Caribbean Family trip: Which one do you recommend?

[DougD72]

(Cross posted to general travel forum as well. If that's not allowed then mods please delete.)

In Jan 2025 we are doing a 7-10 day family trip. Two divers and two non-divers.
Im considering either Turks and Caicos Beaches Resort since the diving is included or Curacao (Marriott or Sunscape).
Mandatory needs are:

1. Good diving
2. Great local food options (I hate traveling and then being fed nothing but American/Western food).
3. Good snorkeling for the non-divers.
4. Great shore activities also for the non-divers or on non-divers days.

Kids are age 5 and 12.
Thoughts?

Edit: Have also been considering Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, so I thought I would include that in the running as well.

 

[Billg68bg]

(Cross posted to general travel forum as well. If that's not allowed then mods please delete.)

In Jan 2025 we are doing a 7-10 day family trip. Two divers and two non-divers.
Im considering either Turks and Caicos Beaches Resort since the diving is included or Curacao (Marriott or Sunscape).
Mandatory needs are:

1. Good diving
2. Great local food options (I hate traveling and then being fed nothing but American/Western food).
3. Good snorkeling for the non-divers.
4. Great shore activities also for the non-divers or on non-divers days.

Kids are age 5 and 12.
Thoughts?

Edit: Have also been considering Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, so I thought I would include that in the running as well.

Stayed at Sunscape last August. I did three dies, one night dive to tug boat and a two tank morning dive. The food on the resort was OK, but Mambo beach isn't too far and they have several eateries. We also rented a car for the week and were able to tour the island and stop at a couple of local places for food. If you rent a car, Google Maps works great for getting around the island.
The snorkeling just off the beach was phenomenal. My wife doesn't dive, but we snorkeled together a lot. With the breakwater, just off shore, it was like snorkeling in an aquarium. Abundant sea life and calm water. They also have kayaks, but you have to stay inside of the breakwater barrier, I believe.

Can't speak for the rest of your choices. Haven't been there. But if you end up going to Turks and Caicos Beaches Resort, LMK how it was. Turks is one of the places my wife and I have been knocking around.

 

[bmag78]

Beaches would be an excellent choice if you decide on Turks and Caicos. Right in the middle of Grace Bay and lots to do for the kids on facility.
Excellent snorkeling at Coral garden Park.
For the divers however I would suggest going with an outside dive operation like Dive Provo. Don't use beaches dive operation

 

[PatW]

That is a tough mix to fill.

The best snorkeling I have seen is Turneffe Island Resort. The snorkeling is in the lagoon - great vis, calm, shallow and great sea life. It has good diving and activities are better than you might expect. But it is an out island so the non resort food seen is zero.

Cayman Brac has good diving. Snorkeling is good. It is an out island. There are some places to eat on the island and one really nice one. Shore based activities are decent.

Cozumel would be a good choice. Good diving, snorkeling, a variety of good restaurants and a variety of shore based options.

I have not been to Bonaire but I suspect that it would fit the bill.

 

[Doctorfish]

I've been to all the places suggested above except Provo. For your needs, Curacao or Bonaire would certainly fit the bill.

 

[AggieDiver]

Don't have a recommendation between your two primaries, but regarding Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, I would call the shore based activities on Brac "limited" and on Little Cayman "nearly non-existent" There are a few small restaurants outside of the resorts on Brac, and one on Little Cayman. If you consider bird watching a shore based activities, you can do plenty of that on Little or Brac, but otherwise there is very little for non-divers on Little Cayman. There are a few fun things to do that are enough to occupy the out of the water time if you are diving all week, but non-divers would probably run through them in about a day and a half.

 

[tkaelin]

(Cross posted to general travel forum as well. If that's not allowed then mods please delete.)

In Jan 2025 we are doing a 7-10 day family trip. Two divers and two non-divers.
Im considering either Turks and Caicos Beaches Resort since the diving is included or Curacao (Marriott or Sunscape).
Mandatory needs are:

1. Good diving
2. Great local food options (I hate traveling and then being fed nothing but American/Western food).
3. Good snorkeling for the non-divers.
4. Great shore activities also for the non-divers or on non-divers days.

Kids are age 5 and 12.
Thoughts?

Edit: Have also been considering Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, so I thought I would include that in the running as well.

I have been to all of those islands except Brac. I am assuming the 5 and 12 yr olds are the nondivers. Of all the choices, Provo has the best beach by far of all your options so if you are beach people that would be my recommendation for an island. One of the dive knocks on Provo is long boat rides. They can be long but I find it worth it and they don't have to be. Dive Provo's 1 tank PM off Grace Bay is a couple hours and the diving is fine. A two tank off Grace Bay will likely take all morning to 1 PM ish. Check Dive Provo's website. I don't know anything about the resort based dive op.

Curacao has decent beaches as well and very good diving and if you are looking to stay at a resort I would recommend taking a look at Lion's Dive Resort.

Little Cayman may be too quiet for the family and limited dining and shore activity options. I would save LC for a dive dedicated dive trip.

Bonaire is also a good choice but I would wait until the kids are ready to get certified. There is no place better for kids to start diving IMHO.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip.

 

[DougD72]

Beaches would be an excellent choice if you decide on Turks and Caicos. Right in the middle of Grace Bay and lots to do for the kids on facility.
Excellent snorkeling at Coral garden Park.
For the divers however I would suggest going with an outside dive operation like Dive Provo. Don't use beaches dive operation

Can I ask why you recommend against using their dive operation? Given that the dives are included in the price of the resort, using an outside operation at $200 per day per person for two people could quickly add $2,000 in additional costs for five days of diving.

 

[DougD72]

That is a tough mix to fill.

The best snorkeling I have seen is Turneffe Island Resort. The snorkeling is in the lagoon - great vis, calm, shallow and great sea life. It has good diving and activities are better than you might expect. But it is an out island so the non resort food seen is zero.

Cayman Brac has good diving. Snorkeling is good. It is an out island. There are some places to eat on the island and one really nice one. Shore based activities are decent.

Cozumel would be a good choice. Good diving, snorkeling, a variety of good restaurants and a variety of shore based options.

I have not been to Bonaire but I suspect that it would fit the bill.

We did Cozumel in January. I hadnt looked at Turneffe Island but we had been considering either Ambergris Caye in Belize or Isla Mujeres in Mexico.

Have you been to either?

 

[DougD72]

I've been to all the places suggested above except Provo. For your needs, Curacao or Bonaire would certainly fit the bill.

We had originally been considering Bonaire because of the amazing diving, but other parents had warned us about lack of shore based activities....and a mostly rocky shoreline.