Been to Roatan so where next?

[Yoda-X]

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Just back from Roatan and looking for suggestions for our next trip next February, March or April. We LOVED Roatan. Warm water, short boat rides and beauty under every wave. So, we are looking for direction on where we should go next. Not huge on the party scene, but don't want to be bored in the evenings either. Looking for 2 boat dives and possibly some shore diving for a third dive of the day. AI would be nice but not a must. Looking to spend between 4-5K for the trip including airfare from West Coast.

Hit me with some goodies please

 

[Scubagolf]

Cozumel. Checks every box.

 

[diversteve]

Checks every box

Also:

Curacao Official site - A Unique Caribbean Island Paradise
Bonaire Offical Site - Top Destination for Diving and Eco-Activities
https://www.caymanislands.ky/
Aruba: The Official Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) website
St. Croix | US Virgin Islands
http://www.gohawaii.com/en/maui/#undefined
http://www.gohawaii.com/en/big-island/#undefined

 

[Oldbear]

+1 Cozumel
+1 Bonaire

Also look at The Philippine Island and Thailand

 

[Yoda-X]

We are looking into Bonaire. We have friends with a house on the beach near La Paz Mexico so that is already a done deal. We have narrowed it down to either Bonaire or the Cayman Islands.

Any specific resorts we should look into at either location???

 

[H2Andy]

I loved Bonaire.

Grand Cayman was grand, if a bit pricey.

 

[wildbill9]

Bonaire- cheaper, great diving, local food not expensive and very good, loved the dive freedom. Cayman, we go to Little Cayman, diving---4 levels above incredible seriously best for carribean, pricey but very high quality, no nightlife. LC is our favorite dive location Bonaire and Belize our next. What is your price range?

 

[KathyV]

Cayman is our favorite dive destination but the water is a little cold in Feb, Mar, April - not real cold but in the 70s.

We prefer diving off Little Cayman and Cayman Brac and like to stay at the all-inclusive Little Cayman Beach Resort or Brac Reef Beach Resort when we visit the sister islands. But Grand Cayman is gorgeous and a lot of fun. The Caymans are expensive but there are ways to control the costs and the airfare is usually not too bad from the US. We stay in a 1-bedroom apartment when we are on Grand Cayman.

We love Bonaire and the water will be warmer at that time of year. The diving is very cheap in Bonaire but the airfare can be pricey. The best thing about Bonaire is the diving freedom. The entire island is dedicated to diving; but you should be comfortable shore diving to get the most from a trip to Bonaire. Petty thievery is a recurrent problem on Bonaire so you should leave the car/truck unlocked when you are diving and don't leave anything of value in the car.

Curacao is very similar to Bonaire but more developed and sometimes the airfare is cheaper so you might want to take a look at it too.

They are all great Caribbean dive destinations. I suggest staying in an apartment or condo on Cayman, Bonaire or Curacao because eating out 3 times a day is very expensive - or staying at an all-inclusive on the Cayman sister islands. You should rent a car/truck on Grand Cayman, Bonaire or Curacao. You don't need to rent one on Little Cayman or Cayman Brac.

Have fun, wherever you go!

 

[dlofting]

We're on the west coast, same as you. Last year I priced out Cozumel, Roatan and the Phillipines (Puerto Galera) and the costs were very similar. The higher airfare to the Phillipines was offset by lower accomodation and dive costs. It's something you might want to look at......I wasn't looking for AI though.

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

We look for places with low bug population so we have taken both Roatan and Utila off our lists. We have been to Utila maybe 15 trips and Roatan 5 or so, but won't be headed back. We always look for the total experience when comparing destinations. As KathyV suggests the Caymans are great. We are more than willing to spend a couple of extra bucks for excellent food and no biting bugs along with excellent dives. That puts Caymans on the top of the list. We have found that it is actually less expensive by about $2000 for us to go to Little Cayman Beach Resort than a trip to Utila, so it's an easy decision for us.

I have had some recent clients hit the Eastern Caribbean, Tobago and Grenada, and the really enjoyed those destinations. As mentioned, the Philippines can be a deal as there are places like the Atlantis Resorts and many others that offer good deals that may offset slightly higher airfare.