best of not good caribbean options?

[dukeofhesse]

I just registered with SB after being a reader for a long time, so I'm going to dive right in.

Living where we do in N.C. there are limited practical options for where we can fly reasonably. We have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman flying out of our hometown, but after that, choices are really limited:
Puerto Rico
St. Thomas
St Maarten
St Kitts
Antiqua
St Lucia

I really don't care for Puerto Rico but I'm trying to not limit myself. Are there any of these worth diving? We can always go back to Grand Cayman which had good diving but it's really, really expensive and we'd also like to try something new.

 

[RickyF]

I just registered with SB after being a reader for a long time, so I'm going to dive right in.

Living where we do in N.C. there are limited practical options for where we can fly reasonably. We have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman flying out of our hometown, but after that, choices are really limited:
Puerto Rico
St. Thomas
St Maarten
St Kitts
Antiqua
St Lucia

I really don't care for Puerto Rico but I'm trying to not limit myself. Are there any of these worth diving? We can always go back to Grand Cayman which had good diving but it's really, really expensive and we'd also like to try something new.

How about Roatan? Is that not an option?

 

[ianr33]

St Maarten is a 10 minute flight from Saba, which is a truly magical place with awesome diving.

 

[James R]

Curacao is a good option, as is Bonaire.

I have been to Curacao and enjoyed diving there very much. The resort (Breezes) was OK for the most part, but we weren't in our room a lot anyway. It was an easy flight from home through Miami and then straight to Curacao.

 

[koozemani]

We went to Provo through Charlotte.

 

[dukeofhesse]

the only options are those i listed unfortunately.

 

[Wookie]

OK, so, I was a resort instructor in St. Lucia, and while not stellar, the diving in St Lucia can be excellent. You have to like fast currents and deep deep walls, but the diving around Soufriere can be awesome. My experience with St. Maartin is "meh...", but a short ferry ride to Saba is "Wow!!!". I worked on a liveaboard in both places. What don't you like about Puerto Rico? Mona and Desecheo are arguably the best diving in the Caribbean, La Paraguera Wall is also out of this world. That is what I know about Puerto Rico, but Culebra and Veiques get very high marks too. I've had the Spree in Vieques, but I didn't get in the water there. St. Kitts has some very good diving with a few wrecks and nice coral formations.

When you speak of good diving, we need to define good. I happen to like healthy corals and small macro type things like frogfish and sea horses. I never see the sharks because my head is always buried in the reef. Not that I don't like sharks, on wall drift dives I'm always peering into the blue squinting this way and that. If it's big fish action you want, you might as well stay in the United States. The Caribbean seems particularly adept at killing all of their big fish and selling the carcasses overseas. Big fish are in the Gulf of Mexico and up the East coast. Not in the Caribbean.

 

[Damselfish]

why are those the only options - what's reasonable, what are you being limited by - price, stops, schedule, airline preferences???

One stop in Atlanta then straight to Roatan. One stop in Charlotte then straight to Belize or Provo or Curacao. Once you've done Provo hop from there to Grand Turk. Hop to Saba from St Maartin, as suggested. Hop to Little Cayman from Grand Cayman. (You're no worse off than I am flying out of Boston, I've got to connect through someplace to get to pretty much any Caribbean diving spot - and you're starting closer.)

 

[herman]

Your best bet is to drive to Raleigh- 2 to 2 1/2 hrs away then fly out of there. You so get to pretty much any place from there.

 

[rongoodman]

St Maarten is a 10 minute flight from Saba, which is a truly magical place with awesome diving.

+1. I've done the trip from St. Kitts to St. Maartens(or back) a couple of times on a liveaboard with Explorer Ventures and can recommend it highly.