Where would you go?

[Marie13]

@Crazybaldarcher

Well, if your wife doesn't want to do it, find a cold water dive buddy. Seriously. Unless you wife would have a cow if you went diving with anyone else but her.

I know several divers where one half of a regular buddy pair doesn't like certain conditions (cold, low viz, whatever) and tries to make the person who DOES want to dive those conditions feel guilty for wanting to dive without the other. Screw that. If you want to dive certain conditions/locations, whatever, find someone else to dive those with you.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Crazybaldarcher ,

Great that you will be certified at home and will not have to spend two of your days on vacation doing your OW checkout dives. Key Largo is great. It was my favorite until I discovered SE FL and bought a house in Boynton Beach.

I'm sure SB's @NetDoc and @mselenaous would be glad to give you advice for Key Largo. @drrich2 has a very good review of Rainbow Reef. They put a DM in the water, might be a good thing, for at least your first few dives.

Best of luck, good diving, Craig

PS. I would always choose to dive with my wife, and/or my son, and/or my daughter. If not them, I generally dive by myself

 

[KevinNM]

Bonaire has great diving, but there is a limited amount to do other than dive. If everyone is just there to dive that isn't a problem.

 

[Boiler_81]

My first dive trip many years ago was Key Largo. There are a lot of shallow reefs to kind of find your way with your new hobby before you take the training wheels off. Several have mentioned Cozumel. I have never been there myself but understand it is all current drift diving. If that is the case, I would avoid it for my first trip.

 

[Captain Swoop]

Abaco Islands and Marsh Harbour or Hope Town.
Shallow, warm, no big currents and plenty of reef diving.
Several good dive outfits working around Abaco.

 

[Crazybaldarcher]

Never accept the response from your SO when they say they don't have an opinion about something.

Trust me, they have an opinion.
We are back to square one.

Name off the dive, link a video or website about your favorite dive in the location you suggested

 

[scubadada]

Never accept the response from your SO when they say they don't have an opinion about something.

Trust me, they have an opinion.
We are back to square one.

Name off the dive, link a video or website about your favorite dive in the location you suggested

Good luck, you've gotten a lot of helpful information to ponder. Maybe you should just go where your wife wants to, I'm sure it would be fine.

 

[Schwob]

Someone said "go where the wife wants to". ... good advise!
If you are a group of friends and diving is the main objective, I think a place with not that much else to do is not a problem. Good company is good company.
I think a place like Bonaire with warm water, good visibility and ample self guided shore diving is great because you, out of necessity, start out thinking of dives as "your dives", not the DM's or guide's dive. My son and I went to Bonaire right after our OWs, and we thought it was great and while it is easy diving, we enjoyed the (for us at the time) "adventuring aspect". I think because we had to think about what we were doing and plan a little how we get out and back (day and night) and discuss which dive to go to and why over another etc. it made us think about diving differently than had we just followed a DM around wherever to... For that Bonaire is nice... we thought. We were there 11 diving days and did not need to worry about running out of things to do. But we were in agreement about this being a diving trip. If the trip is meant to be a tourist trip with some diving, then Bonaire is not the place.

 

[rhwestfall]

We are taking our newly certified daughter to Key Largo which will be her first dives. Shallow reefs and lots of critters, and warm water! Easy to get to.

 

[tattooedjeeper]

We are taking our newly certified daughter to Key Largo which will be her first dives. Shallow reefs and lots of critters, and warm water! Easy to get to.

Same here! We're going June 18-25th. It'll be her first ocean dives and we picked it specifically because it's shallow, lots of critters, warm and very easy diving for her first trip.

I've been to Cozumel twice and would not want that to be her first ocean experience. Others will disagree but, for me, it's not the best place for a brand new diver.