Family Diving

[aoshell]

My husband and I were certified in the 90s on the Florida east coast. Since then we have moved to North Carolina and have not done much diving. Our 13 yr old son is newly certified this summer and we are looking to diving again as a family. We want to take our first big trip Christmas.

Our son is not allowed to go deeper than 60 feet and as our first trip opportunity will be December I was thinking Caribbean for warm water. My first thought was Bonaire. I've always wanted to go and there seems to be ample shore diving, but looks like it is going to be too expensive as it is really far away.

I would welcome any venue suggestions for warm water shallow dive site travel locations in the Caribbean. Will be traveling the week of Christmas because of school holidays.

Thanks all!

 

[gypsyjim]

You can't beat Bonaire for shore diving and for shallow reefs. My son just turned 16 and has been diving Boanire since 12. You do not need to go deep to see the incredible abundance of life on the reef.

60 feet up to @30 feet is where all the action is.

Have you looked into doing Bonaire al la cart? Book the air separately, then rent a condo (many available), rent a truck threw an agency like AB, and then book your shore diving threw one of the dive centers. Buddy Dive, Den Lamen, Wanna Dive and others all offer 6 day, or longer air/nitrox shore packages. If you do the research you will be able to come in well under the "packaged" dive vacations prices the resorts offer. Right now with soft economy there are some bargains to be had.

We rented threw Remax the last few times, and were quite satisfied.

 

[gypsyjim]

We just returned from our 6th trip
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/abc-islands/297547-bonaire-trip-report.html

We have found good rental units threw Remax:
Paradise Property Management

And as I said there a car rental agencies such as AB Cars, and many different shore packages for the diving, plus boat diving if you want, but mostly we do shore as that is what makes Bonaire so special. All of these are accessible online.

 

[aoshell]

Thanks for the info gypsyjim. The big thing that had me giving up on Bonaire was the airfare from Charlotte, NC which was pretty hefty for the week of Christmas. Plus the flights are all almost sold out. But I may reconsider.

I did read several trip reports from folks who do shore dives only there which would definately cut the cost and meet our criteria for shallow dives. I think for our first trip though we would need a guide? I am probably a little timid about hitting the water again after being so land locked for the last 15 years. I'm sure my husband and son would scoff.

I found very reasonable flights into Cancun Christmas week and it look like Cozumel diving is still very good. Was there 20 years ago. Way before Playa del Carmen was it's own destination! It is such a busy destination, that I was curious about reef damage from crowds. Also it was in the back of my mind to split a week between diving Cozumel & Playa coast for some variety. Not sure if there is any shore diving in either location.

Thanks for the input. I'm going to love this board!

 

[gypsyjim]

No reason you need a guide for shore diving on Bonaire.
If you wish a guide then there is a book available, that many people recommend: "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy", by Susan Porter for @ $15 on line. I havwe heard many good reviews of this book, but we never found any guide necessary.
Entries are easy to find and very easy to do.
Places such as Buddy Dive have a la cart diving only packages, and they are right on Bari Reef, so access is extremely simple, and I'd do my first dives there, and then expand to other sites after your first day or two. There are always so many other divers there you can ask for tips and directions from, as well as any of the dive shops, where they are more than willing to give new visitors tips on where to go and what to see.

Can't speak on Cancun, Cozemel, as it's been forever since I dived there, but I have heard there are bargains to be had right now.

 

[DeputyDan]

Hey Jim:

AOSHELL: It does not get better than Bonaire for kids and new divers. You will not need a guide for at least 75% of the 80 or so marked dive sites. So go for it.

BTY: Bonaire is not easy to get to. US AIR does not serve the island - but you can do US AIR to Aruba and then take a local carrier to Bonaire
Delta and Continental are the only direct US carriers and a Curacao based carrier flys out of Miami

 

[tlt]

It seems like you have plenty of time between now and then to do some local warm up diving. If you do that, wherever you go, you can enjoy it and relax. Maybe you should check at your local shops, etc. I know bad visibility diving is not as much fun, but it serves a good purpose to build confidence and skills.

 

[gypsyjim]

Hi D D. Right, not real easy to get to, but worth the extra effort, for sure.
From upstate NY, it can be a treck, but I keep going back!