Cozumel/Little Cayman/Grand Cayman

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We are beginning to plan our Honeymoon. We recently got certified and are hoping to plan the trip based on best dive sites. Can you give island/hotel recommendations based on new to diving and we are both 29. We are between Grand Cayman, Cozemel, Cruise to West Caribbean, Costa Rica, T&C and Belize. We are the "adventure travelers". Always planning some type of water/boat activity for each day. Actually open to any islands suggestions. We do play blackjack and poker but casinos aren'ttop priority for this trip.
 
We are beginning to plan our Honeymoon. We recently got certified and are hoping to plan the trip based on best dive sites. Can you give island/hotel recommendations based on new to diving and we are both 29. We are between Grand Cayman, Cozemel, Cruise to West Caribbean, Costa Rica, T&C and Belize. We are the "adventure travelers". Always planning some type of water/boat activity for each day. Actually open to any islands suggestions. We do play blackjack and poker but casinos aren'ttop priority for this trip.

Hi,

IMO, good diving is a personal preference. What do you like, walls, reefs, caves, wrecks, etc.?

I can't give you a straight answer, but here are the few things I do know. There are no casinos in the Cayman Islands or Mexico. If you're looking to do much diving a typical cruise is not the best option (limited space, limited off-ship time). If you're not multi-lingual being able to communicate when adventuring may be an issue. English is the national language in the Cayman Islands, Belize and T&C. You can't get a Cayman Islands work permit without passing an English proficiency test, so even seasonal workers have decent English skills.

There are no traditional all-inclusives in the Cayman Islands.

I have now emptied my tiny brain of all it's contents.

Have fun!
 
IMO, Little Cayman Beach Resort is about as close as you can get to an all-inclusive in the Cayman Islands.
 
There is 1 all inclusive in Grand Cayman called The Reef Resort. It is on the east side of the island (away from everything else). I have heard all good things about it. It is still expensive, but seems to be good value too.

I just booked 2 couples to Cozumel...3 of them were going to do their Open Water certs there. Some think Cozumel is not the place to go if you are just starting out, but it has a certain wow factor that can't be had in other places. I think it is quite safe....drift diving is the most relaxing type of diving you'll do. This was my first trip after getting certified as well (although I did get an AOW before going and actually did a drift dive specialty course while there). Cozumel also has a nice mix of everything...restaurants, shopping, nightlife, diving, and relaxation! Accomodations range from nice budget places to high-end romantic all-inclusive get-aways.

Turks and Caicos is one of my favourite locations. However, the good walls start in 50 - 60 feet of water. Frequent spottings of the bigger stuff like sharks and eagle rays. Seasonal humpback whales (Jan - Mar) are awesome...sometimes get to see them on surface intervals or in transit or if you're really lucky, while diving. There are plenty of other water activities there too. They have a couple of small casinos too.

Bonaire might be worth considering...very easy diving...either from boat or shore...but not much else. I hear diving in Curacao is comparable to Bonaire, but you can get more a resort-type experience mixed in with culture and history that Curacao offers...shopping and nightlife too.

Finally, I just returned from Little Cayman. If you want to do diving and nothing else, consider it. Bloody Bay wall has the nicest looking reefs and a nice mix of animal life too. The wall itself is very impressive. However, it depends on how you want your honeymoon to be....You will not find "romantic luxury" accomodations here.

Hope this helps, if you want any other specific info, feel free to send me a PM.
 
Oops, I keep forgetting about the Reef's AI option. Isn't it somewhere around $500 a night for the AI option this time of year?
 
Another vote for Little Cayman Beach resort. This is about as good, and easy, as it gets. E-mail the resort re the food requirements. I think you will find them very accomodating. Forget the condo thing at Little cayman though as the "store" is very small and minimally stocked (you'll need to pack the cooler from home for most of her food if you go the condo route). Diving is great, staff attentive, food - well don't plan on losing any weight unless you have great self control:D
 
It all depends on what you are looking for. Little Cayman has great wall diving, no crowds and is very quiet. There is no shopping or nightlife. LB Beach Resort is a high quality operation with lovely updated rooms, good food and a great dive operation. My family and I have been there several times and always look forward to going back. I personally have a dairy allergy and the chef has gone out of his way to look after my needs. If you want a laid back dive trip, this is the next best thing to a live aboard without being cramped on a boat 24/7. I would not go the condo route on this island as per comments of others above.
 
Oops, I keep forgetting about the Reef's AI option. Isn't it somewhere around $500 a night for the AI option this time of year?

Yes....like I said...it's not cheap! A 7 night all inclusive up to end of April will run you around $5000 total - and that doesn't include any diving. So, for Cayman, I would agree with LCBR if you really want the best diving.
 

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