Recommendation for family-friendly dive vacation

[Alucard]

So I'd like to get some ideas from the very experienced folks here at ScubaBoard, because our little dive group is struggling a bit - sort of a "spoiled for choice" thing.

There are four adults - two couples - and two kids, aged around 8 and 10. The kids aren't into diving, but love splashing around in the water. We are OWC divers with around 80 dives, and try to do 1-2 trips a year.

We are looking for decent diving for the mornings (we recognize that it probably won't be the greatest, given our other limitations), with maybe some sort of kids club that the kids can do while we dive, and then some above-water things to do for the rest of the day. We are willing to do a self-catering arrangement, but would also consider an all-inclusive type thing if the quality of the food is good (we are foodies). One of the children has some pretty restrictive food requirements (is on a Feingold diet, if that means anything to you), so the resort would have to be prepared to work with us.

We have been to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Curacao, St Martin, Saba so would like to try a different island. Since we will only have a week, it should be relatively easy to get to from a major US hub (we don't need a direct flight, but overnight itineraries or red-eyes while traveling with the kids would be problematic).

So if you have an idea of an island, with maybe where to stay, and a good dive op to use (two of us rent equipment, so with decent equipment), that would be great.

Any tips and advice you can give us would be wonderful! Thanks.

 

[Kryssa]

Sounds like Anthony's Key, Roatan, would be a good fit for you. Up to 3 boat dives a day, kids programs, easy flight from Houston. You'd never have to leave the property, but you could if you wanted to see the rest of the island. You could do an island tour with ziplining the final day when nobody is diving. I'm just not sure if the food would be good enough for you, but it's Roatan- even if the food isn't perfect, the quality of diving should make up for it!

 

[diversteve]

Look at Provo (Providenciales) Turks/Caicos. There's several resorts - Beaches, Ocean Club, others - that cater to families. http://www.turksandcaicostourism.com/stay-providenciales.html There's also some excellent restaurants in Grace Bay. Providenciales Restaurant Guide

Local dives are 10mins. away off NW Point. There's also excellent diving off French Cay and West Caicos - about a 45min. run on a fast boat - Caicos Adventures has one. Grace Bay is supposed to be the Best Beach in the World so that covers the splashing in the water part. I rank the diving better than Grand Cayman - it's similar with deep walls just offshore but we saw a lot of sharks and bigger pelagics there that we didn't on Cayman. Delta Airlines from Buffalo looks like 8hrs. out - 9 hrs. back thru Atlanta. Rochester is similar.

If I was a foodie, I don't think I'd be happy with the food at AKR - it was better than average for a dive resort. Limited selection also for dinner IIRC. Otoh, the allegedly best Indian restaurant in the Western Hemisphere is 10mins. away in the West End. Ooloonthoo Indian Cuisine | Please Call: 504-9936-5223 | Roatan Honduras But you'd be hard pressed to find a 2nd choice there - maybe Argentinian Grille - but it's not fine dining. Posada Arco Iris - Restaurant There just isn't a lot of upscale dining on Roatan yet.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

Beaches would be a good fit, all inclusive including dives and have resorts all over the carribean, so alot to chose from.

 

[Gregory G.]

Nassau Bahamas - Stuart’s Cove
Took the family to Nassau Bahamas and stayed at Atlantis for holiday May 2012. For those who love the sea life, Atlantis has a 2.5M gallon aquarium home to 20,000 different species including 10’ Manta Rays whizzing by! Between that and the water park rides they we all set and I was off diving! This place is designed for kids/family. Stay at Harbourside, quite and they're the timeshare units with seperate bedrooms, kitchens. W/D & balcony.

Tossed the Titan rebreather into a suitcase and dove Stuart’s Cove for the week, famous for their shark feedings and movie productions, their Shark Dive is a must do with 30-40 Sharks in an absolute frenzy. Operations Manager Gary set everything up. Totally rebreather friendly, flexible and even tossed in free O2 (transfilled, no booster). Nice walls and a couple decent wrecks including "James Bond" Wrecks and the plane used for the set of ‘Into the Blue’. Shorter profiles but willing to work with you as well. Avoid the boats with the cruise shippers as they're on a schedule.

Locals were great and the local Fish Fry Market was off the Hook.....

Not a primary dive trip, but not bad either all things considering…

---------- Post added ----------

Also, check out Kids Sea Camp Bonaire....July 21-28, 2012. You also get to demo the Titan CCR rebreather for free....

I have a few friends taking the fam....

http://familydivers.com/bonaire.php

 

[Willar]

Look at the Iberostar Resorts across the Caribbean. We stay at IB Cozumel and IB Paraiso Lindo (Playa del Carmen) with families the last 2 summers and we had a great time. IBPL is a huge complex with many pools and several price levels. Dressel Divers runs the dive op at these resort and we have found their service to be excellent.

 

[IslandBreeze]

Beaches Turks & Caicos - Food Related Concerns / Special Dietary In regards to the food needs. What normally happens is prior to arrival, you or your agent can email the Executive Chef (Mr. Colin Watson), and just give him a break down of what food types the kids are allergic to and he will ensure that your request is taken care of. Beaches also has a Chef that is located in the main lobby in Caribbean Village that sits down with guests upon arrival and goes through their dietary needs while they are on property. On my last visit down there, I sat down with Chef Watson and spoke to him about Gluten Free dining and a few other things. Chef Watson is very proactive in the area of food safety and special dietary concerns. He spoke about making sure cross contamination did not occur by maintaining utensils and cookware used specifically for the different dietary concerns and his staff who are trained to provide meals to affected guests. I also found that at any given time, Chef said he is servicing 17 to 25 different guests with food related concerns. We are also particular about food choices and that's another reason we like BTC. You have 16 restauraunts there. One being a very nice Sushi Bar...my favorite!! My wife is actually heading back at the end of August and again in October. The Kids Club there is also very good. They have activities based on age groups. I have the 8-10 year old activity listing if you would like it. Speaking of documents, another nice one I have is the Fact Sheet. Its an 18 page .pdf document that i can email to you. I like that better than the website. I also like the Parrot Cay One Bedroom Honeymoon Suite (H1) but have your travel agent request suite 719 or 720. The reason being is this these two suites are right behind the dive shop & instruction pool and just forward of that are the dive boats. These two suites are also second floor with a nice balcony. And the light fixtures on the balconies are sturdy enough to hang your BC to dry. Plus these two suites have a decent view of Grace Bay. If you want ground floor, go for suite 709 or 710. I have pictures of the view if someone wants to see them. Italian Village is also a great choice too. I like the Piazza Poolfront suites. Tivoli Building (two story side) is closest to the dive shack.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Two important factors in choosing your destination are
1) Budget
2) Time of year you plan on going.

 

[flots am]

There are four adults - two couples - and two kids, aged around 8 and 10. The kids aren't into diving, but love splashing around in the water. We are OWC divers with around 80 dives, and try to do 1-2 trips a year.

Try a Caribbean cruise. They have staff that will watch your kids every second when you want to get away and leave them dog-tired at the end of the day so they'll just come back to the room and crash until morning.

You can go diving on pretty much any of the islands and if you make sure you pick a ship with good port times, you can arrange your own dives. On some of the islands (Curacao, for example) you can get off the ship early and dive your butt off all day on shore dives.

flots.

 

[arubabob1]

My vote is Aruba. Been there 29 times and over 100 dives and love it.
arubabobsnorkeling.com