Does any place have it all????

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Even_Stephen:
I haven't been everywhere, but I've been to a lot of the places mentioned. I would highly recommend Aruba based on your desire for lots to do besides diving. The diving in Aruba is dandy. Not super deep technical stuff. But nice reefs, nice wrecks, lots of fish, and short boat rides. I would also recommend St. John USVI for an active honeymoon with diving. St. John has no AI and I don't think Aruba has much AI. Be aware that AI doesn't save you money. All it does is take your money up front rather than a bit at each meal and cocktail.

Yeah, I know what you are saying. However, since our parents are paying for the trip anything that's not included it costs me money. I have my own dive gear buy my fiance doesn't. I guess I could rent hers not a big deal but if it's free that always good too.
 
I have been to Maui, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Maui has the best/most non-diving attractions. There are a million things to do on Maui, and a week or ten days is not enough time. The helicopter rides are very cool. You can ride a bike down the volcano. There are a million beautiful beaches, with lots of good places to surf, bodysurf, or snorkel. Driving the Road to Hana is a nice way to spend the day (if a bit touristy), but if you get an early start, you should be able to find some waterfalls that you will have to yourselves. There are white sand beaches, red sand beaches, and black sand beaches. Golf and horseback riding are also available. You can also go to a luau, which again is kind of touristy, but is a non-diving attraction your fiance may enjoy. The diving around Maui was also very good when I was there. We saw turtles, sharks and rays on virtually every dive. The whales were also in the area when we were there, and we could hear them singing during most of our dives.

Grand Cayman would be my second choice. I went to Grand Cayman for my honeymoon. We stayed at a resort on the east end of the island and did a lot of diving. The diving was outstanding, although we didn't see as many sharks and turtles as we saw in Maui. Stingray City is fun. Grand Cayman is just as expensive as Maui, but there is not nearly as much to see and do aside from diving or laying on the beach. The scenery in Maui blows away both Grand Cayman and Cozumel.
 
I don't care much for Aruba, personally. It is really just a stop on my way to somewhere else.
As far as AI saving you money, it depends on the price of the AI. Just spent a week in Aruba. The 1st night was about $275.00 just for the room. Our dinner was $75.00 at a local restaurant. We then moved to an AI for the next 6 nights. Cost of the AI, on the internet, was $305 per night. ( Not per person )
Now, I do not know why this happened, but at check out I was only charges $290.00 per night. And there were 5 of us! You can't beat that price with a stick! I think I saved some money on the AI deal.
How was the food? Most days the food was great, one or two dinners were so-so. I think AI is the way to go when you have kids with you. If they don't like something, they can choose something else.
 
My husband and I just returned from a week at the Sandals Grande St. Lucia. We had a great time. The dive operation was good and they had a nice dive boat. Experienced divers out went in the morning and the novice/resort course divers went out in the afternoon. Most of the good dive sites on St. Lucia are about 45-60 minutes south of the Grande by boat. They go to the far sites in the morning. The only negative is that they won't do a night dive unless there are 4 divers. There weren't any other certified divers interested in night dives, so we didn't get to do any night dives...

Aside from the diving, there were plenty of other activities--windsurfing, sailing on Hobies/Sunfish, tubing, and waterskiing. It also looked like they had some nice tours of the island, but we didn't take any so I can't vouch for them. Of the three Sandals resorts on St. Lucia, the Grande is definitely the place to be.

Having lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, I'd highly recommend Maui too. The diving off of Molokini and Lanai is fabulous and there are so many other things to do too (Haleakala Nat'l Park, the Road to Hana, etc).

You really can't go wrong with either one. However, all-inclusive resorts are easier to deal with and require far less planning than a trip to Hawaii would require.
 
robbcayman:
I forgot to mention the Cozumel issue. We love Cozumel & have been there twice in the last year. My fiance wants something different and I can't seem to find any better. I asked her last night if we could go back to Coz and she said no way. Since our family is footing the bill she wants to go fairly nice and different.

Besides Cozumel or Mexico where else would you recommend???
How about the Bahamas? Stay at Atlantis, dive with Stuart Cove or any number of other dive operators. I had a great time in Nassau last winter, but sadly was only there for 2 days before getting aboard a live aboard for a week. Hope to have a couple more days ashore before going aboard on the trip I have booked for next year.
Good Luck and Congrats on the upcoming nuptials.
Chris
 
This issue has finally been resolved. We choose or (She choose LOL) Turks & Caicos (Provo) We'll be staying at the Royal West Indies Resort next May. Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
 
If you're looking for a bit of adventure, with some diving, try to get to benguerra island in Mozambique. Don't drive, go in by charter and stay at www.benguerra.co.za - lots of snorkling and diving, and you can combine it with a trip to some of the best wildlife viewing in South Africa if you fly via Johannesburg. Check out www.malamala.co.za, or if your budget is less look at the Pilansburg - http://www.southafrica-travel.net/north/a_pilanesberg.htm

There is better diving in the world in the Red Sea, Sipadan etc but the combo of the location itself and the "bush experience" is a tough one to beat if you like adventure (with a bit of honeymoon luxury on the side!)
 
That's a good choice (Turks & Caicos), but if you haven't been to Hawaii, which sounds to be the case, think about Maui and The Big Island of Hawaii for Anniversary #1. Very good diving, excellent topside stuff to do, good golf if you are into that, really good restaurants, and it's still the US of A. See my recent trip reports for The Big Island last March, http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=92026&highlight=kona, and Maui in early August http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=107770
 

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