Best Diving in Carribean

[Drew Sailbum]

Little Cayman was essentially not affected by that big hurricane in 2004. (It which will no longer be named....)

Grand Cayman was ground zero, but is open for business and, more or less, back to normal... or whatever passes for normal.

 

[Damselfish]

Little Cayman was essentially not affected by that big hurricane in 2004. (It which will no longer be named....)

Grand Cayman was ground zero, but is open for business and, more or less, back to normal... or whatever passes for normal.

To steal a quote "he who shall not be named"

actually, there was some damage on LC - Southern Cross lost a couple bungalows that are rebuilt, the docks got wiped out and were rebuilt, among other things. For all practical purposes a visitor wouldn't notice anything now, other than stuff like trees down or docks that haven't been rebuilt, or the occasional mangled beachfront structure. If you weren't familiar with the place you might not even recognize any remaining stuff as hurricane damage.

 

[jpdunc]

I guess it is true with many locations, but reviews on Bonaire can really be a love it or hate it situation.

Particularly troubling are frequent references to theft while diving and even within some of the hotels and to the very high cost of food--obviously, high is a relative term.

So for those who have been there, what's your opinion of staying and diving there? We have a group of reasonably experienced divers who love Cozumel diving and are debating going there twice in 2006 or once to each. If we do go to Bonaire, we have two trip options--one to Don's and the other to Sand Dollar--any help on this choice. The Bonaire dates are mid-May for Sand Dollar and late June for Don's.

Thanks in advance and feel free to use a PM.

 

[caymaniac]

My husband and I are relatively new divers (Hawaii and Belize). We are going back to Turneffe Island in the spring, but are looking for a great place to dive in August. We would love to hear what people think about Little Cayman (especially in light of all the hurricanes) and anywhere else that would be fun. Thought about Bonaire, but we want to be sure we are very comfortable diving on our own before heading out to a place that has 24/7 diving from the shore. Comments??????

I have been to a number of Caribbean Islands and consider L.C. at the top of the heap when you are talking about reef and wall diving. I've been to Bonaire on a number of ocassions and think it has the easiest diving because you can shore dive anytime. I would consider Bonaire on my list number 3 after Turks and Caicos. Bonaire has alot of little things. Little Cayman has more sponges, more pelagic(not more than T&C), just all around more. Little Cayman has the best walls. Everything from the ocassional Manta to ocassional dolphins, sharks, flying gunards, plenty of flamingo tongues and eels to plenty of stingrays, and eaglerays, red sponge, yellow and orange and blue are found at L.C.

p.s. Welcome to the board!

 

[Sorrows]

We are fairly new divers like you and we just came back from Bonaire a few weeks ago. Seriously, you have NOTHING to worry about.

For our OW certification dives, I was considering Bonaire, but, like you, I couldn't imagine going off on our own on a shore dive. I chose Roatan instead, and that was a bit of a mistake. Great place and all, lovely dives (although the weather was bad) but so much of the diving was deep (we were limited to 40' at that time, because of our son.) I wish I had chosen Bonaire instead. Although, Bonaire can get deep, no question, but you can definitely stay above 60' if that is your preference. They don't have walls like Cayman, but gently sloping reefs. Visibility is so good, though, that you can find yourself at 80' and not even realize it!

In any case, it is a fabulous location and you will absolutely not reget it. Buy yourself one of the shore dive guides--they are ranked for difficulty of getting in and out. Usually, the sites closer to the ends of the island seem to be the toughest. Otherwise, there are plenty of dives that are easy and wonderful. And you can always do boat dives as well.

Being so close to the equator, the weather is pretty much the same all year, from what I understand. It was hot when we were there, but the breeze makes it quite comfortable. I didn't find it overly crowded (this was for Christmas) but I understand is is near deserted in August. And, from what I hear, you can get some really good deals at that time on airfare and hotel.

#1 reason is: Bonaire is out of the hurricane belt. August is prime hurricane season. I'm originally from Miami, and that means something to me.

There is an internet forum for Bonaire which many locals and old-timers frequent--an excellent source of information. I got all my questions answered--and I asked a LOT of them. I hope it's okay to post it here?

http://www.bonairetalk.com

Good luck with whatever you choose! I've never been to Cayman and it is definitely on the short list!

 

[KidK9]

I too would put Turks and Caicos at the top of my list with Cozumel being second. HOWEVER, still on my "need to dive" is Little Cayman and Bonaire. So take it for wht it's worth.

 

[herman]

Particularly troubling are frequent references to theft while diving and even within some of the hotels and to the very high cost of food--obviously, high is a relative term.

So for those who have been there, what's your opinion of staying and diving there? We have a group of reasonably experienced divers who love Cozumel diving and are debating going there twice in 2006 or once to each. If we do go to Bonaire, we have two trip options--one to Don's and the other to Sand Dollar--any help on this choice. The Bonaire dates are mid-May for Sand Dollar and late June for Don's.

Thanks in advance and feel free to use a PM.

I am a long time Bonaire fan. A lot of the stuff you hear gets blown way out of proportion. Yea, there are some thefts. Mostly those who ignore the well known rules like don't leave anything worth taking in your vehicle and leave the windows down. In 9 trips since 99 I have never had a single problem. If you have never been to Bonaire, most of the sites are a couple of miles from the town in fairly remote spots making vehicle break-ins an easy target. Bonaire is really unlike anywhere else, no where else I am aware of does one drive to remote spots and dive like is done in Bonaire. Lock everything you don't need in your room (safe in the case of money) and only carry just what you need in a waterproof case. All I ever carry are the room keys, a credit card and $20-30 in cash. Wet bills are no problem on Bonaire. Follow those simple rules and you will be fine.
I find the food prices on Bonaire very comparable to the prices here in Raleigh, the food quality is a different matter, much better on Bonaire. No double you can run up a big bill with steak, lobster and wine but if you keep it with in reason it's no more than any larger US city. I plan on breakfasts and lunches in the $5-10 range and dinner in the $12-20 range. If you do like we do and throw in several PBJ's for several lunches, the overall meal cost drops more.
Capt Don's has a little nicer landscaping that Sanddollar but otherwise there is not that much difference in them. If they were the same (or very close) to the same price I would choose Capt Dons but if SD is a good bit cheaper, I would stay there. They are only about a block apart on the island with Buddy Dive and Lions Dive between them so location is not an issue

 

[Damselfish]

I agree, Sand Dollar is nice but Capt Don's has more of a resort feel with nicer landscaping and the pool overlooking the ocean. I didn't enjoy Sand Dollar as much, walking or looking from my room across the wide barren stretch between the buildings and the ocean. And the pool is on the opposite side of the buildings near the road and not nearly as pleasant. Also didn't like that only the bedrooms had A/C at Sand Dollar, that's true of the oldest cottage units at Habitat, but the others are all AC.

 

[herman]

......... Also didn't like that only the bedrooms had A/C at Sand Dollar, that's true of the oldest cottage units at Habitat, but the others are all AC.

Only the BR having AC is very common in Bonaire. All of the condo as Buddy are that way. We open the windows and doors and let the breeze come through..

 

[Damselfish]

Only the BR having AC is very common in Bonaire. All of the condo as Buddy are that way. We open the windows and doors and let the breeze come through..

common doesn't mean I have to like it...