Caribbean Criteria

[PaulVS]

Yep, we're pretty sold on Curacao. Trip to Cozumel is early June so probably sometime in late September or early October. Will definitely have to check about reputable dive operators either on site or reasonably close. Looks like we have at least two or three solid hotel options.

For future trips we're also going to have to take an account that we may be going during what is hurricane season (or rough weather) in some places, but not others. But that's a conversation for another day!

 

[drrich2]

Dominican Republic I don’t have any experience, but I’m under the impression most of the tourism and big resorts aren’t where the decent diving is?

What I've seen others post about the Dominican Republic in the past is that the better diving is out of Bayahibe, which isn't the main area resort tourists target, but it's not completely isolated, either. Here's an old link to a trip report by Qnape.

Bayahibe 2015 Trip Report - Bayahibe 2015 Trip Report

For future trips we're also going to have to take an account that we may be going during what is hurricane season (or rough weather) in some places, but not others. But that's a conversation for another day!

If you go with Curacao, that's more good news - the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) are below the main hurricane belt. That's not a guarantee, but it is good news. They're also far enough south that the water's pretty warm all year, so even if you ever head down in December, February, etc..., it shouldn't be too chilly.

 

[Rob9876]

I really liked my trip to Cozumel, but I'm not a big fan of drift diving as I'm not too good at 'drift pacing' the guides. In that sense, Curacao diving was easier for me. Someone very good at pacing the guide who enjoys drifting rather than finning might have a different opinion.

Drift diving is not for everyone, but for me drift diving in Cozumel became more enjoyable once I got comfortable with our dive op and realized that it's no big deal if I get separated from our guide. I can still enjoy a leisurely dive and just shoot my DSMB, and the boat is usually right there when I finish my safety stop.

It's key to have a dive op that let's folks dive their own dive and does not require ascending as a group. We usually go with a dive op with smaller boats that generally have more experienced divers, and they are magical at following bubbles. I also carry a Nautilus Lifeline for extra peace of mind.

 

[PaulVS]

I agree about the drift driving in Cozumel. It's always been really relaxing for us, all the dive ops have been really good about letting us find our own path, while still keeping an eye on everyone. I also find it kind of amazing that the boats can follow everyone's bubbles. Of course the fact that many of the reefs are less than a mile or so offshore possibly makes it not quite as worrisome.

 

[Rob9876]

Of course the fact that many of the reefs are less than a mile or so offshore possibly makes it not quite as worrisome.

That's another comfort factor too -- most are close enough to shore that swimming to shore would not be impossible. Plus for most of the commonly visited dive sites there are generally other boats passing by pretty frequently -- at least during daylight (have not needed to flag down another boat yet, thankfully).

 

[Damselfish]

So which are your hotel options on Curacao? Ocean Encounters is the big op on the island, they’re good. They have a location at Sunscape and there is shore diving there. I think their boats used to pick up at some other resorts but not sure nowadays. Theres a popular op called the Dive Bus which will pick up at many places and take you shore diving around the island, and has a base near Sunscape.

I think Caribbean Sea Sports is at Dreams, also a good op and smaller, will get you more to sites west of town. Zoetry is nearby Dreams (also near the Marriott Beach which has an op Goby Divers I know nothing about.)

Not sure how whatever op at Sandals is, of course house dive ops at many big AIs don’t always have the best rep among more experienced divers but hopefully they are better.

After a few trips where you’ve had your fill of the usual suspects, there are plenty of smaller ops with many not associated with hotels. Some will get you to some more off the beaten path spots. There are beaches along the northwest coast with ops just for shore diving. Its worth trying to get a trip to Klein Curacao way off the east end, or to boat and shore dives from Go West diving at the far west end, if it fits into your schedule.

 

[PaulVS]

IThat sounds like solid advice. I remember when I was a kid I thought shore diving was the only way I'd want to dive, and I'd really like to try it out when possible..

The participating resorts I know of would be Dreams, Zoetry, and Sandals. Not sure about Sunscape or any others -- we just did a brief glance at the options online last night. The nice thing is is that our cost is essentially the same no matter where we stay.

 

[jonhall]

Read through the posts and there are some good options. I am also usually guided by certain criteria - where our timeshare and/or our friends vacation club will take us. Aside from the places mentioned, I'll throw in Antigua - not known as a diving locale but there is diving and there is a Sandals (also a beautiful island with nice beaches.) Refreshed myself by looking back at notes and pictures I took diving - there are reefs and life you normally see around reefs (reef & nurse sharks, eels, barracuda, puffers, turtles, lobsters, sting ray, fish, etc......)

 

[living4experiences]

IThat sounds like solid advice. I remember when I was a kid I thought shore diving was the only way I'd want to dive, and I'd really like to try it out when possible..

The participating resorts I know of would be Dreams, Zoetry, and Sandals. Not sure about Sunscape or any others -- we just did a brief glance at the options online last night. The nice thing is is that our cost is essentially the same no matter where we stay.

We stayed at Sunscape Curacao in December 2021 and would not return. The AI food and service was lousy. The rooms were shabby and not well maintained. The artist's renderings of the property and the rooms on the website are not an accurate representation of what you see in person. We chose it because it has an onsite dive shop, Ocean Encounters, which is an outstanding operation. They have multiple boats and their main shop is at Lions Dive (LD) resort right next to the aquarium. So the boats leave from LD and come around the corner (5 minutes) to pick up divers at Sunscape.

Sunscape was purchased by Hyatt, so the room rates have skyrocketed from 2021 prices. It was built in 1968 and whatever renovations were done in 2019 were not done to any of the rooms. We had a long list of issues, and if it weren't for the convenience of the onsite dive shop, we would have checked out early and gone somewhere else.

 

[PaulVS]

From what I've seen, typically Secrets is the adults-only resorts, while Sunscapes are family-oriented.

Sunscape is a "sister property" of Secrets, also was so before they were acquired by Hyatt. We're a fan of Secrets, will be staying at Secrets Aura Cozumel for the 2nd time in fact. We also have access to the Sunscape resort next door, but last time we didn't feel it had anything better to offer than Secrets did... and there were a lot of kids running around as well.

There are definitely some very bad "name brand" all-inclusives, and some people just don't like out of personal preferences. We stayed at the Aventura Spa Palace in Riviera Maya years ago.... had fantastic reviews on TripAdvisor... we hated it. No real beach because of the waves. (A man-made lagoon inside a sea-wall) The service was mediocre, the only entertainment was one incredibly loud "night-club" that literally hurt our ears, zero other activities after 6pm, and the food looked great but was tasteless. I think it still is highly rated.

On the other side of the coin, we weren't expecting much from Sandals in Ocho Rios Jamaica, but comfort/ammenity/service/food/booze wise it was the best resort we stayed at. Diving was kinda sad though, no marine life at alll.