Feb/Mar Dive Travel - Help me narrow it down!

[alishaarrr]

Husband and I (AOW certified, confident divers) are looking at a dive trip (~5 days) in Feb or March but can't quite decide where to go. We're Cozumel devotees and it's hard to go anywhere else, but my husband especially has only dived the Yucatan, Belize, St. John, and Barbados - so there's room to explore.

Considering Hawaii but having some debate about weather that time of year.
Were very interested in Roatan but not sure about the reef health?
Maybe Bonaire, but not actually sure I'm huge on shore dives - or the above-water vibe there?
Possibly St. Lucia, but not sure how good the diving is?

Not keen to go too far afield from the US on this one, so Asia/Red Sea/South Pacific are out. Probably not keen on a liveaboard for this trip. Generally, we are rather posh travelers so enjoy a fairly luxe resort and good local culinary scene in addition to good diving.

Suggestions for those winter months that would fit our criteria? Considerations for/against the places we're already thinking about, or other places we should look into?

 

[Coffeemama]

Dived Hawaii a few year ago - off Maui and found it pretty bland - although the dive with sharks was pretty cool!! Super expensive to dive there too . Hawaii is great for other reasons but the diving maybe not so much. Also dived Roatan a few years ago and WOW was soo dissappointed - there is a huge reef restoration project going on (and that tells you right there that there is a major problem) good luck

 

[traiano]

There is some good diving in Hawaii. I really enjoyed the Molokini Back Wall and some wreck dives I did in Maui. But I suspect the water will be a bit cold for my taste in Hawaii in Feb/Mar.

I did a few dives in St. Lucia a few years ago. I definitely enjoyed my dives and wish I had more time there to visit more sites. My only real gripe was that some of the best dive sites were an hour by boat from the dock.

 

[TostitoBandito]

Belize is quite nice if you can get out to half moon caye and the other sights on lighthouse reef near the blue hole. Lots of sharks and other big fish in a natural non-feeding environment (see my profile pic). Lots of turtles too. There's a couple resorts out there like Huracan, but they're a bit on the small and rustic side. They run day boats there from Ambergris though, so you could stay at one of the resorts there and take a trip down one day.

I've been to Cocoview in Roatan a few times, but not for 15 years or so. It was fine last I remember in terms of the reefs, on par with most other caribbean destinations that are close to shore and easy to reach. That is to say not as nice as the outer reefs in Belize or pretty much anyplace I've been in the indo-pacific. Great operation there though if you want to do lots of diving whenever you want to.

As with most anywhere else in the world, the key to finding good diving in the Caribbean is getting as far out and away from all the hordes of tourists and population centers as you can.

 

[arew+4]

Curacao, more of a city vibe down town vs Bonaire.

Shore and boat diving are available on both islands. The Curacao shore access tends to be more sandy beach as opposed to Bonaire's iron shore.

You could pick one of the two, try a couple of shore dives, see if you like the independence and self scheduling, if not do the rest of the vacation from boats.

 

[Allen-1]

Have you considered South Florida? Perhaps the Keys?

Not too far to drive from Virginia if you wanted to do some sightseeing, or you can fly. Florida Airports Map | Florida Airports


@TostitoBandito mentioned CocoView - but you said you're generally "posh", so I'm not sure you'd be happy there. I've been there twice, and absolutely love it, but it's "dive camp", not luxury. Last time I was there, I logged 53 dives in two weeks, with a day off to go into town, and another day off before flying.

The accommodations are fine, the staff is superb, but your dining/drinking options are limited to the bar/restaurant/main building, and while that's fine for some, (including me), I don't think it meets your "good local culinary".

 

[Khoujo1]

My wife and I just did a 5 day trip to St. Croix and had fabulous diving. We stayed in Frederiksted at Victoria House and dove with Nep2une diving, who gives free air tanks is you book 6 dives with them. We did 6 boat dives and a guided night dive at the pier, then went on our own for another pier dive during the day.

The Frederiksted pier is a ridiculously awesome dive with spotted eagle rays, octopus, turtles, batfish, etc. it’s easy to do yourself once you do it once with a guide. Water was 81 in January.

Very easy destination for a quick trip.