Most beautiful dive site : difficulty ratio

[ls1dreams]

Hi all,

I'm looking to plan out some vacation dives over the next few years. As most people know these trips aren't cheap. I'm also a beginner diver (AOW, but we all know that doesn't mean much).

What dive sites would you say have the best sites with the least difficulty?

i.e. Not super deep, no extremely strong currents, etc. No cave diving unless it's similar to the cenotes.

I'd say I prefer good animal life over pretty corals. Haven't done a wreck yet but honestly without penetration that don't really look all that exciting to me (of course I'm open to suggestions that might be awesome).

 

[Rhone Man]

I've dived in a few places around the world - the most benign diving I've done which was also of a super high quality was probably either Cayman or the Philippines. But if you live in DC I am guessing Cayman is a lot closer.

Cayman dive ops will call a dive and move to a calmer site in conditions that to me resemble a swimming pool.

 

[pepperbelly]

I don't have a lot of experience vacation diving but everything I have read makes Cozumel sound like the best value with good diving. There are wrecks, reefs, deep or shallow, a very manageable current for drift dives, etc.

 

[mi000ke]

I've dived in a few places around the world - the most benign diving I've done which was also of a super high quality was probably either Cayman or the Philippines. But if you live in DC I am guessing Cayman is a lot closer.

Cayman dive ops will call a dive and move to a calmer site in conditions that to me resemble a swimming pool.

Another vote for the Caymans.

 

[flyboy08]

Simple:

Cozumel
Roatan
Belieze
Cayman(s)
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Panama

Bonaire-a bit more difficult

And that's just the Americas...come back when you competed these and we'll talk some more ;-)

 

[Streydog]

I don't have a ton of experience, most of it in Cozumel though. I went to Roatan in April and stayed in the West End. The diving is very easy with several dive sites, didn't see any sharks but plenty of turtles, eels and grouper with a few eagle rays mixed in. You do not need a vehicle and prices for everything except airfare are cheap.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

New Zealand the Poor Knights Islands has both amazing sea life and corals, sponges, etc. Was rated in the top ten dive spots in the world and has easy access with about ten different dive boats (from small to huge) servicing the Knights.

Friendly and safe dive operators.

There are also plenty of other attractions if diving isn't your only interest.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Cozumel had been mentioned more than once (and for good reasons) but there can sometimes be strong currents there which you said you wanted to avoid. Since you mentioned "cenotes" then you probably have dove along the Yucatan coast. I have been to Playa del Carmen and it sounds like it fits your descriptions. I have been to Maui and the Big Island and I think both might suit your requirements, both shore diving and boat diving. Costa Rica comes to mind too and so does Puerto Vallarta (abundant animal life). If you get to California you would probably enjoy the underwater park at Casino Point on Catalina Island. Please note that Costa Rica, Puerto Vallarta, and California are not cheap. Hawai'i seems to be more expensive on some things (food) and less expensive on other things (diving as compared to California and Costa Rica). Others may have a different point of view.

As far as expensive goes, I make very little money right now but manage to take 3-4 trips a year. Granted my girlfriend has a half-million airline miles with SouthWest (which helps a lot) but I often plan my trips according to the best deal on airfare. I also spend a fair amount of time looking at VRBOs instead of hotels or dive resorts. Not including airfare I have figured out how to spend 10 days on Cozumel for about $600 each (two people) by landing in Cancun and taking the ferry and the ADO bus. This includes three 2-tank dives with a highly respected dive op plus eating out two times a day (I usually just have a banana for breakfast). On Cozumel in particular it is possible to find a condolita with a kitchenette for as little as $21-$50/night but they are usually a short walk form downtown. I find it is usually cheaper to book dive packages and hotels or condos separately. You can eat very well on Cozumel for under $200 MX per day (two meals per day), and a lot less than that if you are willing to try "comida economica." On Cozumel you don't really need to rent a car and if you don't feel like walking taxis are cheap.

 

[shoredivr]

How is Bonaire more difficult? Perhaps to get there...but the diving, which was the first place I learned to shore dive, was not challenging for me when I had less than 35 dives.

 

[Schwob]

How is Bonaire more difficult? Perhaps to get there...but the diving, which was the first place I learned to shore dive, was not challenging for me when I had less than 35 dives.

Ditto, starting with first dives after OW. Seemed just ideal to get started and figure things out for real...