Good tropical diving closer to the US

[Midget]

SLC to Belize City on Continental but booked through United's website = $442. Perfect itinerary.

Looks like I'll be diving Central America!

 

[Doubler]

You'll like Belize! Where are you staying?

 

[Midget]

You'll like Belize! Where are you staying?

No idea yet. Do you have a recommend?

I need to pop over to the Belize forum, eh?

 

[jlbdiver]

Saba or Statia. You can get to both quick through St. Marteen.

 

[BoltSnap]

Curacao is the place!! 2 hours from Miami on American. Beautiful diving with VERY easy shore access. I have been there 13 times already and I love it and want to go back really bad!! Reasonable prices.

 

[Golden Rock Divers]

It is a challenge for everyone in your part of the country to travel abroad especially the Caribbean due to the time changes. My first time to the Caribbean I was living in Colorado, we had to take a red eye to the east coast to make the connections down and I was just going sailing so we could fly to one of the big islands. For diving in the Caribbean you have to get to a smaller island where the nature has not been impacted by people as much. I just happen to live on such an island and can tell you that while it may not be the easiest place to get to it is worth it once you are here. Your options are to red eye to New York, Charlotte, or Miami, then take a direct to St. Maarten from their, 18 minutes to Statia, there will be a few hours layover in St. Maarten but you could do it all in one long day. If you have the time and want to get even more out of your travel time you could combine Saba as it is an 8 minute flight from Statia and a totally different experience. Between these two islands you will get some of the very best the region has to offer. Please let me know if I can be of any help to you.
Glenn Faires
Golden Rock Divers
St. Eustatius (Statia)
Golden Rock Dive Center ~ St. Eustatius (Statia), Dutch West Indies

 

[danvolker]

Florida? Hadn't even considered it! Although 70's sounds brrrrr cold. I'll poke around on the net about it.

I should have mentioned that I'm not a rich person and I take 3 trips (2 of them being a month in duration) per year so I have to be a frugal traveler to make it happen.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard that Hawaii has good diving. I've heard the contrary. That for the cost of being/diving there one can do much better.

Belize isn't difficult to get to, but 3 tank dives to the Blue Hole is $365! Is most of that for petrol? Can I do 9 Nitrox dives/3 days in Belize for < $500?

I'm seeing 25 to 30 hrs to get to Bonaire. I've got to try different booking engines because that's crazy!

Let me help you in your "poking around the net" regarding Florida as a better alternative for you.... Visit www.sfdj.com and go through the Zone Articles which describe how you would find the exact type of dive you would like most.


Quick list of reasons for you to think about Palm Beach diving :

• Most beautiful reefs in this hemisphere and much larger fish than in the alternative Island destinations such as Cayman, Bonaire, Coco View and most others.
• Most people who have dove Palm Beach extensively, and tried the Keys, will tell you there is no reason to visit the Keys--just dive Palm Beach
• Fly in directly to West palm Beach International Airport.
• As a scuba diver, you can stay at a 4 star hotel like the Hilton on singer Island ( an awesome Dive Resort! ) for $160 per night, you will not need the cost or use of a rental car, as the hotel will pick you up at the airport, and shuttle you to the dive boats for your dives ( also for free), and anywhere else on Singer Island you want to go for free.
• The food is exponentially better here than in ANY of the island destinations you have considered so far, and there is an enormous variety of things to do WHEN YOU ARE NOT DIVING....
• People come to Palm Beach to photograph sea turtles--this is sea turtle central for photographers
• People come to palm Beach to see sharks..nurse sharks to the southern side of Palm Beach, and to the north side you can see lemons, carribean reefs and bulls on the deeper reefs. There is no need to do a shark feeding--they are just there naturally, because it is a bigger marine life system, and the sharks are part of it.
• People come to Palm Beach to see a much bigger marine ecosystem, much more life, both small and large.
• you will get to be on boats with lots of better divers, versus many destinations where it is mostly "cruise ship quality" divers ( divers without any discernable diving skills). This tends to make diving far more enjoyable, and you can easily find buddies you will actually enjoy diving with.
• You can also dive FREE in the World Famous Blue Heron Bridge Marine Park ( about 1000 yards from the Hilton singer Island)...This place has become famous for the macro creature photography possible there....for more on this, check out the BHB thread on scubaboard in the Florida conch divers forum.

If you have any specific questions about what Palm Beach diving would be like for you, ask.

 

[Midget]

Bonaire flights take longer than going to Indonesia from my city plus don't cost much less when factoring in an overnight near the airport. I've heard they have significant bleaching issues. It that correct?

 

[jupitermermaid]

Dan said everything I would have said had he not posted first! I love diving in Palm Beach County, especially Jupiter. We have all the pelagics (including Goliath Grouper and Lemon Shark aggregations), four types of turtles (hawksbill, green, loggerhead, and leather), see an occasional whale shark (but very infrequently), sharks, (reef, bull, lemons in season, nurse, etc), and lots of little stuff like damselfish, flamingoe tongue, basslets, etc., I never get tired of diving in my front yard. I've been to the Keys and it's.....ehhhhhhh. I only go now when there is a SB invasion; otherwise it's bores me.

The BHB (Blue Heron Bridge) is one of the best shore dives anywhere! For such a small area, you can find seahorses, flying gurnards, stargazers, spotted eagle rays, huge starfish, an occasional manatee, and on and on and on.....

There is also a very inexpensive place to stay in the Palm Beach area. Jupitermermaid's Diver Inn (yeah, that be me...) has rooms for $50 nightly, or stay 6 nights and get the 7th free ($300 wk). Click on the link below my sig line to check out. I'm 8 minutes away from the best local dive shop and boat, 15 minutes away to the BHB and marina that has many excellent operations for West Palm Beach diving. It's about a half hour drive to where Divemaster of the Year, Kevin Metz, has his operation.

I've been to many places, but love, love, love it here in Palm Beach County!!

 

[stakanak]

Florida diving rocks! Hawaii is wonderful! Kona diving is amazing and if you search you will find great deals right now. Condo rentals are as low as they have ever been. The shore diving is fantastic and some of the three tank day trips are 100 bucks. If you hit up priceline you can get a rental car for $35 a day. Whoever said Hawaii diving is not good must have gotten beaten up by some angry locals.
Mahalo