Help with next dive destination

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After T&C, most dives in the Caribbean would be disappointing with regard to shark action I have been to Cocos, Galapagos, and Revillagigedos, and would generally not recommend these sites for divers with such few dives. Perhaps the east end of Grand Cayman with Ocean Frontiers, the southeast end has quite a few Reef Sharks.
 
It’s neither here nor there actually for me compared with Belize etc. Coz is a slight step up because of the drift diving and you can do cenotes...imo..

Roatan could be in the first group.

missing Guadeloupe as well actually..which is great for 48 hours...but then there are only so many more days you want to get back in that cage to see the same great whites imo...

then after all of them, some ‘collectionist/completist’ ones like:

silfra
God’s pocket
Greenland
West coast of Ireland
Norway orcas
Sri Lanka blue whales
Fiji heat run
Etc
Etc.. :)
 
Curacao is a great place to go diving, particularly on the west end. Lots of dive operators offering boat dives and plenty of shore dive opportunities. I've been to SXM 8x over the past 10 years but before I got my dive certification. I've stayed on both the Dutch and French sides. Have also taken the ferry a few times to Anguilla and St Barts. Personally, I believe Curacao is a better diving option. More dive sites and dive operators than SMX. Less expensive to dive. More European than SXM. Clearer water and less current on Bonaire, at least on the west side. I'd also rate Bonaire a little ahead of Curacao for a diving only vacation. I've not yet been to Roaatan but on my bucket list along with Grand Cayman. Hope this helps.
 
Curacao is a great place to go diving, particularly on the west end. Lots of dive operators offering boat dives and plenty of shore dive opportunities. I've been to SXM 8x over the past 10 years but before I got my dive certification. I've stayed on both the Dutch and French sides. Have also taken the ferry a few times to Anguilla and St Barts. Personally, I believe Curacao is a better diving option. More dive sites and dive operators than SMX. Less expensive to dive. More European than SXM. Clearer water and less current on Bonaire, at least on the west side. I'd also rate Bonaire a little ahead of Curacao for a diving only vacation. I've not yet been to Roaatan but on my bucket list along with Grand Cayman. Hope this helps.

Our OP wants to see some big critters but aren't quite experienced enough for "where the wild things go".

Does Curacao have sharks? Eagle ray's?
 
It’s really mainly tiger beach in the Bahamas surely?.....

‘you could go see mantas and sharks on a liveaboard in the Maldives, but then you have taken that step and ruined he Caribbean a little too soon...

I love you are doing your research though...as opposed to the guy who shows up at lembeh and then gives it 0/10 because ‘there were no hammerheads’ :)
 
It’s really mainly tiger beach in the Bahamas surely?.....

‘you could go see mantas and sharks on a liveaboard in the Maldives, but then you have taken that step and ruined he Caribbean a little too soon...

Also, the current there will kick their ass
 
Hey Chilly.....personally I haven't seen any sharks in Curacao waters other than at the Sea Aquarium. :)
I know there are shark boat tours in Curacao. Not my cup of tea. Also have not seen any eagle rays but understand that they are there - west side. I bumped into one accidentally off of Captain Don's dock in Bonaire.
 
Hi everyone.

This is my first post here. We are relatively new divers, with around 35 dives (AOW). We have dived mostly in Turks and Caicos and loved it.
We are looking to get away in February or March because we really need to relax and would love to get some more dives under our belts.
For new divers, we have excellent air consumption (dives of 1 hr and surfacing with 1000 psi), and good buoyancy skills as well, so don't mind trying diving that is a little challenging.
We are looking at Roatan, Curacao or Saint Martin.
Cozumel or PDC may also be an option as a lot of people say good things about diving there.

My concern is, I absolutely want to see big fish. I love sharks and big marine life and disappointed when I do not see them on a dive. We haven't started taking photography on dives yet because we are still working on perfecting our skills, therefore the micro marine life doesn't hold that much interest for me yet.


I'm leaning towards Saint Martin as I heard that there is a lot of wildlife to see, but I have heard that the economy has not recovered from Irma, and reports of crime making people feel unsafe.

Diving around Little Cayman you are likely to see a few sharks but also lots of turtles, eagle rays, sting rays, grouper, lobsters, eels, and other larger sealife.




Does anyone have any feedback on these dive destinations?

I have never heard St. Martin described as a great dive destination (?) but we once did a liveaboard trip in that area, mostly St. Kitts and Saba and it was very nice diving but not big stuff.

I agree with @scubadada that you are likely to see sharks and turtles off the East End of Grand Cayman, check out Compass Point and Ocean Frontiers.

If you go to Little Cayman, you will probably see a few sharks but you will also see turtles, eagle rays, stingrays, groupers, eels, lobsters, and lots of reef life.
 
If you go to Little Cayman, you will probably see a few sharks but you will also see turtles, eagle rays, stingrays, groupers, eels, lobsters, and lots of reef life.

Agreed. I recommended to the OP, Southern Cross Club on Little Cayman, but there are a couple other places to stay/dive there as well. We dove for 6 days there, so about a dozen dives, and saw reef sharks on most of our dives along with the other stuff you mentioned. The OP mentioned "needing to relax" and also wanted to dive. Little Cayman is total relaxation when you're not diving.....because there's nothing there but a beach and beautiful water! :)
 
Curaçao is a nice place for diving and after diving, while eagle rays are easy to find as are turtles if lucky you may see one of these
5E288292-0B36-4D97-977A-6A311A00AD41.jpeg

But don’t expect it, this is more likely
944D2DDF-97EC-47A9-865E-A666E3062EE8.jpeg

After diving or between diving there are great places to eat (ribs factory for one) and for now the cost is very low.
 

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