Destination recommendation for family

[Kristin Heagarty]

We are a family of 6 (5 adults and 1 child non-diver). We are what I would consider vacation divers. We have all been certified about 2 years and enjoy diving over our Christmas vacation to see sea animals and even a few small wrecks. 3 of the adults are older teenagers. For the past 2 years we have gone to and enjoyed the Cozumel Palace. We like the Palace for several reasons---All-Inclusive, small personal resort, close distance from pool to room to water, etc., kids camp for our 7 year old.

With all of that in mind we are looking to go somewhere else this year for our trip. We looked at Curacao and Bonaire but I feel like those might be too dive intensive for us. My kids want to dive 3 days and then spend the other days relaxing or other activities.

Any suggestions for places that meet the similar style as Cozumel and has diving that teenagers will find interesting?

Thanks so much!
Kristin

 

[Damselfish]

Curacao is only dive intensive if you want it to be - I don't know what percentage of visitors dive but it's certainly much lower than Bonaire. You could stay at the Breezes AI, lots of things to do around there and in walking distance, and elsewhere on the island. Good on site but not included dive op with a shore dive - dive however much you want.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Kristen Heagarty

Do you need to have AI or are other arrangements acceptable? What do your teenagers want to do in their off time?

 

[Kristin Heagarty]

AI is really for my own convenience and for the usually included kids club for the young one. We don’t drink much so to some extent it’s a bit of a waste but my kids like to eat and this makes it easier on me . But we are open to other options. We usually spend some time walking around the local area, days at the pool or beach, etc.

 

[scubadada]

What time of year are you planning your trip?

 

[loosenit2]

Just got back from Turks and Caicos, stayed at the all-inclusive Beaches resort. Review here: Beaches Turks and Caicos Review

 

[Kristin Heagarty]

Travel is over Christmas break so mid December to January. We've been to Turks and Caicos before and the Beaches is just too big for us

 

[drrich2]

Curacao Trip Research Notes

Curacao Trip Report with SB Surge Jan. 2019

It's my understanding the former Breezes in Curacao is now the Sunscape Curacao, where the last Surge event was. My wife and then 5-year old daughter and Mother-in-Law went with me, I was the only diver in our family that trip, and we had a good time. Not exactly cheap, but good. My trip report should give you an idea what it's like. Our little girl was very happy with the kids' club.

Curacao can be a great dive trip, but there's plenty of other things to do. If you do the ATV tour, though, when they offer you that $5 handkerchief to keep dust out of your airway? Take it!!!

Richard.

 

[arew+4]

We are a family of 5 divers, three of us would rather just go dive, dive, dive. While the other two would rather dive every other day. Our kids are 15, 15, and 17, we generally rent houses, we have done Bonaire, Roatan, and the Keys a couple of times since the kids got certified. All have worked out pretty well, as long as they have access to the beach or a pool for the down days, and reliable WiFi they do fine. We are going to do Curacao this year at Christmas time. For us the biggest plus for Bonaire and Curacao is the shore diving, not only does it save a ton of money, you choose when and where to dive, no we are going to miss the boat rushing and arguing!

 

[outofofficebrb]

I think a really fun place for the family and kids would be Bali or Costa Rica. Bali is obviously further and Costa Rica is a lot closer. Both are very affordable destinations. You could definitely rent a house with reliable wifi and access to a beach or pool for down days in both places with some decent diving around. Giant oceanic mantas, bull sharks, whale sharks, dolphins in Costa Rica can be pretty amazing! I dove with Rocket Frog Divers there and they are excellent. Topside, there is a lot to do and a lot of exploration can be done. Though, if the OP wants all inclusive...both places also offer that. though the resorts might not be as sprawling as those in Cozumel/Cancun.