Best dive trip location for beginners

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SoccerJeni

Scuba Baby
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Location
Missouri
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25 - 49
My friends and I are starting to make plans for a dive trip for next February and thought I would get suggestions since you guys know a TON more than I do about diving.

We are not set on February, but I'm set on getting out of KC in the winter! We'd like to do a 7-10 day trip. I know that several days in a row diving is going to teach me a lot, so I'd like to get a lot of time in the water. Cost is a factor of course, but not the only decision maker. I'm hoping to have AOW at least by then (though I'd like to get Rescue as well). Two of the girls will be OW, and I don't know the cert level of the guy going. We'd also enjoy going with a group of people if anyone knows of large groups planning trips around this time.

We've talked about Cozumel, Bonaire and Grand Cayman. Since I've never been to any of those locations, what do you think is best for a beginner OR is there another location that's better?

THANKS! :D
 
We've talked about Cozumel, Bonaire and Grand Cayman. Since I've never been to any of those locations, what do you think is best for a beginner OR is there another location that's better?

All three are great, although (a) Grand Cayman is a lot more expensive that the other two, and (b) if you were to go to Cayman, I'd suggest going the extra mile (technically 70 miles...) to Little Cayman. Realistically, anywhere in the Caribbean is going to provide decent diving for the inexperienced diver, although there may be some individual sites that you would build up skills before attempting.

Other excellent dive venues you may want to put on your radar would be Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. Diving in Turks is probably better, but more "other" stuff to do in the Bahamas. A lot of people from the U.S.A. like to visit the USVI because of a lack of passport control and "it feels more like home". Diving there is good mid-level Caribbean diving, but not as good as any of the places mentioned previously.

I have done a reasonable bit of diving up and down the Caribbean chain (by no means everywhere...), so feel free to PM me if there is any specific locations you were thinking of.

Last tip: if you are planning on doing a lot of diving, it might be advisable to also try and get a nitrox cert either before you go or as soon as you are there.
 
Last tip: if you are planning on doing a lot of diving, it might be advisable to also try and get a nitrox cert either before you go or as soon as you are there.

VERY VERY GOOD IDEA! Thanks for reminding me that I need to get that on the agenda! And it looks like I need to encourage my friends to do the same.

Thank you for all those suggestions! I did my OW in Nassau, Bahamas and I had never seen such beautiful water; it was amazing! I'll have to throw those options in for my group too.
 
Cost of accomdations/diving is only part of the overall cost; need to look at cost of getting there too.

If travel to Bonaire is logistically and economically feasible, that'd be my recommendation. Get a package that includes some boat dives and unlimited shore diving. The diving is easy as easy can be, and 5 dives a day would be no problem.

Another choice if you want to "spend a lot of time in the water" would a liveaboard. Not as inexpensive, but a great way to go and the best way to make lots of diving as easy as possible. Any of the Caribbean Aggressor or Explorer boats would be great, and there are often pretty good deals running. Buddy pays 50%, $500 off, etc not uncommon if you are flexible in your dates.
 
Bonaire = unlimited shore dives with most of the diving organizations there but some of the dives will be physically challenging (getting in and coming out in the surf) That's where a group of us are heading for two weeks next Feb (2012). Cozumel...as easy as diving can be. All dives are drift dives and from boats...they drop you in with the DM then they pick you up. Usually you can get pretty good deals at all inclusives and in some places, if you are nitrox qualified, you will get a free upgrade . Bahamas...if you don't mind sail boats you could do a rustic/austere liveaboard with Blackbeard cruises. I did it this past Feb...20 dives over 5 days and a bit...some of them with reef sharks.
 
Bonaire would also be my recommendation as the diving is easy. Roatan (S. side in Feb) is a close second. Coz can be a bit more challenging in the winter months.
 
February is high-season in the Caribbean. So if you're not set on that timeframe, look at after May 1st.

Cayman is a lot of bigger stuff, always turtles - esp. near the Turtle Farm as a bunch get out when there's a hurricane - Stingrays, Stingray City is the most fun you'll have in 15', Eagle Rays, Sharks in some areas, schools of Tarpon and also small stuff like cleaner shrimp stations. A few shallow wrecks - some you can snorkel. They just sunk the Kittiwake in 58' of water - snorkelers on top, divers on the bottom.

Bonaire is mostly macro stuff - seahorses, scorpionfish, small nudibranchs (like 1/2"), squid, eels, etc. Also turtles in some areas. Curacao is very similar since they're on the same reef but there's some more interesting coral formations there that you won't find on Bonaire. And maybe a couple more beginner accessible wrecks.

Assuming you want to shore dive to save money, Bonaire or Curacao might be better options. http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/index.htm has pictures/descriptions of the entrances etc. Notice the difference in the entry points between B & C - most of that brown stuff just offshore on Bonaire is ironshore you have to float/walk over.

Delta and USAirways have several one stop flights for under $700 - 621 on USAirways with 6-8 hr. total trip times from KC to Grand Cayman mid-Feb. But that will be offset by higher costs for food and diving, both of which are among the priciest I've seen.

You could share a 2-3 br condo - on Seven Mile Beach that would start at about $2500 - If you don't mind staying in the NW Point area farther from Georgetown and a couple miles north of SMB that price goes down to about $2000. Most will have a sleeper sofa also. If you're interested in a hotel - during Feb. most will be in the $200-500/nt+ range. Food is going to be expensive on Cayman but you'll also have nightlife and there are cheaper options, Subway, BK, Dominos etc for lunch etc. And a couple of AI resorts - Sunset House or Cobalt Coast. For us it was cheaper to get a condo, cook a few meals and eat at moderately priced places the rest of the week.

Bonaire is over $1000 next Feb. from KC and over 12 hrs. Plus about 2-3 connections. I always try to minimize the connections when possible so my dive gear gets there with me. However Bonaire may be cheaper for diving as most resorts bundle shorediving/vehicle/lodging. Often they include 4-6 boat dives which is about all you need. You can also get a lot of good dives from the resort docks - many are on named dive sites. A lot of dive resorts on Bonaire offer quad options in condos - staying a short drive from the water (1/2 mi. or less) can be a lot cheaper also. Food is fairly high as it's imported from Curacao or Venezuela.

Another option you might look at is Curacao. Probably about the same travel time for you but they share the same reef as Bonaire but most entries are off sandy protected beaches. And there's a lot more non-diving stuff - shopping downtown, restaurants, nightclubs, casinos. There's also a lot more people - it's both the deepwater container port, oil refinery and a major cruise destination so that's a factor.

The best dive I did on either was Playa Kalki on Curacao. Some of the other sites were very similar to Bonaire. If it's of interest, you all could also do the Dolphin Dive at the Seaquarium - it's in about 40-60' - also $200pp.

Turks and Caicos will be more expensive than any of them. You might find a condo on VRBO.com on Grace Bay - which is one of the top beaches in the world. Anytime you see the Gucci store next to the Rolex store...:shakehead:

We only spent a couple days there on/off the Explorer so I didn't see much of it. There didn't appear to be as much to do non-diving. Diving off West Caicos and French Cay was among the best I've ever done. Flights to Provo were pretty high also.

Cozumel is a lot of deep drift diving. Often in the 80-100' range. Although it's easy diving, the task loading can sometimes overwhelm new divers. I don't go there but it's probably your cheapest option. Some friends paid about $800 last year for flights/hotel/breakfast - diving was extra. There was a $200 Orbitz discount also. They stayed in a hotel on the water a mile from town, it had a 30-40' shore dive out front and 3 diveops within walking distance. It was called Hotel Villablanca.

A good site for checking out flight options is Matrix/ITA. It's the database where Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak and many of the major airlines get their info. Google just bought them so it will probably become integrated with Google Search over time. ITA Software
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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