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".

 

[therookie]

I'll comment in favor of Roatan. First, Roatan reef health is indeed an oft-debated topic. I can't compare it to Belize or Cozumel or anywhere else in the Caribbean because I've never dived or snorkeled anywhere else, but I have been visiting and snorkeling the Bay Islands for about 30 years (and now much more recently diving). Some leave Roatan totally disappointed by the condition of the reef and are determined never to return; others while recognizing the reef is degraded from what it used to be (I can personally attest to the degradation from my own experience) still find enough beauty there to be more than satisfied with the experience. I am (as you probably guessed) in the latter category - not that I am wanting to invalidate the opinions of others; just want to give my personal perspective on it.

Feb/March is a pretty good time to visit weather-wise, particularly March. The rainy season is pretty much done by then and you have a much better chance of "typical Roatan weather" - clear skies with high temperatures in the 85-90F range during the day.

For "a good local culinary scene in addition to good diving" I would recommend the community of West End - great variety of eateries at prices that are generally reasonable and sometimes incredibly low. Eating and diving are pretty much the bread and butter of West End - there are many excellent dive operators from one end of it to the other.

For "a fairly luxe resort" there isn't much in terms of hotels in West End that I personally would put in that category although I believe there are condos available for rental that might fit (and there may be places that I just don't know about). However, there are a couple of properties I'm familiar with that seem more "luxe" to us that are not in West End itself but fairly close by a little to the south. They are Xbalenque and Ibagari (we haven't stayed at either one, just our impression from walking past and/or through the property). You can technically walk from them to West End and back (it isn't far) but there is a section of undeveloped shoreline in between that can be a little difficult to manage even during the day and quite difficult at night (plus walking alone at night in a totally isolated area isn't the best idea for other reasons), so the safest mode of transport is a water taxi. The caveat is that water taxis don't generally run at night so that would complicate something like say a late-night meal in West End and then going back to one of these two resorts. Land taxis are usually avaialable in West End even at night, although they often charge more than water taxis (especially at night).

Hope that helps somewhat.