First timer Caribbean, where to go

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kassj0peja

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As european especially the Lesser Antilles were never on my list. But the next big trip should include some islands in the Lesser Antilles. But I dont know much about them.

Which islands are less developed? I prefer spectacular underwater topography and colors. I am not into wrecks. Water should be clear and I am not a supporter of shark feeding. The islands should offer great hiking and if possible rafting.

Saba in combination with St. Maarten or St. Kitts + Sint Eustacius is my favorite so far but the more I read about more southern islands the more I am confused again.

What are your experiences and what would you recommend?
 
Lots of unusual sea-life in Dominica and it is a beautiful, wild and undeveloped island; but they were recently hit by a bad tropical storm and I don't know the status of the island at this time.
 
Lots of unusual sea-life in Dominica and it is a beautiful, wild and undeveloped island; but they were recently hit by a bad tropical storm and I don't know the status of the island at this time.
Very bad, I hear. I'm monitoring conditions on Dominica closely. I'd like to get back this winter if conditions are reasonably good. They are not at the moment, especialy if you are a visitor who wanders all over the island as I do. I have been there well over a dozen times since the late 90s. It's my favorite island in the Caribbean, but even at the best of times it may not be the best choice for a first visit, especially if two days are needed each way.

St Vincent and the Grenadines, also hard to get to, is a wonderful place.
 
Though I haven't gotten to Dominica yet, that and St. Vincent were going to be my suggestions. I've been to St Vincent a number of times and it seems Dominica is similar in some ways.

I was also hoping to go to Dominica soon, possibly this fall or winter. Agilis - can you suggest any good resources for keeping tabs on things there? Last I read anything it sounded like Castle Comfort and Fort Young were open but the airport wasn't open yet. And that the new Buddy Dive op had a boat run aground (don't know how many they have or how bad that was.)
 
from my own limited experience:

Bonaire

Grand Cayman

Roatan
 
all good Caribbean dive destinations, but none of which are part of the Lesser Antilles. (Or maybe Bonaire is by some definitions, but pretty much fails the OPs other criteria.)

from my own limited experience:

Bonaire

Grand Cayman

Roatan
 
The only other thing you do on Saba is hiking the mountain trails. It certainly qualifies as less developed. St Martin is a cruise port and the diving there isn't great either from what's posted here.

Bonaire is underdeveloped to a certain extent - esp. once you leave the city as it's pretty desolate. Most shore dive sites don't have any facilities so the only people you see are other divers typically. There is some hiking/biking but since the only mountain is like 1200' tall - not much. Also it's a desert island so hot in the summer. There are no rivers on Bonaire so no rafting - kayaking is done on the ocean or in the Mangrove lagoon on the east side. No natural run-off and the entire island has been a marine park for decades so the water clarity is often very good - 100' or more is pretty typical.

Curacao has the same diving, is 50 miles away and is bigger. The far west is very quiet though - finding food much after 9PM is difficult in that area. And there's hiking in Christoffel Park among other places. Just not a lot of elevation there either although more than Bonaire. Similar water clarity as Bonaire but the reef on Curacao is different in more places than Bonaire - many of the south Bonaire sites start to look similar after a week.

Aruba is the most developed of the ABC's. I haven't been there because of that. Also Bonaire/Curacao have better diving from what I've read. Coming from Europe you'll probably find better direct flights to Aruba or Curacao - Insel Air provides inter-island service or there's a few smaller options also like Divi Air.

In the VI's St. Thomas is also a large cruise port. There's sort of a large mountain in the middle of the island that you drive over to get to the east/north sides so there's probably hiking - I don't know. The East End around Red Hook is much quieter although there are still a few bigger condo complexes. It's actually the origin point for most of the VI's nearby. St. John is a whole lot quieter with about 3-4 dive operators. I believe a lot of it has hiking trails since much of it is still un-developed by choice.

The fast ferries are how you get to the BVI's from St. Thomas - Jost Van Dyke is a really quiet small island - there's only one dive operator there though so make sure they're open. Virgin Gorda is also really quiet, upscale, has excellent hiking and great beaches. It's a very vertical island - mostly consists of low mountains with beaches at the waters edge. At a lot of them you're the only ones there that day. However it's all boat diving.

Tortola is the biggest island, the cruise port but either end is very quiet also. Similar topography as Virgin Gorda so I'd assume there's hiking also. No rafting at any of them since there's no rapids/rivers. Most of the dive operators work out of Tortola except DiveBVI based on Virgin Gorda. bviscuba.org for all the options.

Most of the VI's are shallower diving with good visibility. We often saw a few reef sharks on a dive.
 
Hiking Trails | Soft Adventure | Explore

Grenadas Waterfalls

I'm currently smitten with Grenada and Carriacou, however, I'm not sure it will provide the "spectacular underwater topography" you seek.

Not knowing where else you've been diving, makes it difficult to advise you on colorful, in that the Caribbean reef (s) is not particularly known for incredible colors.

Bequia really surprised me! I found it quite colorful and extremely photogenic from the perspective of there being life everywhere we looked. Eels everywhere and not in the least bit shy. Huge lobsters right out on the reef challenging us in defense of their harem. Blennies poking out of every hole, juvenile spotted drums doing their ribbon dance under every other overhang. Hard coral gardens, soft coral gardens and fabulous rock gardens, where the water overhead would turn to a beautiful milky froth as the waves were repelled by the cliffs above. I watched in wonder from the peacefulness below as schools of silversides winkled and wrinkled past us.

Now then Grenada and Carriacou. We didn't have the best visibility when I was there last spring, regardless, I'm returning in two months to see it again. Carriacou completely enchanted me on the surface, the old Caribbean! And I saw things there that I've never seen before. Example, a school of scrawled triggerfish, nose down, tailfins up, dozens of them together!. Some of the topography was very nice too but I'm not sure that it would be what you seek. Because visibility was down, the topography I enjoyed was close. So many lobsters! We counted up to 16 lobsters in one hole, all waving their antennae at us. We couldn't helped but laugh and play, ever so gently fencing them using our pointers. Never only one arrow crab but 3-4, fully out defending large Pedersen Cleaning Shrimp, and along with them banded coral shrimp. Teeny sea goddess nudibranchs and large leopard flatworms that seemed to be speckled in gold. Strings of bubbles escaping through the seabed from volcanoes deep below

Visibility. I don't know what to tell you. It's always a crap shoot no matter where you go. I've experienced near blinders in racing current in the Maldives. What am I going to do? Ask for my money back? No! I tripled down. Two trips last winter and a new itinerary this January. But I digress . . .
 
As european especially the Lesser Antilles were never on my list. But the next big trip should include some islands in the Lesser Antilles. But I dont know much about them.

Which islands are less developed? I prefer spectacular underwater topography and colors. I am not into wrecks. Water should be clear and I am not a supporter of shark feeding. The islands should offer great hiking and if possible rafting.

Saba in combination with St. Maarten or St. Kitts + Sint Eustacius is my favorite so far but the more I read about more southern islands the more I am confused again.

What are your experiences and what would you recommend?

What time of year are you planning to go? That's makes a difference because you need to think about Hurricane season and water temperatures. When you say rafting, do you mean river rafting or ocean kayaking?

Why are you focusing on the Lesser Antilles? Are you open to visiting other areas of the Caribbean too?
 

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