Best place to scuba with friends in Caribbean that's cheap?!

[drrich2]

I am planning a trip with 6 of my friends (beginner scuba divers) to the Caribbean! I have been looking at Turks & Caicos, Jamaica, and all the Bahamas islands. I need to know the best place to either shallow reef dives or big animal dives! I am looking for the cheapest way to live and dive at this place!

I'll throw in some thoughts & follow up what others have mentioned.

1.) There are 2 kinds of 'cheap' - cheap overall trip cost, & cheap cost/dive. Put another way, which is cheaper? A $2,500 trip with 10 dives, or a $3,000 trip with 20 dives? But let's assume you're talking overall cheap - airfare, hotel, transportation, diving & food. Because shore diving in Bonaire, or diving by live-aboard or out of Key Largo may offer some of the cheapest per dive options.

2.) When I think cheap, I think Blackbeards cruises out of the Bahamas (T.C. posted a trip report with what you need to know, but here's another trip report just in case; consider the Juliet or Lost Island Voyagers for a somewhat nicer but a bit pricier trip, from what I'm told), Key Largo (my trip report - lots of shallow reef diving, some big stuff (e.g.: green morays, barracuda, black grouper, if you hit the deep wrecks maybe goliath grouper in the distance)) or Cozumel (I think Dive with Martin was been reported to be inexpensive?).

3.) Pay attention to how many dives/day you can do. Awhile back I believe KathyV posted about specials at Cayman Brac Beach Resort? You might see what an all-inclusive package at Little Cayman Beach Resort or Cayman Brac Beach Resort would run. Remember to factor in airfare since it varies a lot amongst destinations. I'm not saying either will be cheap, but worth a look.

3.) Shallow reef diving & big stuff are often somewhat exclusive, but not always.

4.) More on Curacao vs. Bonaire.

5.) My Dive Hut trip report (Bonaire).

6.) More about St. Croix.

7.) Here's a thread on total cost mid-range Florida & Caribbean trips.

8.) Here's a thread on favorite repeat dive trip destinations. I don't know whether this is on your radar yet, but those destinations that win out over the others to keep people coming back might have a little something special that's worth discovering early in your diving journeys.

9.) What I've read about Jamaica 2nd hand hasn't put it on my radar of places to plan a dive trip.

We need more info. to better advise you. We need to know...

1.) What's the per person max. budget - airfare, room & board, diving, transportation, etc...?

2.) Are you fit young people with low standards interested in a backpacker hostel, or do you need rooms for yourselves (as opposed to community bunks/barracks)? Any 'high-maintenance' types (e.g.: women who want to do the makeup thing, etc...) who wouldn't be happy on a 'camping at sea' live-aboard?

3.) Are non-diving activities important? Is wandering an island or lounging on a sandy beach a concern? Shopping? Any non-divers along?

4.) How many dives per day do you want to do? Is this an all-dive trip, or a 'dive 3 or 4 days, do other stuff a couple of days' trip?

Richard.

 

[redacted]

I love Bonaire, and the fact that you are not dependent on boats can lower the per-dive cost if you cram in a lot of diving, but the flights are very pricey for me. Once there, if you can share lodging and truck rental with others, and save on meal cost by doing your own cooking in a condo or rental house, the per-dive cost indeed can be lower than many other places.

Sadly, if you moved to NJ you could find cheaper flights.

I don't think you can beat Bonaire for lots of inexpensive shallow diving. But forget about big stuff.

 

[diving4ever]

If good plentiful diving and price are your primary concerns you can't beat Cozumel (check out Scuba Club or Blue Angel) or Roatan. On Roatan, I think the resort depends on what time of year you are going. Right now Splash Inn (west) has a deal with 7 night hotel (double occupancy) and 10 dives for $415 per person. I spend more than that just just going about my life at home*. Turquoise Bay Resort (north) is about $1000 per person all inclusive. Also, if you are booking a package and bringing 6 people/divers. Request one spot free. Lots of resorts make that deal with local dive shops and they may do the same for you. Can't hurt to ask. Have fun!

*This raises the question, why am I not in Roatan.

 

[scubafanatic]

I don't know about flights but for me Bonaire is the most cost effective and easy dive location in the Caribbean

With respect to Bonaire, don't get too carried away with the 'unlimited shore diving' = cheap and easy, not really the case. You have to like LOTS of gear and tank schlepping all over the place, in the hot sun, across very rough , jagged Ironshore and potentially rough pounding surf (NOT pretty sandy beaches), and being careful not to get your truck stranded/stuck in sand/rough ground. Once you actually get into the water the diving is low drama, with minimal current and easy navigation, but all the logistics of getting divers and all their gear and tanks and weights back and forth between dive sites and in and out of the water can be tiresome. Maintaining a high-intensity dive schedule is easy on a liveaboard, it's quite another story maintaining that sort of pace on Bonaire. Make sure you divers are in reasonablly good shape with EXCELLENT quality HARD SOLED dive booties !

 

[DjDiverDan]

I can't offer an opinion on a lot of Carribean locations. Cayman Islands offer great diving, but very expensive - expensive hotels, very expensive restaurants, expensive boat diving. My experience on Martinique is close to 2 decades old, but I found the diving very disappointing. Same with the diving on St. Thomas, or at least that diving available relatively close to shore. And St. Thomas, at least around Charlotte Amalie, is dirty, grungy, unfriendly, and expensive. Jamaica is terrible for diving, and downright dangerous if you wander beyond the fenced in compounds of the All-Inclusive resorts.

Bonaire CAN be a good low cost option for diving if you are advanced enough to be comfortable with a lot of unguided shore dives, and if you are willing to do a lot of your own cooking.

In my opinion, Cozumel is the top choice for all-around low cost vacation with great diving. Yes, it is mostly boat diving (shore diving is available at many locations, and you can find a lot of neat stuff on a night dive from the shore), and all drift diving, but there are very few Cozumel dive sites that can't be safely done by relatively inexperienced divers, and plenty of sites challenging enough for advanced divers. Cozumel does not have a lot of "big sea life", although there are plenty of nurse sharks, a few Black Tips (if you are lucky enough to see them), and at the North end (at sites which only Aldora Divers goes to), caves with sleeping Reef Sharks. And, during the right time of year, plenty of soaring Eagle Rays. But Cozumel does have incredible visability, soaring coral formations, and amazing sea life, from Sea Turtles and Morays to a great array of reef fish - Angels, Parrot Fish, Trunkfish, Jacks, Porcupine Fish, Barracudas, and many more, not to mention some huge lobsters and crabs, squid and octopi (much more likely to be seen on night dives), and a great many smaller things. And the boat diving doesn't need to be expensive; with a multi-day package, you can get 2-tank boat dives for $60 or less from a few decent Dive Ops (Dive with Martin is a very good budget minded Dive Op), or you can elect to pay more and get more from any of several good valet Dive Ops, like Aldora. Aldora does charge more, but with big HP Steel tanks standard, you get lots of bottom time - 90 minute dives - and access to sites that other Ops don't go to. And Cozumel has a lot more to offer than just diving. You can find very cheap lodging - if you want hostel-style dormitory bedfing, as little as $15 per person per night. But you can also get hotel rooms for as little as $25 a night, and even those on the waterfront are not terribly expensive. And, with a group of 6, you might be able to rent a 2-BR Condo that could accomodate all of you for the week. Cozumel also has a great wealth of good restaurants, in nearly every budget category. Go to some of the little locally-owned "Loncherias" for a late afternoon lunch, and you can get a lunch that includes chips and salsa, soup, an entree with rice and beans, and agua fresca to drink, all for 75-80 Pesos (about $5 at current exchange rates), and even some very good local restaurants for dinner, like El Moro, where you can eat some very good Yucatan food, have a few drinks, and have a great time without breaking the bank. Flights directly in to Cozumel can be expensive, but check your options into Cancun, where the flights can be a lot cheaper, and you can take an ADO Bus directly from the Cancun Airport to Playa Del Carmen, and then a Ferry to Cozumel, taking about 2-1/2 hours total. Southwest flies directly into Cancun from Houston (and other hubs) and charges nothing for 2 checked bags - a real savings if you are bringing your own Scuba Gear. Check out the Cozumel Board for more info.

 

[vincent54]

Just got back from Brac. Shore dive for 10 dollars a tank, every wall can be accessed from shore. All south wall dives had reef sharks on every dive and of course the coolest dropoffs around. The Northwall was full of tropicals and a bunch of turtles. Of course the best dive was the Scuba Shack trip to Little Cayman. Phil and Roxanne found everything from a pipehorse,pipefish, and seahorse to a school of eagle rays and a reef and nurse shark. They have one of the best dive operations around. It was worth the 120 dollars, a nice diversion to swimming out on your own.

I have had groups of beginners come down, and after splitting cost for rental cars , house and food the vacation ends up very affordable. Probably a 1500 per diver per week including airfare from DTW. You can spend more if you stay on the boats. Nice thing about Brac is the total lack of crime, great weather year around and they have a chamber on island. Dive, leave the keys and valuables in the car no problem. Never. It's benign diving, crystal clear water, healthy reefs, great dive operators and a few good places to eat.

The down side is the horrible airport on Grand. Last visit, they put me on the plane to Havana. It's a bit disorganized right now.

 

[oldschoolto]

Shore diving is not that hard in Bonaire... Lots of easy sites to do, Sites to pick when the water is rough at the southern sites... shopping is not that expensive for most things... chicken is cheap... Good Beef like "Ribeye" is a good bit more then normal... We don't go to bonaire to eat steak ..

Jim...

 

[lamarpaulski]

Cozumel for above-mentioned reasons plus pretty safe and great restaurants. Diving is great too. Find the right operator or if your group is big enough you can get your own tailored experience at reasonable prices.

 

[diversteve]

A dive buddy - who is cheap by nature - and some friends dove Cozumel. They stayed at Villablanca Garden which has some pretty cheap bundled dive/room rates - I think breakfast also. It's a little far from town - I think he said about two miles - but there's 3 dive operators right there plus a shallower shore dive. As mentioned above - price flights to Cozumel or Cancun - sometimes there's a several hundred dollar savings doing the bag drag thru Cancun Villablanca | Cozumel Mexico

In our group (typically 7-8) we occasionally use or "boat vote" to influence where to dive when asked. Do some work on Cozumel dive sites so you know the shallower options when asked if people in your group don't want to do the deep wall drift dives. Which is what a lot of people go there for so the operators may be used to doing that.

 

[DjDiverDan]

There are some really great shallow dives on Cozumel - Columbia Shallows and Palancar Gardens are among my favorite dives. And there are several very good sites where you never go deeper than 60 feet. And with Cozumel's visability, even the deeper dives are not daunting. You can be at 90 feet on Palancar Bricks or Palancar Caves, looking up at amazing coral spires, and it's like broad daylight.