first timer

[clammie]

Hi all. am new on this forum.
Am sure this topic has been discussed before but would like a few opinions so bear with me!
Am making a trip to NY next year june/july and have about one week and was thinking of going diving. Have never been diving around that part of the world before. Am from asia and most of my diving has been done around here.
Was considering the cayman islands or turks and caicos. Would like a good mix of diving and island activities but the diving takes the priority!
Any suggestions as to time to go? good dive operators? or even other places to go to?
Thanks in advance!

 

[phelana]

Bonaire has great diving, has great dining, mangrove kayaking, hiking, biking, water sports galore and is very single/solo travel friendly. You can get on boat dives and meet folks. Several shops have rum punch parties to mingle as well. Check out my dive and dining posts on Caribbean Wind & Sun Vacations--Bonaire Blog

Bonaire is year round diving and is overall a very user friendly island for getting around.

 

[gb_williams]

My favorite for a week of diving is Grand Cayman; specifically, Cobalt Coast Resort and Divetech. I could go on and on about what a great place for divers to stay, the quality of the boat dives, the hospitality of the owner, Arie, and the staff, the excellent food at the resort and the great shore diving opportunities from two different in-house sites. Grand Cayman is easy to get to and is well known in the Caribbean for visibility, for having more than 350 dive sites and for the quality of its reefs. I think the best time to go is late May through June. That's when the seas are calmer so you can dive the North Wall. But, it's not so late that you're in the hurricane seeason, and it's early early enough that it's mostly adult divers.