Best diving around Central America?

[theriel]

Hello,
I am going to be in NYC for the next year and I thought that I would make use of the proximity of the great places such as Florida, BVI, Mexico, Belize, Guadeloupe etc. and make a diving trip there.

As I do not have much free time, however, I will have to limit myself to one trip only... so the question arises - where to go? Which place do you consider as "the best", "must see/dive", which everybody must visit while making a trip to this part of the world?

Thank you very much for your opinions!

P.S. I am planning to go on a trip in May/June, if it matters.

 

[diver 85]

Don't discount Roatan......just saying.....

 

[diversteve]

As much as I liked the BVI's it's not there. Geographically the BVI's are part of the larger Caribbean and not Central America.

Cozumel or the Caymans are pretty much among the best. Crystal clear water, lots of marine life both large & small. Either is about 6-7 hrs. from NYC. Caymans are pricey, Cozumel not so much.

Turks & Caicos might be another option - it's 4 hrs from JFK. Outstanding wall diving with really healthy marine life. It's pretty expensive also.

The best small stuff diving is Bonaire. 8 hr. flight from Newark.

Every year Scubadiving magazine does Readers Choice polls. This year 5000 divers rated 100 locations.
This year the top 3 Destinations were:

Grand Cayman
Bonaire
Belize

Top 3 for Diving were:

Grand Cayman
Bonaire
Curacao

Bonaire also placed in the top 3 in just about all the categories that matter.

Category breakdown is here: http://www.scubadiving.com/travel/2010/01/2010-top-100-readers-choice-survey

Like my avatar picture? You can dive with them in Belize during the full moon week in May or June 2011. We are in April.

Restricting it to Central America my top 3 would be Belize, Roatan and Utila.

 

[Doc]

Every year Scubadiving magazine does Readers Choice polls.....

You really read it, much less believe that, and give credence to it?

People vote by familiarity, and likely,
the readers go to places that advertise within the pages.

 

[theriel]

Hmmm so, having read the aforementioned website and searched through the forum I have come across the following:

->Bonaire
->Little Cayman
->Belize
->Curacao
->Cozumel

I would appreciate if you could tell me -> where will I have the biggest chances of seeing turtles and/or sharks (or other relatively big creatures)? It would be also nice if there was some "cheap accommodation" available (as I diver I have quickly discovered that there is no point in paying for hotel facilities if I hardly see/use them). I know that Curacao has All West Apartments...

Thank you for help!

Best,
Theriel

 

[Doc]

.... where will I have the biggest chances of seeing turtles and/or sharks (or other relatively big creatures)?

The general Caribbean area, then?

Any number of islands have "Shark feeds" which guarantees you'll see a Shark. The popular ones on this board are Stuart Cove's (Nassau Bahamas) and Cara a Cara (Waihuka) on Roatan. Either locale can be done fairly cheaply. Fairly.

Many places also now have Dolphin encounter dives, too.

The best chance in the Caribbean for in-the-wild (non white tip types) is San Salvador, Bahamas. Lodging is pricey, but a Bull Shark has a pucker factor of about 8.9

Turtles? Grand Cayman. Expensive yes, but you can also dive Stingray City and Tarpon Alley.

 

[diversteve]

You really read it, much less believe that, and give credence to it?

People vote by familiarity, and likely,
the readers go to places that advertise within the pages.

Where did I say I believe or give credence to it?

On the flip side - Name a better source read by more divers.

I confess Scubadiving is one of the options in my (ahem) reading room.

 

[diversteve]

Another slightly less expensive option on Curacao: My Dream Apartments - Home
It's in Lagun on top of an ironshore cliff - we had stiff breezes at night. It's not apparent from the pictures but it's a 60' vertical drop to the bay below. Lagun is an isolated area -we bought food in town at Centrum market before the drive out. My apartment had a full-size refrigerator but not much for cooking - just a 2 burner electric plate IIRC. No stove or oven. There is a BBQ deck on the property. You need a vehicle to be functional in that area. Westpunt is about 10-15 mins. north of there.

Just down the street is Discover Dive at the Playa Lagun dive site. Local fisherman clean their catch there so the site is known for turtles. In a week of 3/4 dives/day we never saw a shark in Curacao. Wild Dolphins cruised by our apt. once and there's a Dolphin dive at the Seaquarium in Willemsted.

We dove a week on the Turks/Caicos Explorer last May. Dove Northwest Point off Provo, West Caicos and French Cay. NW Point was so/so - a couple turtles is all I recall - a couple small sharks and several turtles off West Caicos but French Cay was the best. Every dive except one there were 2-3 5-6' Reef sharks circling near the boat, a small nurse shark that I saw on two different days and a couple of turtles further down the wall. Also saw a couple basketball sized lionfish. No one is doing invasive species eradication there yet afaik.

During the night dives the sharks were interested in the fish feeding under the boat - I never saw one take one but they probably were. It's kind of fun to do your safety stop with them circling in your light. Just about everybody on the boat saw sharks down the wall also - seemed like different ones from the pictures/video we later reviewed. There's no feeding done in that area so all the encounters were wild. The walls off T/C drop to 6000' nearby so the area is known for big pelagics.

Several operators do day trips over from Provo. Downside is it appeared to be pretty pricey there - at least in the Grace Bay area. When you see the Gucci store next to the Rolex store that's a pretty good hint...lol There are a couple of AI Resorts (Breezes?) and we ate in town twice - cost was inline with what you'd spend in a resort area. A local told me everything is imported so the prices reflect that.

 

[Doc]

(1) Where did I say I believe or give credence to it?

(2) On the flip side - Name a better source read by more divers.

#1- You cut and pasted it.

#2- Re-read line #2

You're killin' me.

Spoiler

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/epcot-dive-quest/

 

[SEVADiver]

As much as I liked the BVI's it's not there. Geographically the BVI's are part of the larger Caribbean and not Central America.

Cozumel or the Caymans are pretty much among the best. Crystal clear water, lots of marine life both large & small. Either is about 6-7 hrs. from NYC. Caymans are pricey, Cozumel not so much.

Turks & Caicos might be another option - it's 4 hrs from JFK. Outstanding wall diving with really healthy marine life. It's pretty expensive also.

The best small stuff diving is Bonaire. 8 hr. flight from Newark.

Every year Scubadiving magazine does Readers Choice polls. This year 5000 divers rated 100 locations.
This year the top 3 Destinations were:

Grand Cayman
Bonaire
Belize

Top 3 for Diving were:

Grand Cayman
Bonaire
Curacao

Bonaire also placed in the top 3 in just about all the categories that matter.

Category breakdown is here: 2010 Top 100 Readers' Choice Survey | Scuba Diving Magazine

Like my avatar picture? You can dive with them in Belize during the full moon week in May or June 2011. We are in April.

Restricting it to Central America my top 3 would be Belize, Roatan and Utila.

Your list is very misleading. The survey that you referenced say "Cayman Islands," not "Grand Cayman." This high ranking was driven by the quality of the diving at Little Cayman/Cayman Brac. Listed as a separate destination, Grand Cayman would not be near the top of the list. And someone taking your advice might be quite disappointed.