Diving location with nice beaches

[Snoweman]

I would love to go to Curacao, but it's a PIA and expensive for me (and the wife) to get there. I would be concerned about the beaches if they are anything like Aruba. I couldn't stay on Aruba's beaches too long due to being pelted by sand lifted up on the wind gusts. I went to Aruba before being certified, so I can't speak to the diving.

I love Cozumel and am returning in next month. Drift diving there is the best. There are beaches, but not like in Turks and Caicos.

Loved T&C, but it's pricey to stay there. Even the "inexpensive" places aren't all that cheap. Also, not much to do topside, but Grace Bay beach is the best in this part of the world.

I really loved St. Lucia, but it's a challenge. Driving is on the left and the roads are like a video game - twisty and turning like no tomorrow with the locals passing you at every chance. Lots and lots to do topside. I only did two dives during our visit, but Superman's flight may be my favorite dive of my abbreviated diving career. It can also be very pricey, but you might look to VRBO or Flipkey for a decent place to stay for not a lot of money.

The lack of fish life in GCM depressed me, but feeding the stingrays is a lot of fun.

You may consider Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica. Lots to do topside. Diving is a little limited, and very different than the Caribbean. You won't see the corals and sponges like the Caribbean, but the large schools of fish and lots of sharks. I dove in a rash guard. The water varied from downright hot (like there was a thermal vent nearby) to a shocking thermocline. You can also go further north, but some of that is more advanced diving that isn't as warm.

You might consider locations in the Bahamas. The water will be plenty warm in July/August. Great Exuma, perhaps? I really want to do the Washing Machine dive.

I would like to hear more about St. Kitts @Anthony A.

 

[Hoag]

You might consider locations in the Bahamas. The water will be plenty warm in July/August. Great Exuma, perhaps? I really want to do the Washing Machine dive.

I love the Washing Machine!

 

[Damselfish]

I would love to go to Curacao, but it's a PIA and expensive for me (and the wife) to get there. I would be concerned about the beaches if they are anything like Aruba. I couldn't stay on Aruba's beaches too long due to being pelted by sand lifted up on the wind gusts.

I’ve been to Aruba once and Curacao a bunch of times. Aruba is known for the wind (and the bent over Divi Divi trees) and the beaches are long and open. Curacao I don’t recall being as windy in general, and in any case the beaches there tend to be smaller and more sheltered so I don’t think you’d experience the same thing.

 

[Mason Gierke]

Following up on some of the discussions, I do not have much experience with travel outside of the states, I go to Canada every year but that's it, always been fishing or hunting, my wife and daughter introduced me to the ocean and beaches, while I'm not big on sitting on a beach they love it. I think we have it narrowed down to Coz, GC or curacao. My wife has a little more diving experience than I do and she has done a couple wall dives on a cruise stop and she said she wasnt overly impressed, not sure of the location. We dont have much experience past the 40 ft mark when it comes to diving so I'm kind of thinking Coz may be a better choice for us. Personally I could stay in town and one of the cheaper places but Grand Occidental really caught there attention, nice looking beach just steps away.

 

[flyboy08]

Following up on some of the discussions, I do not have much experience with travel outside of the states, I go to Canada every year but that's it, always been fishing or hunting, my wife and daughter introduced me to the ocean and beaches, while I'm not big on sitting on a beach they love it. I think we have it narrowed down to Coz, GC or curacao. My wife has a little more diving experience than I do and she has done a couple wall dives on a cruise stop and she said she wasnt overly impressed, not sure of the location. We dont have much experience past the 40 ft mark when it comes to diving so I'm kind of thinking Coz may be a better choice for us. Personally I could stay in town and one of the cheaper places but Grand Occidental really caught there attention, nice looking beach just steps away.

Once again, the GO has all your asking and then some! The diving is awesome...Free Nitrox with ProDive BTW...if your not certified, they will offer you the class..its just a few hours and then your done! We like GC too and going there again this January...Brac, but be warned, GC is extremely expensive..lunch for 4 will average $100...dinners way more! Brac and LCBR are AI and about double the cost of the GO on Coz!

 

[DawgFan]

I've only been diving 18 months so have a newbie perspective. Have done trips to GCM and TCI (Provo) with my wife and teen boys. All 4 of us got certified at the same time. @drrich2 brought up a great point in post #20 on dive depth.

TCI dive sites at NW Point and West Caicos are generally deeper wall dives. Looking at the 9 TCI dives in my logbook the max depths on our dives was 66-97 fsw. So even the second dives of the day have some depth at TCI. Also, much of the dive time is spent at depth along the wall. There are other dive sites in TCI besides NW Point and West Caicos and I can't comment on depth at the other sites.

Our GCM dives have all been on the Seven Mile Beach side of the island. In GCM on a two tank day, typically the first dive is a deeper wall dive maxing out somewhere in the 80-100 fsw range depending on the site. In GCM on that first wall dive, we generally spend less time at the max depth than we did in TCI. I haven't looked at my dive profiles to see exactly how much time we spend at max depth but it definitely feels like less time in GCM vs TCI. The second GCM dive is typically more shallow with in the 40-60 fsw range and not a wall dive.

We did two trips to GCM before we went to Provo and I'm glad we did. The other newbie point I'll make is on the Seven Mile Beach side was saw our first shark on our 8th dive in GCM and it was a nurse shark! By then all 4 of us were ready for it and happy to have seen it. Diving other parts of GCM are different experiences. In TCI, on the other hand, we saw reef sharks on half the dives. The trips to GCM doing some wall dives helped us get comfortable with wall diving. By the time we got to TCI, wall diving was not a big deal and having reef sharks on wall dives was a cool thing.

 

[drrich2]

I could dive all day long and be happy but the wife and daughter max out at 3 dives a day.

How old is your daughter? I ask because dive op. attitudes toward agency recommendations on maximum 'junior certification level' depths may vary. From Scuba Steve's Page (they're in St. Lucia; did a 2-tank trip with them once, had a good time):

"The PADI Junior Open Water Diver Course is an entry level diver certification that is recognised world-wide. A PADI Jnr. Open Water Diver between the ages of 10 and 11 years may only dive with a PADI Professional, a certified parent or certified guardian to a maximum depth of 40ft/12M. A 12 to 14-year-old Jnr. Open Water Diver is qualified to dive to 60ft/12M only when accompanied by a certified diver of legal age. Your certification automatically upgrades on your 15th birthday at which time you can apply to PADI for an adult certification card."

I don't know when they posted that and can't guarantee whether it's current.

For that matter, depending on where in the world (& who with) you dive, having 'just' open water diver cert. level as opposed to advanced open water diver cert. can make a difference in what you're 'allowed' to do.

Richard.

 

[Mason Gierke]

She is 16, will be 18 by the time we take this trip.

 

[Mason Gierke]

And we will have AOW by that time also, hopefully rescue as well.

 

[Snoweman]

She is 16, will be 18 by the time we take this trip.

Wow! Over a year of planning. My dive buddy is giving me jabs for trying to plan Bonaire for next June!