First Dive Trip - Caribbean (suggestions)

[Ramon Corrêa]

Hi,

My dad and I are planning our first dive trip. We live in Miami FL, so we are probably looking at doing a Caribbean dive due to distance and costs.

After a little bit of our own research we came across three possibilities:

1- Cayman Islands
2- Cozumel
3- Turks and Caicos

We have heard that the diving in all of those is great, but we need some help deciding on where to go. We are primarily interested in coral reefs. Secondly, we don't care if there is anything else to do in the city - diving is our only interest here.

So, what would you recommend form this list and why? Also, let me know if there is a place not on this list that would be better and why.

Thanks a bunch for your help!

 

[Skeptic14]

I've only been to one of the three (Cayman) so I can't compare based on personal experience, but I suspect most people will say Cozumel. It is mostly drift diving (I think) so you'd need to be comfortable with that style of diving.

In regards to the Cayman Islands, I did GC as my first ever dive trip and it was great, but of course it would be since it was my first We did more than dive as well, we did a lot of snorkeling from shore including the barrier reef.

I imagine none of those three would disappoint, perhaps look at Bonaire if diving is your only activity, but flights might be more expensive.

 

[TulsaTime]

Like Skeptic14, I've only been to one of the three. We went to T&C last November where my son and I dove.

If you're interested in coral reefs, you really can't go wrong there. Beautiful reefs with lots of sea life. Saw sharks on half of the dives. No strong currents so pretty easy diving, too.

We stayed at the Beaches there but if you're only interested in diving, I'd recommend elsewhere as it's pretty pricey. I heard from others there that Jet Blue has cheap flights from the New England area but I don't know if they fly out of Miami.

It's not on your list but I can't recommend Jamaica, especially if it's only for diving. They've really overfished the reefs so while the reefs themselves look OK, there wasn't nearly as much sea life. Also, it can be really sketchy to venture outside the resort there.

 

[DeputyDan]

Of the three on your list Cozumel will be by far the least expensive - if that matters!

And - you did not list a bad choice.

 

[Ramon Corrêa]

Money does matter, so @DeputyDan thank you for that.

Something else that I forgot to ask, would be the best time of the year to go. I wanted to do something in late May, but would rather maximize this trip to the season that has the best vis & wild life.

Thoughts?

ps: thanks for the replies, everyone.

 

[TulsaTime]

I think you'd be perfectly fine going in late May but I really can't comment on how the wild life varies across the year.

I've done Jamaica twice, both times in late July/early August. The weather was very nice both times if a bit steamy.

I think the Caribbean hurricane season starts around September and runs through November. We did T&C over Thanksgiving last November and while the weather was mostly nice, it did rain several days and was windy the entire time, so much so that the dive trip was canceled one day.

On all three trips the water temperature was ideal, at least for me - low to mid 80's. My son and I both dove in nothing but swim trunks and a t-shirt.

Oh, and on the visibility - Jamaica was absolutely perfect in that regard, although I think it was more due to the time of year. Viz of 80-100+ feet. T&C was a little less so due to all of the wind stirring things up but even then the worst viz we had was 60+ feet.

 

[The Chairman]

Yeah, all three are great. Coz is probably the cheapest.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

I've been to the Caymans, Jamaica, and mainland Mexico. We keep going back to the Cozumel for a reason. If diving is your focus, staying at the Suites Bahia (nice but basic) is $44 a night and includes a fantastic free breakfast buffet about 2 blocks away at Casa Mexicana ($77 a night but a little nicer hotel). If you dive with Aldora, they use 120 cf tanks so you get longer dive times for about the same price as others are charging for an 80cf tank. Our last dive was 90 minutes!! Their pier is about 1/2 block from breakfast (and in between the hotels) so everything is convenient.

I know you said town does not matter....but staying in town is convenient for lots of great food at what ever price range you want to pay. You are also near the Mega which is a huge supermarket to stock up on water, beer, and snacks. Coz is an amazing place and I bet you end up doing lots of exploring.

With the long dive times on 120's, think about getting nitrox certified. A nap is definitely needed when you get back from diving on air. There are also several dive operators within an easy walk of both hotels. Tres Pelicanos gets great reviews, I have dove with Blue Magic (they have sleep and dive packages that save a little $$) and can highly recommend them as well. Christy at Blue XTSea is a huge supporter of the Cozumel section so she deserves a look as well. You can email all of the dive operators you are interested in and they will email you back. The biggest differences are where they leave from, where they spend their surface interval, and tank size. I'm kind of stuck on the steel 120's though.

Definitely stay with an operator using "6 pack" boats to avoid diving with 20 other divers.

If funds are tight, you may be able to save a enough to cover your night dives, maybe more, by flying into Cancun, taking the bus to Playa Del Carmen ($10 and about an hour depending on traffic in a nice newer air conditioned bus), then walking a block to the ferry pier and taking the ferry to Cozumel ($12 and about an hour) there are several websites online that ell you exactly how to do this. The bus is right as you exit the airport, when you get to Playa, you can see the Caribbean a block away, walk to it and you can see the ferry terminal. Even a caveman could do it.....

DO A NIGHT DIVE...YOU WILL THANK ME. My scaredy cat wife would rather night dive than day dive!!

I'm trying to book in mid April and will do exactly what I described above. It works great for us.

There is a specific Cozumel section in the regions sections of this site. More information than you can believe is available there. After an hours reading, you will feel like you have lived in Coz for years.

Good luck, safe travels,

Jay

 

[Ramon Corrêa]

OK everyone, you have been amazing in giving all of this information! Thank you so much.
A friend just mentioned that I should bring Bonaire into the conversation. What do you think? All things considered, should this still be a Coz trip or would Bonaire trump that?

 

[DeputyDan]

Nothing at all wrong with Bonaire.
Bonaire is more of a do your own thing dive location.
It's known for shore diving with very little current but you can boat dive as well.

A lot of the cost related to a Bonaire trip is in the airfare. It varies all over the place.