Best resort for surface dives?

[Scuba Monster]

one more vote for Bonaire

 

[dvrliz1]

Check the resorts on Bonaire, many have "Honeymoon Packages". Definitely worth the trip. If you plan on doing only shore diving, then I suggest staying at a resort on the water and or within walking distance to "Playa", aka the main road on the water. I would suggest Sun Oceanfront Apts. They would be perfect, for the short time you will be on Bonaire you would be able to dive quite a bit in different areas and if you didn't want to rent a vehicle, you could easily walk into town, the majority of the restaurants and shopping.

 

[save-money-diving]

ok 6 days in the carribean then have a look at this. im sure u can find what u need .

 

[Tavi]

Bonaire is a loooooooooooooooong way away from Cleveland and has its own set of problems, separate from diving (and the island has great diving).

I'd suggest, for a honeymoon, The Bahamas, especially Freeport - they cater to newlyweds. All kinds of dive packages offering different types of diving, hotels only a short walk from dive shops and beach. Examples: UNEXSO http://www.unexso.com/, XANADU http://www.xanadubeachhotel.com/.

Congrats on the nuptials, and safe diving...

Freeport is great!! but not for shore diving. The reefs start a mile out.

BTW, I'm there now

 

[diversteve]

With all your restrictions, I don't see anything except an AI on Curacao working for you. I don't think you can get a Sunday flight from your area to Bonaire, you have to fly direct on Saturday morning out of Newark or Houston via Continental or do a long layover in San Juan to catch AA to Bonaire Saturday/Sunday evening. As I recall, we did a Friday night red-eye into San Juan to catch the Sat. night AA flight to Bonaire.

So if you can change your schedule, Bonaire's a good option.

Capt' Don's Habitat would give you the most different diving immediately offshore, they sit on two dive sites - Cliff and LaMachaca - although they sort of blend together. One part of Cliff is a mini-wall. Also near that area is Buddy Dive or SandDollar/Den Laman Condos and Bari Reef. Den Laman is pretty new.

Or you could go south and stay at the Plaza, but there's only one site there and it's a pretty good walk to town. Nice resort though and close to the airport. Another option would be the Divi Flamingo. You can walk to downtown from there.

Renting a car on Bonaire would open up to a whole lot more possibilities.

Although frankly (and dvrliz1 will disagree I hope), in my opinion Bonaire is not somewhere I'd go for my honeymoon, the whole island is geared around diving. We didn't find much else to do there except some sightseeing.

Freeport is out, the shorediving in non-existent. As is Nassau mostly. There is a few shoredive spots but they're pretty spaced out so a car would be required. Most of the diving there is boat-diving with Stuart Cove.

You might also consider Sunset House on Grand Cayman. It's a short flight from Miami, the shorediving is interesting enough to do more than once. Sunset House has a full restaurant, outdoor bar/sandwich place and is about a mile from downtown Georgetown. It's a dive resort though so the amenities, while nice are plain. But they refurbished everything after the hurricane so its probably nicer now. There's a wreck, the famous Mermaid and a lot of shallow reef structures there. With a longer swim you can get out to some sand chutes that drop off deep.

And they'll take you in a van to a boat for a short ride out to Stingray City, which is in the protected North Sound so pretty much flat calm and only 15' of water. And it's a lot of fun. If you're photographers, the Cathy Church U/W school is onsite also.

A short/cheap cab ride would let you also dive Eden Rock/Devils Grottto and two other dive sites in the GT area. All provide tanks onsite and have easy stair entries. Most of the cabs are mini-vans so gear isn't a problem.

Turtle Reef up north is imho the best shoredive on Cayman, it's about a 20-30min. cab ride from Sunset House. Divetech has a facility there and rents everything including scooters. There's a mini-wall 50' offshore that's full of life and would easily take several dives to see it all and you can also go out the North Wall from there, but it's a healthy swim. (hence the scooter rentals) You're also likely to see Turtles there as the Turtle Farm is right next door. We saw lots of Tarpon in the shadows and a school of Eagle Rays flew over one time.

Downside with Cayman is that you might run into a Hurricane in September. And food is wicked expensive - actually most things there are. As Curacao or Bonaire are out of the hurricane belt they might be a better option.

www.shorediving.com for other options.

 

[bandit_TX]

American Eagle flies San Juan to Bonaire on Sundays. If you can get to San Juan before 7:00pm that day, you can make the flight. I'll be back at Sun Rentals starting Wednesday for 10 days.

 

[JenM]

As a previous poster mentioned, check into Curacao. We just spent 10 days at the Lodge Kura Hulanda and loved it (and we didn't rent a car and never left the resort grounds other than to go boat diving on two of the days). I highly recommend it for a honeymoon. It's a beautiful, more upscale resort with a great house reef that you can definitely dive exclusively for three days and not get bored with. During the day when their dive shop is open, diving is as easy as grabbing tanks, jumping off the end of their dock, and swimming one minute out to the reef. After hours dives are more difficult because the shop is closed, but you don't sound like you'll be doing any night diving anyway. Depending on the time of year, they have some nice deals on their ocean-front rooms which are big, have drop dead views, kitchenettes and huge private terraces.

Their only drawback (for some people, not for us), is that they are isolated on the northwest tip of the island, a good 45 minute drive from town.

 

[dvrliz1]

SJSPECK, YOU BET I DISAGREE! We host honeymooners all the time, as do many other resorts, and they are not "just diving"! Most places have special packages for honeymooners. When is the last time you were to Bonaire? Bonaire is an eco-friendly destination, there is lots to do topside! Let's see, I will rattle on again...
Windsurfing
Kitesurfing
Mangrove and Sea Kayaking
Sailing, Sunset Cruising, Dinner, lunch and happy hour cruising
Deep Sea fishing
Snorkeling including guided, mangrove and cave
Birdwatching
Rappeling
Hiking
Mountain Biking
Landsailing (we have the largest continuous track in the world!)
Rincon Marshe (market)
Donkey Sanctuary
Various local festivals
October's Sailing Regatta
Summer's Dive Festival
Captain Don's Tales
Various slide shows on the island
Free Rum Punch Parties every night of the week!
Moogie
Great Restaurants
Horseback riding
Live music at City Cafe and Karels during high season and weekends (usually starts later, avid divers are usually zzzzzzzzz)
Casino
Shopping (great for jewelry, duty free shops)
I'm sure I've forgotten some other things...

SJS, next time your on Bonaire stop by or check out Bonaire Tours, they will set you with anything you want so you don't have to just "sightsee", or you can always pick up the island's UPDATE at the airport that gives you a list of all that is going on for the month including restaurant phone numbers, etc.
Liz

 

[Doc]

Moogie????

Is that still legal?

 

[Drewpy]

Another vote for Bonaire!
I spent two weeks there on my Honetmoon in April..at Liz's place nonetheless!
The driving there is very easy and relaxed...and so is the diving-I wouldnt discount it because you need a vehicle.It gives you a chance to get out and explore!

A long way from Cleveland..??!! I came from the west coast (SF area) twice and will be doing it again!Its worth it!

Congratulations, and enjoy your trip,wherever you end up!