Best shore diving PLUS non-diving topside in exotic location?

[CompuDude]

So my wife is finally certified. YAY!

Now we're planning an exotic vacation that will include (but not focus on) scuba, probably about two weeks in late December/early January 2010.

The biggest problem is that she is violently seasick. Seriously. 10 minutes on a boat in placid waters, and no matter how drugged she is, she's an unhappy camper. And once she's unhappy, fuggetaboutit, the day is ruined.

She did say that she might consider a boat once or twice during a trip IF the ride is VERY shore (like 10 min or less) and very smooth, but that still doesn't give us much to work with.

I need to find a vacation spot that includes lots of fantastic shore diving options, warm water, an exotic location (i.e., Florida and Hawaii are out, no matter how good the shore diving), and lots of things to do and see topside that don't include the water. Preferably fascinating cultural, architectural, natural, whatever. Just not diving, and nothing that involves a boat.

This lets out Bonaire, unfortunately, as she is not interested in diving enough (at this point, at least) to want to do diving all day. She'll want shopping, sightseeing and culture, and Bonaire is just too limited, by all reports. And she's not really a "cocktails by the pool" girl, so there really has to be serious options for topside entertainment.

We LOVE Asia (Thailand is perfect topside, but the shore diving there doesn't make the cut), and Bali is a strong contender at this point, but we'd like some other options to chew over as well. Jamaica is a blast topside, but the diving is merely adequate at best, and requires a boat to get there.

And, of course, being American (and she Jewish), the middle east/red sea options probably aren't safe enough for serious consideration.

I know there are islands in the Caribbean that have some good shore diving to offer, but how do they stack up for the rest of the trip? A few days of diving during a 2 week trip is probably the most I can hope for. We could possibly go one place to dive and hop on a plane to somewhere else close by with better topside options, but that definitely eats into the trip... more flying in the middle of a trip is a hassle that easily eats a whole day, maybe more.

From a shore diving standpoint, I've read good things here and at Shorediving.com about:

• Roatan/CocoView Resort (but not much topside in Roatan, right? and Honduras proper is not very safe to travel in per State Dept. advisories)
• Curacao - (but how is it topside?)
• Grand Cayman - (but how is it topside?)
• Bonaire (perfect diving, but very poor option due to lack of topside activities)
• Sipadan/Mabul (but I know nothing about it)
• Okinawa (great from an exotic standpoint, but probably tough due to Japan's high cost, and I don't know much about the diving)
• Bali - a serious option, as there is pretty great shore diving and topside is pretty good, plus definitely exotic, but the topside options are far from diving locations, and are there enough topside things to do?
• Dahab (Red Sea) - Probably not an option due to political instability

Anyone have any good options for me to ponder, or thoughts on the ones I've listed above?

 

[gndpdr]

okinawa has some impressive diving ..i dove there in the early 80's while in the marines...

 

[dvrliz1]

I think you are selling Bonaire too short: Topside:

There are a huge amount of guided tours through Bonaire Tours and VacatioYou'll never be bored in Bonaire...

List of Tours
Name Duration Rate per Adult Brief Description
Island Journey 3 hrs $28 Discover the island with a local guide!
Country Roads 2 hrs $23 Visit Goto Lake, a favorite place for flamingos and Seru Largu with its spectacular view over the whole island
Southern Trail 2 hrs $23 Salt Flats, Windsurfing beaches and Bonaire's beautiful nature
Washington Park Discovery Plus 6.5 hrs $65 - $80 Explore the hidden treasures of National Park with a guide (includes: lunch & a snorkel)
Sail & Snorkel Cruise
4.0 hrs
$40 Sail away with the tradewinds aboard the 37 foot trimaran
Fun Sail
3 hrs
$35 Treat yourself to a relaxed sail on a luxurious 40-ft catamaran.
Windsurfing 3.5 hrs $52.50 Ride the wind with our Antillean champions!
Robinson Cruise Away 2.5 hrs $15 - $18 This uninhabited island 'Klein Bonaire' has the best beach and snorkelling spots of Bonaire
Mountain Bike Trekking 3 hrs prices vary depending on route chosen Bike through miles of unspoiled beauty with experienced ecologists
Mangrove Kayaking 3 hrs $45 Guided kayaking through the mangroves, bird and fish habitats.
Fishing Charters 5-8 hrs $350-$500 Bring in the CATCH OF THE DAY on your private fishing charter!
Island Hop to Curacao full day On request Visit our sister island with her quaint European style architecture.
Parasailing
15 min
$42 See beautiful Bonaire from a bird's eye view!
Kunuku Trip
3 hrs
$20.00 Discover Bonaire beautiful flora through the walking trails of Rooi Lamoenchi Kunuku (plantation).

You can also play 9 holes of golf at our desert course (rentals available) or contact the local flying club and arrange a private plane tour of the whole island. You can go to Lac Cai on Sunday and sun and snorkel, enjoy local foods and listen to great local music. You can also go to a lot of the different presentations like Dee Scarr's Touch by the Sea or one from the Turtle Conservation. You can take a water taxi and BBQ at Klein Bonaire at the beautiful white beach of NoName. You can go horseback riding, windsurf, kitesurf, landsurf, OMG, there is also some shopping 2 great jewelery stores, Omni for electronics, numerous gift shops Duty free perfume and make up shop, clothing shops, Victoria Secret and other brand name sun/summer wear shop. OH AND I FORGOT THE GREAT GYMS AND NUMEROUS SPA SERVICES on island!!!

So please don't count us out. PS...I am ALSO one of those people who cannot cannot a boat. That is why we went to Bonaire. Go figure now we live here.

 

[diversteve]

Curacao has most of what you want. Easy shoredive entries mostly off either beaches or divedocks. Plenty of shopping in town and some other activities.

Cayman has maybe a little less to do but equally good shorediving. With the right choice of diveboat locations and divesites, some good diving is under 10mins. via boat. It's pricey there though...probably not enough to do for 2 weeks either.

Thought about St. Croix? It meets most of your requirements. And there's a ferry to St. Thomas also. The better shorediving is on St. Croix, with a little planning you could spend a couple days on St. Thomas and/or St. John - it's a 15min. ride from St. Thomas's East End.

I would agree with your assessment of both Roatan and Bonaire. But there might be enough on Roatan, there's some native villages, ziplining and a couple different touristy areas with shops. Lots of bugs though - even on the beaches. You might want to read the CDC warnings about Malaria also, we just took meds before and during our trip.

 

[CompuDude]

dvrliz1, I'm interested in what you're saying, but you realize that half the things you listed included boats, right? That puts them right out. Windsurfing, sailing, cruises, kayaking, fishing... none of these things will work. My wife can't ride a bike, either. (well, she can if she HAS to, but hates it) So there were a few things that looked great, actually, but not enough to fill two weeks.

It's tough, trust me, I know. :/ Bonaire would be high on MY list, but every review I've read has said it's not ideal for a non-diver... which, outside of 3 days (if I'm lucky), is all my wife would be.

What's the topside stuff like in Curacao, anyone familiar?

BTW, I should have said... budget will be somewhat tight. We're willing to splurge a little on vacation, but have to plan carefully to do so, so while full day spa treatments in Thailand are an option for knocking out a day (at USD$90), not so much in other places. Similarly, we can't throw money around on expensive guided tours on a daily basis. (unless maybe if they're really cheap like in Thailand)

 

[Gen San Chris]

General Santos City in the Southern Philippines has some great shore dives, Check my webb sites!

 

[diversteve]

What's the topside stuff like in Curacao, anyone familiar?

There's some stuff to do, it's like most other typical Caribbean islands.

Willemsted is a very mixed town. The Piscadera Bay area is pretty nice, nice beaches, a couple of better resorts (Marriott/Hilton) and some more affordable housing options. I rented a 2BR duplex at Piscadera Bay Resort about 1/8 mi. from the water for $500/wk + energy surcharge and cleaning. Fully furnished indoor and outdoor spaces. Bungalow "A" in the Gallery is the one I had, it was clean, had a smallish livingroom, full kitchen with all dishes/appliances etc (maybe no d/w) and an outdoor patio. Nice, quiet area at night about 15mins. from downtown.

Across from it was the Marriott/Hilton and then the water. There's a dive out there but the reef is a good swim away. Both resorts have onsite diveops and there's a place just across the street called Hooks Hut, it's a combo bar, outdoor beachfront restaurant and dive shop. They rent tanks you can take off property also.

Downtown is a mix of the classic colored buildings/shops you see on all the tourism pictures, the swinging bridge, some restaurants, bars, casinos and the cruise port. Kind of all centered in around the harbor. There's a range of hotels nearby. It's all very Dutch. I don't shop yet we amused ourselves the better part of one morning down there.

Slightly further inland is the container port and refinery, that area is kind of gritty. And some parts of Willemsted are very run-down but it's poor people not slums.

Further east along the water you get to other resorts, Breezes, Lions Dive etc. They have a dive but imo it wasn't as good. The SeaAquarium is in that area and there's some touristy stuff around it. Around there is some nice local beach areas and the Tugboat dive a short drive past there. That might be a good one for your wife, it's only 20' but fairly interesting. Easy beach entry and short swim.

There's some nightlife on Curacao, mostly downtown. A lot of the resorts have small casinos also and I believe there's a couple downtown. There's an ostrich farm, hiking, surfing, some caves by the airport etc.

There's a 350 year old famous synagogue there also - since you mentioned your wife is Jewish.

The people we met were very friendly, we stopped for directions countless times as there are no street signs outside of Willemsted. They live on island time also so dinner etc. takes longer than you'd expect.

There's also some theft there, we were warned by our rental agent to lock the SUV everywhere. One place we stayed had bars on every door/window and a high gate, the PB Resort was fenced and had a security gate. We personally didn't have any problems but I've read that others have.

The diving is basically identical to Bonaire but more distance between dive sites. Most of the west side diving is shore diving with just a couple of the bettter boat dives being between 10-30 mins. away depending on where you leave from.

After a week, I thought we'd seen it all. Two weeks might be a stretch. You might consider a week there and a non-dive week on Aruba - there's much more topside excitement on Aruba from what I've read. It's a short flight over on Insel Air or Dutch Antilles Express - I think it's less than $150 r/t. Insel also has direct afternoon flights to Miami now, certain afternoons.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

Small islands usually don't have enough topside activities to keep you busy when you are not diving...have you considered Hawaii...there appears to be shorediving and there are plenty of topside activities Pearl Harbor...volcano's rainforests etc.. plus you could island hop...hope you find what you are looking for

 

[dvrliz1]

Compudude..

Understood, but I really like the idea of Steve's 1 wk Aruba, so why not do the other week on Bonaire? Tiara air provides a direct 30 minute or so flight from Aruba to Bonaire. My husband and I love to go to Aruba for topside fun. I think Steve's idea is the best. Let me know your budget and what you want and I can make recommendations here and on Bonaire.

Liz

 

[cappyjon431]

Consider Bocas del Toro, Panama. There is no shore diving, but the large majority of our sites are in protected waters with flat calm sea conditions and less than a ten minute boat ride away. Diving is inexpensive ($60 for a two tank dive, including equipment). The diving is shallow, with no current. Our reefs have over 90 species of coral, 140 species of tropical fish, and 200 species of non'coral invertebrates (crab, lobster, shrimp, anemones, sea stars, etc.).

Topside there are beautiful beaches, indigenous indian villages, rainforest treks, caves to explore, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Station to tour, and a thriving night life. Accomodations range from very cheap (hostels $10/night) to budget hotels ($25/night) to nice Bed and Breakfast inns ($50-$60/night) to all inclusive resorts ($300-$500/night). Check out BOCAS DEL TORO - Ecotourism in this Panama Caribbean region for more info.

Panama itself has a lot to see and explore, with Boquette (a charming mountain town with coffee and chocolate plantation tours), San Blas (indigenous indian communities, beautiful beaches) and Panama City ( Casco Viejo-the old city tour, Canal tour, great shopping, thriving nightlife) all having a lot to offer. Two weeks in Panama and you can definitely see quite a bit.