Where to go in the Caribbean?

[drrich2]

Quite a # of reviews I read, such as on Undercurrent, indicate divers saw sharks diving St. Croix. At least off the north coast, I suspect.

Richard.

 

[divezonescuba]

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.

 

[scubadada]

Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point, East End of Grand Cayman

 

[KathyV]

...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.

Unless you go by boat on the Cayman Aggressor, the Cayman Airways interisland flights are the only way to get to Brac from Grand Cayman. But they do offer a jet flight to/from Brac everyday if you prefer bigger planes. We always fly over in an Otter or a Turboprop because my husband really likes the Otter flights.

If you go to Little Cayman the only flights available are on the Otters because the airport is too small, but they are short flights, a half hour at the most, so it is no big deal.

 

[Oceansrdeep]

I'm looking to do 2 weeks of diving in the Caribbean with my father soon, but don't even know where to start. I've been diving for about 10 years now, though I took 4 years off... Have been back at it for a year now. Very comfortable in cold water, even more so in warm. My dad hasn't been diving in 20 years, though, so I figure warm water is definitely the best way for him to get back into it. And vacations are always great.

With that said, we'd really like to see reefs with lots of colourful fish species, and possibly even some more exotic animal species like mantas. Sharks would be great as well.

A big issue is the local culture... I'd really like to avoid resorts and crowds, and would love to find somewhere that's a sleepier area where we can get a little pension in a fishing town or something comparable but still have access to some amazing scuba.

Thoughts that have come to mind have been Belize, Cuba, and Mexico.

Any thoughts on these locations would be greatly appreciated!

(Re Mexico: also curious about Gulf of California vs Caribbean)

Tou cannot go wrong with roatan. Ot is very good diving. It is affordable and diving is cheap. Some of the best reef in the world there. A dive operation at every corner and believe it or not dive sites are never visited by more than one boat at a time.

 

[Scuba Legends]

Hy

Check this, it might be helpfull:

Top Diving Destinations: Riviera Maya - Scuba Legends

Happy Bubles

Gery @ScubaLegends

 

[wizbangdoodle]

I'm going to 2nd the vote for the east end of Grand Cayman.

 

[diversteve]

With two weeks it's easily possible to do a week on Roatan then ferry over to Utila - or maybe Utila first since your flights would be into Roatan. On the weekend there's a direct ferry if you can get there in time for it, otherwise there's two ferries that get you there by 5pm with a 2pm departure from Roatan.

http://utilaferry.com/ - website isn't working, I hope that's not a sign...

Galaxy Wave | Roatan to La Ceiba Ferry goes from Roatan to La Ceiba on the mainland then the Utila Princess (docks next door) to Utila. Allow an hour thru Roatan Immigration and it's about a 15min. cab ride to the ferry dock. You can also fly, contact Alice at Worldwide Travel on Utila for options. World Wide Travel | Facebook Flights have to complete in daylight - there's no lights at the Utila Airport (grass strip)

Utila is pretty small and inexpensive. Find some accommodations outside of town since the DM trainees inhabit the bars at night so the music can be an issue in town. Lots of dive operations, an outside chance to see Whalesharks most of the year - an excellent chance Feb-May or so. They can start you out shallow - Black Hills is one of the better dives IMO - a seamount at 60' or less. I have never stayed there but one option is Coral View resort - they're about 15mins. walk to "town". Quiet but nicer is Utopia Village - due to it's location all traffic to there is via boat. aboututila.com lists most things you need to know.

On Roatan you've got 4-5 AI resort choices - all fairly isolated by location/fencing/being on islands. Our pick is the West End find something a little east or west of town for quiet. Or West Bay - although there's a few larger resorts. Sandy Bay to the east is a lot quieter yet close to most things. Nice thing about staying near/in the West End is it's pretty much all walkable and many of the dive operations are based there - as is shops and restaurants. We walked around all week from a house five mins. to the east on Half Moon Bay point - pretty quiet at night. In that area, Cocolobo, Inn of Last Resort or Seagrape Plantation would be quieter options besides private rentals.

Dives on either island run about 10/$300/350. Lots of good diving all over Roatan but I liked the north side of Utila even more - it's very vertical in places. You won't see many sharks on Roatan except at the feed dive but we saw one every 2-3 dives on Utila. Lots of turtles, there's the paid Dolphin dive at Anthony's Key etc.

Having done a lot of the better diving in the Caribbean - Cayman is better than Roatan. Turks/Caicos might be even better. Both have deep walls and a profusion of coral because of it. Lots of big pelagics in the Turks/Caicos but land based requires some longer boat rides from Provo. You can stay at any number of condo resorts on Provo or rent a house in a quieter area.

I have not been to Grand Turk but understand it's still pretty small and un-populated - nice thing there is they have a wall just off one side that runs the length of the island. IDK what effect the cruise port has there. Both Cayman and Provo were among the most expensive places I've dove in the Caribbean.

 

[dlofting]

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/

 

[Trailboss123]

If you are thinking about Belize, check out
Huracan Diving Lodge - Best location in all Belize when it comes to diving.
www.blueholedivingbelize.com

This is exactly what I was going to say-- Check out Huracan in Belize.