Where to go March 24-April 2?

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Scoooter961

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Location
Maryland
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200 - 499
My wife and I, both AOW, are looking at going somewhere in March from Washington DC. We are going to Little Cayman in May with our LDS so I don't want to go there but the places we are considering are

1. Grand Cayman (Sunset House)
2. Bonaire
3. Belize Aggressor III

Any thought as to which would be better during that time? Or any other places to consider that won't break the bank? We have only done group dives so options 1 and 2 would be our first independent non led dives.

AquaCat and the Cayman Aggressor are both full that week. Not interested in Blackbeard style
 
Hi @Scoooter961

Consider spending a week on Grand Cayman, staying at Compass Point and diving with Ocean Frontiers. All but the night dives have the option of diving with a DM and finishing off the dive with your buddy near the boat. Great operator, very good diving.
 
I wouldn't go to Grand Cayman if I was going to Little Cayman a coouple months later - the diving is very similar there's just more to do on the surface the rest of the day on the bigger island - the cruise traffic effectively congests downtown most days.

You can boat dive on Bonaire then gradually work into shore diving on your own. It's pretty easy off any of the dive resorts as they have dive docks/ladders etc. and many are on named dive sites so the diving is good. Anything around Bari Reef is excellent, low current shallow diving and it's the site with the most counted speciies of fish on the REEF fishcounts since the pretious dive shop specialized in them. Sand Dollar or Den Laman condos put you right on the reef - there's also several other known dive resorts next dooor - Buddy Dive, Habitat etc.

Bonaire flights often are higher because it's a beyond point for some airlines. Curacao is the regional hub 50 miles away and has the same or better diving with much easier entries - most off beaches instead of over ironshore like Bonaire. Our Curacao flights were a shorter connection and about $200 less and we book early. From there you should be able to get there pretty early - from Houston we were there by 2pm. American flies there.

First week of March I'm seeing under $800 r/t tp Curacao, closer to $1100 to Bonaire - Sat-Sat.

Also most sites have a dive operation on-site as well as food, on Bonaire once you leave town you're on your own. Most of the dives are over ironshore/coral rubble both onshore and into the water. It's slick and sharp so good boots are a must. At some sites people have marked the best entry points - usually with piles of oral rubble. No need for that on Curacao since most are beach entries. The few (I can think of 3) dives with difficult entries over ironshore on Curacao all have dive docks courtesy of the on-site operation. You can buy a tank package on either island but a couple times we just used the onsite rentals on Curacao - they were cheap and easier.

Compare entry photos here: Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

except for Skin Diver marketing hype a decade ago I don't see why anyone (including us) goes to Bonaire for the same divibng with more work and less amenities. You will drive a little farther between dive sites on Curacao but you have to do a Surface Interval anyway - I can't speak for you but we don't like to repeat dives as we don't have enough time to do them all during the week.
 
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Hi @diversteve

I find the East end of Grand Cayman quite different than Little Cayman with a large amount of diversity and choice of dive sites in the North, East, and South sides depending on conditions.

Don't get me wrong, I also love Bonaire, my wife's favorite Caribbean destination. If @Scoooter961 and his wife are reasonably independent, it could be a good choice. Much easier and cheaper to get to Grand Cayman than to Bonaire from most, but not all, locations.
 
All good location choices for your trip, and I don't think the weather that time of year would affect my choice, as it's getting into a very nice time of year to dive anyplace in the Caribbean. But they're such different places/diving/trips, it really depends what you would like best and there's not enough info to guess on that. I infer you're looking for not too challenging yet, which really most Caribbean diving isn't. Do you have a strong preference for boat vs. shore, or how many dives a day you think you want to do? If you're land based do you plan to rent a car?

I think Grand Cayman is different enough (above and bellow) from Little Cayman that you wouldn't feel you are repeating a trip. I'm not a huge fan of Sunset House. It's a great dive hangout atmosphere-wise, but we prefer nicer rooms and grounds if we can get them, and there's other options on Cayman we can get that and better diving. The shore diving is pretty convenient, but it's kind of beat. And they dive the West wall most of the time because of their location, which is my least favorite area to dive on Cayman. You may decide SH suits you, but I much prefer the mentioned Compass Point (no shore diving there) or some other places on the island. We haven't stayed at Cobalt Coast since it changed ownership and became part of the group with the sister islands resorts LCBR and BRBR, but that may be worth looking into if you haven't. They (CC) also have shore diving on site, though it's a longish swim and gets blown out much more often than someplace like Sunset House because of the location. But that location on the NE corner of the island allows you to access better diving, and there are a couple more sheltered places to go shore diving nearby if you want. Divetech is a very good op, though not "valet" like some others. They have shore diving at Lighthouse Point Condos which are on the pricey side, but also have a location at the Holiday Inn where the prices are reasonable and I think at least some of their boats leave directly from there now. There are tons of options on Grand Cayman, depends what kind of place and routine you want. Many people rent condos and get picked up for diving by one of the many good dive ops that do that. Having a kitchen has it's benefits and can save you a good amount of time and money, even if the condo costs more than a hotel room it may all come out in the wash anyway.

Bonaire is a good place to build experience on your own. Easy diving, easy to navigate and currents unlikely. Many people will imply Bonaire is only about shore diving and that's all they do there, or it's all you should do there. But boat diving is certainly available if you want it, and the boat diving is cheaper there than most places. Personally we always mostly did boat diving there, as we're not fans of hauling our gear all over the place. Different strokes and all that. We're actually also fans of Curacao over Bonaire, for the better flights, restaurants, and variety in the diving. I enjoy underwater structure as much as the life, and Bonaire is pretty monotonous in the UW topography department.

Belize is a great place to do a liveaboard as you get to spend all your time at some of the best diving in Belize, which is time consuming and expensive to get to if you're land based. I prefer the cabins and other inside spaces on the Aggressor IV over III, but both are good boats. My only complaint is the day they do the Blue Hole, because IIRC they only do 3 dives that day including the Blue Hole, and have a picnic lunch on Half Moon Caye. Thing is, I have no interest in wasting a dive on the Blue Hole, nor do I like picnic lunches on hot sandy buggy little islands, so I feel like it's wasting a day of my trip, and it deters me from doing it again. Of course if you want to do those things, then it's great. If you don't, it's still worth at least one trip. (I've done it 3 times, but one was a special itinerary, and another was to go with freinds who hadn't been there.) So if you're interested in trying a liveaboard and can get spots when you want to go, overall well worth doing.
 
Been to Bonaire 8 times; haven't dove Curacao. It's on my hoped for 'maybe someday' list, so I keep some threads for reference, as comparing the two has become a popular forum topic.

Curacao vs. Bonaire - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/473036-curacao-vs-bonaire.html
Bonaire vs Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/bonaire-vs-curacao.535918/
Curacao 1st Timer Trip Report - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-1st-timer-trip-report.527457/
Curacao Trip Report - Curacao Trip Report
Curacao Suggestions - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-suggestions.536523/
Place to stay in Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/place-to-stay-in-curacao.518346/ See Damselfish Post #3.
Curacao Trip with Teenagers in June - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-trip-with-teenagers-in-june.525886/
Curacao Lodging - Curacao Lodging?
Curacao Solo Diving with Cert. - Curaçao solo diving with cert
 
Wow, thanks for all the replies. I will start reading through the links and will surely have some more questions.
 
@Damselfish
You are correct in the fact that we aren't looking for too challenging yet. We don't have a preference as we have never shore dived... We will probably do 3-4 dives a day and will most likely rent a car. My biggest concern about going shore diving is the "getting lost" possibility. Neither of us have done any navigating underwater besides in our courses. And if my wife's underwater navigating skills are anything like her above water navigating, she'll be asleep by the time we get to 20 feet. Which is one reason I was leaning towards the liveaboard. I like the looks of the BA IV over the III but my wife is a teacher so we are limited to that week if we want to go and only the III is offering trips that week.


All good location choices for your trip, and I don't think the weather that time of year would affect my choice, as it's getting into a very nice time of year to dive anyplace in the Caribbean. But they're such different places/diving/trips, it really depends what you would like best and there's not enough info to guess on that. I infer you're looking for not too challenging yet, which really most Caribbean diving isn't. Do you have a strong preference for boat vs. shore, or how many dives a day you think you want to do? If you're land based do you plan to rent a car?

I think Grand Cayman is different enough (above and bellow) from Little Cayman that you wouldn't feel you are repeating a trip. I'm not a huge fan of Sunset House. It's a great dive hangout atmosphere-wise, but we prefer nicer rooms and grounds if we can get them, and there's other options on Cayman we can get that and better diving. The shore diving is pretty convenient, but it's kind of beat. And they dive the West wall most of the time because of their location, which is my least favorite area to dive on Cayman. You may decide SH suits you, but I much prefer the mentioned Compass Point (no shore diving there) or some other places on the island. We haven't stayed at Cobalt Coast since it changed ownership and became part of the group with the sister islands resorts LCBR and BRBR, but that may be worth looking into if you haven't. They (CC) also have shore diving on site, though it's a longish swim and gets blown out much more often than someplace like Sunset House because of the location. But that location on the NE corner of the island allows you to access better diving, and there are a couple more sheltered places to go shore diving nearby if you want. Divetech is a very good op, though not "valet" like some others. They have shore diving at Lighthouse Point Condos which are on the pricey side, but also have a location at the Holiday Inn where the prices are reasonable and I think at least some of their boats leave directly from there now. There are tons of options on Grand Cayman, depends what kind of place and routine you want. Many people rent condos and get picked up for diving by one of the many good dive ops that do that. Having a kitchen has it's benefits and can save you a good amount of time and money, even if the condo costs more than a hotel room it may all come out in the wash anyway.

Bonaire is a good place to build experience on your own. Easy diving, easy to navigate and currents unlikely. Many people will imply Bonaire is only about shore diving and that's all they do there, or it's all you should do there. But boat diving is certainly available if you want it, and the boat diving is cheaper there than most places. Personally we always mostly did boat diving there, as we're not fans of hauling our gear all over the place. Different strokes and all that. We're actually also fans of Curacao over Bonaire, for the better flights, restaurants, and variety in the diving. I enjoy underwater structure as much as the life, and Bonaire is pretty monotonous in the UW topography department.

Belize is a great place to do a liveaboard as you get to spend all your time at some of the best diving in Belize, which is time consuming and expensive to get to if you're land based. I prefer the cabins and other inside spaces on the Aggressor IV over III, but both are good boats. My only complaint is the day they do the Blue Hole, because IIRC they only do 3 dives that day including the Blue Hole, and have a picnic lunch on Half Moon Caye. Thing is, I have no interest in wasting a dive on the Blue Hole, nor do I like picnic lunches on hot sandy buggy little islands, so I feel like it's wasting a day of my trip, and it deters me from doing it again. Of course if you want to do those things, then it's great. If you don't, it's still worth at least one trip. (I've done it 3 times, but one was a special itinerary, and another was to go with freinds who hadn't been there.) So if you're interested in trying a liveaboard and can get spots when you want to go, overall well worth doing.
 
A liveaboard doesn't have anything to do with making navigation easier or harder, other than being a big noisy target. Some places and sites are simply easier to navigate than others, and shore dives can be easier than boat dives. (Bonaire is mostly so easy to navigate it's probably more useful for confidence building than actually getting much navigation practice, but that's a good thing too.)

Typically liveaboards in warm water destinations will have a divemaster in the water and give you the option of following them, or doing your own thing with your buddy. The same is true of most day boats from land based ops. (Unless there is an important reason to dive in a group, or you've found a fairly restrictive op.) If you're going to follow the divemaster, you may feel you don't have to navigate. But you should try to anyway - in case you lose the guide or just want to go your own way, and because if you just follow blindly you won't get any better at navigating. Easy navigation and not navigating aren't the same thing.

The only way to get better is to practice, and reading up on some tips can't hurt. It will come if you try. Take a navigation class if you haven't. And when you're near the end of your dive, shallow, and not quite sure of your location, it's not unheard of to make a careful ascent and peek. :wink:
 
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