Caymans vs. Bonaire vs. Turk/Caicos

[Ben Prusinski]

If you had to pick between Cayman, Bonaire and Turk/Caicos which would you choose on best diving and most fun? If anyone has dived all three, how are they different in terms of scuba diving and difficulty and cost for a dive trip? I want to do a trip to one of these places this year and not sure which is best for someone who is newly certified.

 

[ben_wilson3301]

Fun is very subjective. Without more details this is a lost cause. What do you like? How advanced are you? Do you like large sea life or little critters? Is fun a board game or strip club? Give us something to go on. Bon Aire is quiet and full of little critters. GC has a couple clubs, great food and amazing all around diving. Cant personally speak for Turks but hear its better for larger animals depending on when your looking to go.

 

[Ben Prusinski]

I am interested in big creatures, colorful reefs and fish, great food and diving for someone who is beginner/intermediate. Completed my OW certification and adventure diver certs in December and want a fun trip.

 

[tajkd]

I've dived all three recently and I'd bet Turks & caicos is for you. You'll see reef sharks on every dive, the reef is very healthy. Bonaire is great for the freedom it offers and cayman is great for the island itself. I must say I did cayman and t/c on lives boards so I did a lot of diving. T/c seems the most economical of the three from my point of view. Pm me for more details if you want.

 

[drrich2]

Grand Cayman has a rep. for being expensive. Got a few questions/issues to consider:

1.) How do you rate shore diving (mostly what's done in Bonaire) vs. boat diving (mostly what's done on the other 2 options)? Is going diving wherever you want any time of day or night but with the added hassle of hauling your gear around & having no guide (not that I think you need one for shore diving much of Bonaire) a big deal with you? Do you like 'concierge' service on boat dives, where they set your gear up for you & you just back roll in or whatever?

2.) Is there anything besides diving that's a big deal? Someone traveling along who adores big sandy beaches? Some people like casinos. Etc...

3.) Just out of curiosity, did you consider Cozumel, or have you already been? Not saying it's better than the others, just a very popular mainstream tropical Caribbean diving destination fairly close and reasonably economical that many consider.

Richard.

 

[Ben Prusinski]

Never done shore diving all my dives have been boat dives which I like a lot. I am open to shore diving and don't mind hauling gear and the freedom is a plus. Eventually I do want and plan to dive all of these cool spots in the Caribbean. Cozumel looks great as well once I have the time and chance to get there. So many great places so little time!

 

[drrich2]

I'll link you 2 of my old Bonaire trip reports to get some idea what a trip might be like - first report, and second report.

Following up what others have said, Bonaire is not the 'big stuff' place. I've been 5 times, probably around 80 dives there. In all that, I've seen 2 really big green moray eels, a bunch of tarpon, 3 spotted eagle rays (none let us get close), several sea turtles (mostly garbage can lid-sized, but perhaps one big hawksbill), 4 rainbow parrotfish (they get 3-4 feet long & in close quarters can be intimidating), a maybe 3+ barracuda in the 3-4 foot range, a few grouper (maybe 2 to 3 feet; not huge, though), a porcupine fish so large I didn't know they got that big, and a pretty big cubera snapper. Floating at the surface, a buddy pointed out a pod of dolphins in the far distance once.

I haven't seen a shark or manta ray yet.

If you don't do a live-aboard, I suspect you can get more dives in going to Bonaire than the other 2. A lot of boat dive trips seem to involve staying at a hotel, meeting the dive boat in the morning, heading out for 2 1-tank dives, getting back maybe mid-afternoon, then messing around town or what-have-you. So 2 dives per day, maybe get a night dive in during the week sometime. Bonaire, I'd say 3 to 4 shore dives per day; you can do more, but 4 or especially 5 can drain some folks (including me).

Richard.

 

[Alex777]

If you had to pick between Cayman, Bonaire and Turk/Caicos which would you choose on best diving and most fun? If anyone has dived all three, how are they different in terms of scuba diving and difficulty and cost for a dive trip? I want to do a trip to one of these places this year and not sure which is best for someone who is newly certified.

I doubt you will find anyone who can do a thorough comparison of these 3 countries.

The Cayman Islands is 3 islands. All 3 are suitable for beginners, although I would avoid the East End on GC until you have a bit more experience as the seas are (usually) rougher there. There is no night life on Cayman Brac & Little Cayman.

The Turks & Caicos Islands are 40 islands (!). Grand Turk, Provo and Salt Cay are very suitable for beginners. Salt Cay has no night life and Grand Turk has very little. I cannot comment on the other 37 islands.

I cannot speak to Bonaire.

 

[RJP]

I've dived all three recently and I'd bet Turks & caicos is for you. You'll see reef sharks on every dive, the reef is very healthy. Bonaire is great for the freedom it offers and cayman is great for the island itself. I must say I did cayman and t/c on lives boards so I did a lot of diving. T/c seems the most economical of the three from my point of view. Pm me for more details if you want.

Dave - T&C is actually far and away the most expensive of the three for land-based diving. We got a great deal on the boat and airfare to T&C, but on-island food, drink, and accommodations there are quite expensive.

On the other hand, Bonaire was the cheapest trip of the three you cite. Even though we did splurge for dinner/wine each night.

 

[Ben Prusinski]

Thanks folks- at this point as a beginner diver who is newly certified, Bonaire sounds like the best spot to gain more diving experience as well as additional training on deep diving, night diving and perhaps wreck diving. I figure once I have 50+ dives under my belt then I can tackle more advanced places like Caymans, T&C and Cozumel. I need to find the place with available reservations around late March/April or June time frame for the first trip and then do a trip around November/December. I am finding out the hard way that places book almost a year in advance! How do you guys plan to get a spot in a resort this far in advance?