Where's the best diving in the Carribean during winter months?

[diversteve]

I think the non-divers will find less to do on Bonaire to the point of being bored. (dvrliz1 will likely disagree...lol)

Another option you might consider is Curacao. It's the "C" in the ABC's (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao)

It has the identical great diving as Bonaire but is a slightly larger (I think), much more populated island. I actually think the diving there is more diverse than Bonaire but Bonaire gets the nod for water clarity. All of Bonaire is in a Marine Park, only the east side of Curacao is. Conversely we thought the best diving was in west Curacao.

With size comes more non-dive things to do, bigger resorts - the Marriott is nice, there's about a dozen casinos, nightlife, a famous Jewish synagogue, a shopping district downtown by the cruise port, Ostrich farm, some old forts etc. The downside is there's more crime/congestion as there's an oil refinery and deepwater port in Willemsted also.

It has much better beaches than Bonaire - there's many more and they're more developed - most will have some sort of snack bar/rental place on site. A lot of them also have a dive operator so you can rent tanks/weights. Some like Porto Mari have both a nice beach, good food and gear rentals - you dive the double reef right there. It's one of the better dives in that area.

There's both a quiet side to Curacao (west around Westpunt) and a more active part - Willemsted downtown for shopping/sightseeing - lots of cruise traffic during the day - and the resort area east of town around the Seaquarium.

It's also easier to get to through Miami, Houston (and counterintuitively) Newark.

With non-divers I'd go there. The water will also be warmer than in Cozumel. Bonaire doesn't change much from 78-82/4 all year - I'm guessing Curacao is the same as it's only 30 miles away.

 

[waterkitkat]

Hi Steve,

I'm going to Curacao this December. It is one of the stop offs on a cruise that I am taking. So do you have any tips on what dive shop to check out. Being on a cruise sucks with time, but I am getting to hit 8 different islands in two weeks so I can't complain.

Just trying to figure out the best way to handle finding a good shop and juggling the time constraints in regards to how much time I have on the island.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Kat

 

[diversteve]

Hi Steve,
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Kat

PM sent...

 

[Bay Island Diver]

Then Western Caribbean should not be overlooked Roatan in the Bay Islands of Honduras offers excellent diving all year round. When it is rough on one side of this thin long island, its calm on the other!

 

[Connorc]

I suggest Cozumel or Belize. The diving is slightly better in Belize. Cozumel has a lot more going on when not diving. Bonaire, the diving is great, but pretty boring when you're not diving.

 

[fuggler]

What if you just went to Bonaire this year and don't want to return just yet? I have the same problem... Asia's way too expensive, Caribbean's more affordable but it's rainy everywhere :|

 

[DeputyDan]

This trip is going to be with my family (my grandmother is taking me my mother and my sister though my mom and I will be the only ones scuba diving). My grandma was also looking at a really good deals on trip to Cozumel, Mexico. So between Bonaire and Cozumel, which one do you think?

Cozumel is almost always cheaper - than about anywhere else....
It can be even cheaper if you fly into Cancun and take the ferry.

 

[daniel1948]

... Bonaire... The majority of the people speak English...

I was in Bonaire a few years ago. It's a Dutch island, so everyone speaks Dutch. The natives all speak Papiamentu plus Dutch and Spanish. The Dutch people pretty much all speak English, as well as any of the natives working directly with tourists. Storekeepers speak enough English to sell you stuff, but not all of them speak enough English for a conversation.

If all you speak is English, you'll get along fine. But if you speak English and Spanish you can talk to everyone. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that all the natives spoke fluent Spanish. So I could converse with the groundskeepers at the resort, who spoke no English, as well as native storekeepers whose English was insufficient for anything other than telling you the prices of stuff.

I, too, am looking for a warm-water diving destination for winter

 

[ltkenbo]

So it turns out we're going to Cancun.

 

[ltkenbo]

I am making another post here cause the forum won't let me post a link in my other post till I have 5 of them.