Best dive trip location for beginners

[jenlaur]

It's a crewed charter. Meaning you own the boat for the week. So they go where you want to go - stay as long as you want to stay, move the boat when you tell them to. Put into port when/where/how long you tell them. It's on the webpage: Yachts with Crew - Virgin Island Sailing Vacations & Yacht Charters World Wide.

In the BVI's there's also the option for Rendezvous Diving. Several dive operators - DiveBVI on Virgin Gorda or several on Tortola will meet you with tanks, Divemaster etc. at a moored location. You set it up in advance and call them on the VHF when you want to dive. I don't think it's much more expensive than their standard rates.

It's an alternative to making frequent stops for fills - most mid-range sailboats don't carry a lot of tanks onboard. That's pretty easy though in the BVI's - DiveBVI has a fill station on their dock in both Spanish Harbor and Leverick Bay. IIRC there's one or two on the other side of the channel on Tortola also.

Personally I'd try to rent a big catamaran - more liveable space between the hulls. We often saw them moored at divesites that we day dove from Virgin Gorda.

Places not to miss: Pusser's Company Store on Marina Cay, Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke - Foxy created the Painkiller there, Foxy's Tabu on Diamond Cay, the beach bar at Little Dix Bay on Gorda (georgeous beach) The Willy T Floating Bar off Norman Island, the Baths off Virgin Gorda and the Beach BBQ friday night at Leverick Bay. On Virgin Gorda there are some beaches only accessible from the water.

Must dive is the Rhone off Salt Island, they filmed the Deep there. It's also remarkably well preserved, 70', has an easy swimthrough and interesting wreck stuff on the stern section. There's also a swimthrough past the 15' high prop. I don't like wrecks especially but I enjoyed two dives there.

This post brings back wonderful memories. My husband and I got certified just so we could take a trip to the BVI. We sailed twice before down there (bareboat - meaning we sailed the boat ourselves). The last time we chartered a crewed cat with diving included in the rate. We got certified here in FL. Since we would be diving on our own in the BVI we wanted to make sure we were comfortable. After cert we did several dives with our dive master friend in West Palm. The we went to the Keys for a long weekend and logged 4 more dives. These were on our own and really helped make us much more comfortable in diving without a DM.

All that said, the BVI diving was amazing. Among my favorite dive spots: Alice's Wonderland, The Rhone, The Dogs and The Indians. Also not to miss: The Baths, Soggy Dollar Bar and snorkeling the Caves at Norman Island and Monkey Point on Guana Island. I joined this board and talked to many knowledgeable people. Another good board, should you decided on the BVI (why wouldn't you?!) is traveltalkonline.com There is a wealth of info there as well.

 

[curious2dive]

Hi SoccerJeni,

Curacao might be another option, close by Bonaire with a lot of shore entries. From sandy beaches, but also in the country side. Curacao is bigger than Bonaire and offers more beside diving. Bonaire is more quiet.
There is Willemstad, a unseco protcted site, for shopping but also a variety of restaurants, nightclubs etc. Ostrich farm and a lot of other activities.

Curacao's reefs are in great shape and perfect for spotting macro life (you'll be disappointed if you come here hoping to see the big guys). There's more info about diving in Curacao starting here if you're interested: CURious2Dive - DIVING CURACAO.

The focus is on shore diving, which is what we specialise in, but it applies for boat diving too should you choose to go that way.

If you need any other info, please feel free to PM me.

Happy planning

 

[JonD]

Although I have never been to Cozumel or Grand Cayman, I would definately say you are on the right track with Bonaire.

My wife got certified shortly after we got married. I was faced with the task of where to take her on her first trip. The most important factors to me were safety and enjoyment. I wanted it to be a fun and relaxing experience for her (so she would get hooked

After doing some research on various destinations, I settled on Bonaire. We absolutely loved it and just booked our 3rd trip for July.

One of the best things about diving in Bonaire is that you can quite literally dive at any depth you wish. Want to spend the entire week at no more than 35ft? No problem! The reef profile of Bonaire is essentially a "sloping" reef of about 45 degrees that fringes the entire leward coast. The swim out to the reef is often no more than 50 yards. Navigation? Simple. Left or right Seriously, you can just swim the reef slope in one direction and then simply head back. We found the current on the reef to be almost undetecable. Most of the time, there is ZERO wave action on the leeward coast. It is like getting in a warm bath tub. I just can't imagine a place where the diving is "easier". My wife is prone to seasickness, so the freedom of shore diving was too good to pass up.

Then, when you add in 100 ft. vis, unbelievable health of the marine environment, and overall variety of things to see, I think it is a destination that is hard to beat. On our last trip, we logged 19 dives in 6 days and we weren't really trying.

For the new diver, I feel like it is the perfect destination.

Have a blast wherever you choose!

 

[desert diver 71]

I vote for Cozumel. I was concerned about the depths & currents since we had less than 20 dives but our friends assured us we would be fine. Our divemaster worked with my wife, helping her a lot with buoyancy control during our week there. The hotel, food & nightlife were great. You get a lot of bang for your buck. Right now the hotel rates for the Cozumel Palace AI are lower than when we went in 2008 so we're booked again for this September. I do recommend getting your nitrox cert. if you go. You can PM for more details.

 

[divermike1011]

I'm gonna go a little farther north, and a little cooler (that time of year) and recommend Bermuda. I can't really say enough good things about the place, and if you're willing to wear a thicker wetsuit you'll have the place to yourself as far as diving goes (IIRC mid-winter water temps are high 60's). There also shouldn't be too many tourists that time of year, and I just love the laid back atmosphere.

Michael

 

[ccgutier]

Best place I can think of, would be Utila, Honduras....Try the Bay island College of Diving.
Second largest barrier reef, dive sites are 5-15 min from the dock, you can easily get visibilty in 100 ft,
This is a small island dedicated for diving with lots great dive shops and seasoned instructors for any level and for most specialties, weather is great, chances of seeing a whale shark are high, lots of places to eat and very affordable so your dollars will go realy far.
Check it out, will not be desapointed.

 

[scubadiveilat]

They're all good choices!

These are common areas for scuba diving. They offer beautiful ocean and water conditions. Hopefully! Marine life and decent water temperature. The destinations are close from the US as per se Hawaii, Fiji, Palau or other venues.

I am in the process of gathering a trip to Santa Marta Columbia. For all type of scuba diving adventures. Keep me posted! I'll update you with info.

If there is something specific your interested in doing in your destination. let it out! to reach your dream dive destination?

Have fun and enjoy!!!

 

[pitdvr]

I think the entries are too hard for most of Bonaire. Carrying my fins, camera setup with the surge...oh my! They also won't let you dive with out a boyancy checkout. Grand Caymen was easy and Coco View in Roatan was ideal. These are places for shore dives.
Most boat dives will be easy enough as they usually ask about your experience and needs and send along a dive master. Note-they don't send dive masters in Key West.
Have fun!

 

[drrich2]

I don't recall whether anyone else mentioned this & flipping back through 9+ pages is a bit much, but be mindful you can boat dive in Bonaire if you want to. Shore diving is the option most people choose, and seek it out for, but you can boat dive if you want to. It's also fairly economical (airfare getting there can be rough, but a week in Bonaire from the U.S. is usually decent on price. Not great, but decent).

Richard.