Trying to plan a family vacation for my kid's spring break week (end of March) and not sure where to go that my non-diving wife and non-diving kids will enjoy and I can still do a little diving most days but not be gone the whole dive day. Wondering if Belize is an option. Overall, is there much for non-divers to do - nice beaches, etc?
Second, is there a nice relatively higher-end sort of resort (Not Ritz-Carlton, but not "Cap'n Jacks Dive Shack") where diving is avail and easy, but not so dive-focused that family would feel like they spent the whole week on a surface interval?
Curacao for example was great for us. Marriott was nice in a typical Caribbean-resoty fashion; pool, couple of restaurants, nice beaches, etc and though they had easy diving on site and plentiful other spots around the island for me to do a quick dive while they played on the beach, it didn't feel like a "dive trip" for them. Anything similar in Belize from a diver-vs-nondiver standpoint? No Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt type chains obviously, and we're ok with no pool as long as there's a nice beach and the water is calm and clear.
My wife put it best, saying she wants a place like Curacao "where a vacationer can go to dive" as opposed to something like Bonaire where "a diver goes to vacation."
Only other constraint is needs to be relatively easy to get to flight-wise from New Jersey. Ideally direct from Newark (Philly or JFK possible if makes a significant price or schedule difference) or at most one easy connecting flight.
Looking to go 7 nights between March 27-April 3 (Sat-Sat) though flexible +/- 1 day either way (Sun-Sun, Sat-Sun, Fri-Sat, etc) if that makes air travel easier/cheaper.
Belize? Other locations? Mexico not option (wife gets sick if I even just speak Spanish), done Caymans, Bonaire, Curacao.
Appreciate any thoughts!
Second, is there a nice relatively higher-end sort of resort (Not Ritz-Carlton, but not "Cap'n Jacks Dive Shack") where diving is avail and easy, but not so dive-focused that family would feel like they spent the whole week on a surface interval?
Curacao for example was great for us. Marriott was nice in a typical Caribbean-resoty fashion; pool, couple of restaurants, nice beaches, etc and though they had easy diving on site and plentiful other spots around the island for me to do a quick dive while they played on the beach, it didn't feel like a "dive trip" for them. Anything similar in Belize from a diver-vs-nondiver standpoint? No Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt type chains obviously, and we're ok with no pool as long as there's a nice beach and the water is calm and clear.
My wife put it best, saying she wants a place like Curacao "where a vacationer can go to dive" as opposed to something like Bonaire where "a diver goes to vacation."
Only other constraint is needs to be relatively easy to get to flight-wise from New Jersey. Ideally direct from Newark (Philly or JFK possible if makes a significant price or schedule difference) or at most one easy connecting flight.
Looking to go 7 nights between March 27-April 3 (Sat-Sat) though flexible +/- 1 day either way (Sun-Sun, Sat-Sun, Fri-Sat, etc) if that makes air travel easier/cheaper.
Belize? Other locations? Mexico not option (wife gets sick if I even just speak Spanish), done Caymans, Bonaire, Curacao.
Appreciate any thoughts!
