coco View on Roatan, Honduras.
Has everything that you are looking for - though its a bit rustic.

 

[toddthecat]

I am trying to pick a location to suit everyone's wants and needs.

Best of luck

 

[AggieDiver]

I would suggest Coco View on Roatan, Honduras.
Has everything that you are looking for - though its a bit rustic.

Something with easy entries and exits where they can take their time and go slow.

I would argue that Coco View probably doesn't meet that part. Conditions can be fairly rough on the CocoView side of Roatan. I haven't seen it mentioned, but what about Grand Cayman or Cayman Brac? Boat dives would be almost exclusively moored dives, and there are sites available for shore diving for those who want extra dives. Significantly less crime to worry about, particularly on the Brac.

 

[toddthecat]

Roatan is out automatically due to the fact we just ran a trip there out of our store, so our customers will be wanting a different location.

Guess this part was passed up by some other readers

 

[herbdb]

I think you can feel pretty secure at the resorts on Bonaire. The Plaza now has an AI option. We like Capt Dons and Buddies. They are next to one another. Great shore diving at both.

 

[diverrex]

I'd think Bonaire would work out well. Easy enough dives for new divers and interesting enough for seasoned divers. Many dive sites are a sloping wall starting around 30 FSW. Newer divers could easily have good dives at 40 FSW while more experienced ones can go down to 60 - 100 or so though on most sites not much need to go below 60.

We have made 3 Bonaire trips and had no crime problems. We stay in a private condo but have used Buddy Dive for our dive op. they have a super easy setup and lots of easy options for house reef, shore dives you drive to or boat dives.

I don't recommend Coz for new divers because if the current is strong that week the diving can be challenging for newbies plus much of the best first dives are at 80 - 100 FSW.

 

[diverjen]

As a newer diver, we did Bonaire as our first dive trip and loved it. It just has a lot of flexibility and there were plenty of newbie sites for us. We mostly stayed between 30 and 60 ft and saw tons and were happy. We met several people who were on their 7th or higher return trip to Bonaire, so there must be enough for advanced students. There recently was an invasion at Plaza so there should be some good reviews floating around. We really like Bari reef at Sand Dollar, but it is next to Captain Don's and Buddy's so some say they are practically all the same reef. All three have easy on site entry or so I hear. While AI is convenient it would limit your choices of accommodations on Bonaire, so it might be worth making a compromise there. Curacao is much more of the canonical Caribbean beauty though (we did not dive there but snorkeled and drove around a couple of days on our way to and fro Bonaire). Much more in the way of gorgeous beaches and night life if you need that sort of thing...