Best place in Caribbean to swim with dolphins

[HBO MD]

Hi Guys,
Hoping to take my graduating daughter to swim with dolphins somewhere in the Caribbean. Never been to that part of the world before and would be very grateful for any advice. She's a non diver at present, but I hope to convince her to become a dive buddy.
Looking forward to suggestions, and many thanks!

 

[diver 85]

Anthony's Key Resort(AKR) on Roatan has great dolphin activities thru the Institute of Marine Sciences(IMS) located on their property-----BUT---there was a coup of some sorts today of the Honduran government......Haven't talked to any of my friends on Roatan but I'm thinking it'll still be safe to go.........If I were you, I'd do some checking........good luck...

 

[Doc]

Anthony's Key Resort(AKR) on Roatan has great dolphin activities thru the Institute of Marine Sciences(IMS) located on their property-----BUT---there was a coup of some sorts today of the Honduran government......Haven't talked to any of my friends on Roatan but I'm thinking it'll still be safe to go.........If I were you, I'd do some checking........good luck...

AKR has what you want.

Don't fret about the "coup". They do this all the time.

Life from reports on Roatan goes on as normal. A couple-three extra soldiers are sleeping at the airport.

 

[DESIGNERDIVER]

Port lucaya in grand bahama..............Unexo (sp) My daughter(who was 12 at the time) and I swam with them 3 years ago if you look at my profile pic you will see a pic from that experience. i didnt dive then (nor did my daughter) so we just swam with them. it was an awesome experience that took place in a protected lagoon. I believe they also offer something out in the open ocean!!

 

[H2Andy]

my wife and i did the Anthony's Key dolphin encounter and it was wonderful

we snorkeled with them, rather than dive ... but it's great to be in the water with them

there's a pre-snorkel "show" where the dolphin does tricks and gets close to you, and you can pet them if they let you. our dolphin (his name was Ronnie) was great, and loved to be touched, so we had a great time

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

I've been to Anthony's Key and also recommend them. They have a dolphin encounter program in addition to snorkeling or diving with them. I have photos of AKR dolphins at the link below.

Not sure if you like boats but we just did a liveaboard with Explorer Ventures in the Bahamas, they have some wild dolphin charters coming up. They generally do two morning dives and in the afternoon they travel until they find dolphins. Usually you can snorkel with them (as explained to me by a crew member during our trip). Here's a link: Explorer Ventures: Adventures in Live-Aboard Diving

 

[robint]

another vote for the dolphin program at Anthony's Key, Roatan. I haven't done it but a friend took her two daughters there a few years ago and they absolutely loved it.

 

[ReedFamily]

not a dive but the best dolphin encounter i could hope for is at discovery cove in orlando. Our whole family loved it and the park is awesome. They limit the number of people that come in and you are suppose to have reservations. I would check out discovery cove and then go diving somewhere else and not be disappointed if you don't see dolphin in the wild while diving.

 

[Curacao Sunshine]

While in Roatan we didn't swim with the dolphins but did go twice to dive with the sharks - Cara Cara. Face to Face. I'm not sure about now, this was 4 years ago with some really fun former lawyers/Italian national kayak polo players. Plus I like the connection lawyers to sharks. The 1st time was to watch a feeding. Everything in the area comes out for the show. Small Sargent majors and groupers at least 20 inches long swimming right in front of you, close enough to rub their bellies. There were about 10 grey reef sharks, buy the video. David and I went back and swam with the sharks and one DM a few days later, very cool. It was just the 3 of us. One had a fish hook in his mouth and Maurilo swam beside it tugging it free, no video.
In Belize we were lounging on one of the small cayes and watching our friends do a couple of exercises for their AOW when we noticed the dolphins playing with them. Unfortunately they had taken the boat just far enough away with my mask, fins and snorkel!
Now that we are in Curacao no, I have yet to encounter dolphins in the wild but I hear about others all the time. That's just luck; to swim with a manta, whale shark or dolphin. Of course visiting divers dive far more times (a day!) than I do.
Have her get her OW certification and you'll have more options.
Boston, Almost forgot to ask; what's the difference between an HBO doc and an HMO doc? You play one on TV? SB names are fun like deciphering license plates while sitting in traffic.