Inexpensive rustic dive location for open water cert trip

[Leevie]

I am finding the same issue with wanting to do my own instruction. I don't mind a divemaster along because its good to have local eyes when you're in a new place, but it seems to be getting harder to be independent in the ocean.

 

[KathyV]

My regular resort is Royal Playa in Port Royal, Roatan. It doesn't currently have a website because central camp was sold and a new place being built next door. Flight, all inclusive stay and custom unlimited diving is about $1500. (That is a special rate for our group.) It is far away from the tourist trappings of the West End and there is no escaping because there are no roads to the resort. Its boat access only. No TV, no phone, no internet (generally) and no AC. It is truly an unplugged location where the main entertainment is each other. I know I've been severely spoiled and will not likely find an equal, but I'm not even sure how to approach the search.

I just found this place in Panama which is very close, but it appears they are closed during the week we are looking at. Al Natural Resort – A magical place in complete harmony with nature. This is what I'm looking for.

That is rustic!

I don't know if they will be able to help you but the Central Caribbean Marine Institute's (CCMI) Little Cayman Research Center (LCRC) offers educational programs in partnership with schools and other groups to offer various courses and programs. They have dormitories, bath houses, composting toilets, dive boats, and a fully-equipped dive center.

If they don't have anything going during your week they may be able to accommodate you. It might be worth a try, or perhaps they could suggest other options. I have no idea how much it costs but see the link below.

I have only done boat diving on LC but @Ricardo V. has recent shore diving experience on Little Cayman so he may be able to provide some information for you.

Facilities |

The Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC) is located on the north side of Little Cayman. It is approximately 6,600 square feet in size and situated on 2 acres of land with 1,400 feet of reef-protected beach. The LCRC opens onto the beautiful Caribbean Sea, with the world-renowned Bloody Bay Marine Park less than 1/2 mile to the west.

CCMI is a fully operational research institute, open throughout the year and includes an in-house team of researchers, as well as many visiting researchers and education groups. LCRC can house up to 24 researchers or students in dormitories and has an additional 7 private rooms for staff or researchers. There is office space to accommodate visiting scientists and a VIP suite that offers additional privacy away from the larger groups.

The institute was designed by architect John Doak and has a series of connected pavilions (see figure below). The Main Pavilion (centre), Kitchen Pavilion (right), and Outdoor Wet Lab Pavilion (left) form the main core of the centre. A fully sustainable Bath House Pavilion (far left) includes showers and washroom facilities and is completely off the grid (including composting toilets which take a little bit of getting used to but are a fantastic environmental solution to waste)...

...CCMI has three boats, including a 34 foot Newton (hull) purpose built dive boat with a capacity for 16 divers with 32 tanks, or 18 snorkelers. The 21 foot Mako dive boat has a capacity of 4 divers with 8 tanks, or 6 snorkelers. A 12 foot Carolina skiff with a capacity for 2 divers with tanks, or 4 snorkelers in the lagoon is available. The boats are chartered with a boat captain for research.

CCMI is a fully equipped scuba diving facility, with 40 scuba tanks, 11 Nitrox tanks and ~20 sets of rental scuba gear for researchers and students. A new Bauer compressor was installed in 2016 and is located in the ground floor of the bath house pavilion for filling scuba tanks on site.

There are two pickup trucks and two 15-person vans for transportation around the island. A fleet of beach bikes and kayaks are available for visiting scientists and students.

 

[KathyV]

@Leevie, I am just checking back to see if you found a suitable place to take your class?

 

[Leevie]

I haven't found an ideal solution. I was very excited about Al Natural in Boca Del Toro, Panama. It is exactly what I was looking for, but they will be closed the week we need to do our trip. It is a place I would recommend to anyone who wants to find a Caribbean out of the way place where tourism is minimal. i am currently working out the details with Compass Point on Grand Cayman. Its close to what I'm looking for, but its more expensive than I was hoping to find. I need to see whether it fits into their budgets. I'm still open to another idea but time is getting short to make plans.

Thanks for all of your ideas.

 

[KathyV]

I haven't found an ideal solution. I was very excited about Al Natural in Boca Del Toro, Panama. It is exactly what I was looking for, but they will be closed the week we need to do our trip. It is a place I would recommend to anyone who wants to find a Caribbean out of the way place where tourism is minimal. i am currently working out the details with Compass Point on Grand Cayman. Its close to what I'm looking for, but its more expensive than I was hoping to find. I need to see whether it fits into their budgets. I'm still open to another idea but time is getting short to make plans. Thanks for all of your ideas.

Sounds great, I hope that you will be able to work something out with Compass Point. But it is quite a distance from the GCM airport so be sure to include airport transfers (or vehicle rentals?) in your negotiations or expense calculations. Taking a taxi all the way to the East End can be quite pricey.

Also, make sure (when you are negotiating a price for accommodations any place in the Caymans) that it includes the 13% mandated government tax. Sometimes there are service charges, too - but that is more common in the developed, touristy areas. That sounds high but the government tax is 19% on Roatan and other sites in the Honduras, and some countries have immigration exit fees, or marine park fees, etc. They don't charge exit fees and marine park fees in Cayman, but they do charge $20 CI for a temporary drivers permit - unless you have an international drivers license. All those little extras add to the total expense - wherever you decide to go.

BTW, there is no shore diving on the East End of the island near Compass Point. If you want to include shore diving you will probably need to arrange transport to the northern part of the West Side of the island. The shore dive locations have onsite vendors that do NOT allow outside tanks, but the price isn't bad - usually $12 to $15 for a tank with weights.

Did you take a look at Cobalt Coast? It is definitely "off the beaten path" and remote from the tourist areas on GC. And the North Wall has beautiful diving. They are an all-inclusive and have onsite shore diving and a very good onsite dive op. The price includes airport transfers, taxes, and hotel service charges.

If they have availability, they would probably give you a special price for a large group of students. The only question is, would they let you conduct instruction? I have no idea, but it may work for you and I think the price would be better than Compass Point - but of course I don't know that for sure.

In general, Compass Point may be a more expensive property than Cobalt Coast, but it is hard to compare. You can get 4 boat dives at CP but no shore dives. Compass Point is nice property and Ocean Frontiers is also a great dive op - and the East End diving is great, too.

Cobalt Coast has been doing renovations this month, but they have advertised plans to offer packages with 3 boat dives per day when they reopen in May, along with the free onsite shore diving. They might give you a good deal. And all of the meals are served outdoors - so that's rustic for Cayman!

Below is their current dive package offering, but I am confident that they could delete the 3 drinks and give you a better price for a large group, and maybe 3 boat dives per day along with the shore diving option. Their packages include quite a bit and it is a pretty good deal IMO.

Prices quoted on the Cobalt Coast website are per person double occupancy, but it is probably the same for Compass Point.

Grand Cayman Dive Packages | Cobalt Coast
The Classic Cayman Special — Starting at $1,725
Valid for Travel January 1, 2017–December 31, 2018

7 nights accommodations:

• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner package
• 12 boat dives
• 3 drinks nightly
• Complimentary use of dive computer
• Airport ground transfers
• Resort fees, taxes, and gratuities - except dive gratuities which are NOT included
• And more

 

[Johnoly]

I haven't found an ideal solution....

You want Cheap, overseas, rustic, un-plugged, be your own instructor, all inclusive ???

Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas Dive Liveaboards - Official Website

 

[KathyV]

You want Cheap, overseas, rustic, un-plugged, be your own instructor, all inclusive ???

Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas Dive Liveaboards - Official Website

That's a fantastic suggestion, the only thing missing are the mosquitos! No shore diving but otherwise perfect and you can't beat the price! You can often find good airfares to Nassau from the US, too.

Brilliant!

 

[outofofficebrb]

I don't know what the capacity is on Blackbeard's but you can look at a full charter and get a discount. You can also book as a group and possibly get some free of charge spots (e.g., buy 6 get 1 free) and amortize the cost/savings across the board. That should get you an even better deal.

 

[KathyV]

I am a scuba instructor looking for a replacement dive resort to take my college class for our open water trip May 19-26. Our regular dive resort is undergoing reconstruction and I'd like to find something reasonably similar. I'm looking for a small rustic place off the beaten path that is inexpensive and preferably all inclusive. We do a mix of shore and boat diving to cover all of the requirements. I like to get my students to disconnect on these trips so amenities and touristy things are unnecessary. I expect to have about 16 or so.

I've spent a lot of time looking through websites, but my guess is the kind of place I hope to find probably won't show up very high on a google search so I'm looking for suggestions.

@Leevie did you ever find a place to take your open water cert class? Just curious.