You might also want to consider Guanaja- The off the beaten track and unspoiled Bay Island:
Scuba Diving Trips & Snorkeling, Guanaja Clearwater Divers
Scuba Diving Trips & Snorkeling, Guanaja Clearwater Divers
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Ok. I can't help myself. The title of this thread reminds me of a conversation I had with someone who was on the same boat as us in the DR. We were diving and the individual was snorkeling.
After I learned that he was from the same town, I asked him how he ended up coming to the DR. He said that he asked all of his coworkers, if there was only one place in the Caribbean that he could go on vacation, where would it be. He said that all of his coworkers said go to the DR.
After he told me that, I replied, your coworkers don't like you very much do they.
To put that in context, even the natives can't drink the water in the DR, you will get sick if the bar filter is not operating correctly (as did 7 of our party of 8), the roads in the area were so non-existent that people had to travel by boat up and down the coast, we got shaken down by a tour operator, and the diving is not good. The last straw was when the security guy tried to steal my regulator set at the airport.
Think about going to the BVI's and Cayman Brac. If you go to Cayman Brac, do not fly the Cayman Airways puddle jumper between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
We loved the diving off Roatan.Roatan is a good place for someone who hasn`t dived in 20 years.....you`d probably like West End and it has a number of good dive shops to pick from. The dive sites are a short boat ride away and there is very little current.....aquatic life is good, but not as prolific, or as large as Cozumel, for example. There are eagle rays and turtles (no mantas) but few, if any sharks.
Placencia in Belize is probably a bit closer to the laid back village you`re looking for.....good diving too, but the boat rides are 45 minutes to just over an hour. You do get a hot lunch and surface interval on a beautiful caye though. If you`re interested contact Patti at Splash Dive.
www.splashbelize.com/
Little Cayman is lovely. I had a great experience at Little Cayman Beach Resort. The island is very small and quiet, but in my opinion better diving than the more posh Grand Cayman. That being said, Sunset House in Grand Cayman is a family favoriteLittle Cayman.