Well, you like to start out with a 'Bang,' it seems. A lot of U.S.-based divers start in Florida and/or the Caribbean and never even make it where you've already been! Very cool.
There's a lot of benign condition open water diving available in this region. Some you might like...
1.) The Florida Keys, particularly the upper Keys such as Key Largo (
trip report; they moved their location a bit since). Viz. didn't match Bonaire or Cozumel but it was plenty good enough, shallow reefs with a hard bottom and quite fishy with some fairly big stuff in the mix are a nice draw, for some it's not that expensive to fly to Fort Lauderdale and drive down (Miami's airport is closer, but I read for the extra hassle may not save you time), and it's got the comforts of home (e.g.: language, money, health care, legal system familiarity).
Although these days at a range of Caribbean destinations, English and U.S. money/credit cards work just fine!
2.) Belize, where the range of choices to say at could drive you nuts. The better diving it out farther from the mainland, reached by live-aboard boats or staying on islands out that way. Some can be expensive. Ambergris Caye seems to be draw a lot of business; I'd start looking there, but be mindful if you've got the money Turneffe Atoll-based action might be better, and a live-aboard (
my trip) a great option.
3.) Roatan. This island varies a lot depending on where you stay. Haven't made it there yet. I'm told north and south coast diving is different. Roatan is not a shore diving destination unless you stay at a very few places; most famously the highly popular CocoView Resort, but also Reef House Resort. For boat diving, Anthony's Key Resort is spoken a lot of on Scuba Board (I think there's an organized Invasion trip option coming up), and local groups in my region often use Turquoise Bay Resort which many enjoy and the price was sweet.
4.) Bonaire is a great 'island-as-your-boat live-aboard' type experience, with reef so close to shore you walk in and swim out to it. Since you dive around and walk in and out over iron shore, and the island isn't hard to get around but it's not tiny, either, I recommend going with a group your 1st time. After that, you've probably good to go for independent trips. In recent years there's been frequent debate on the relative merits of Bonaire and its near neighbor, Curacao (larger, more non-diving stuff to do, more sandy beaches, entries/exits often easier but swim-outs longer, dive sites farther apart with less convenient drives to get to some, some dive sites have 'facilities' (e.g.: bathrooms, concessions) but may involve a small usage fee of some sort - I hope I remember the main differentiators). I've been to Bonaire 8 times and never dove Curacao. I keep a set of thread links to help keep up with it:
Curacao vs. Bonaire -
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/473036-curacao-vs-bonaire.html
Bonaire vs Curacao -
http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/bonaire-vs-curacao.535918/
Curacao 1st Timer Trip Report -
http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-1st-timer-trip-report.527457/
Curacao Trip Report -
Curacao Trip Report
Curacao Suggestions -
http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-suggestions.536523/
Place to stay in Curacao -
http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/place-to-stay-in-curacao.518346/ See Damselfish Post #3.
Curacao Trip with Teenagers in June -
http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-trip-with-teenagers-in-june.525886/
5.) The Cayman Islands - Grand Cayman (fine diving, topside activities), and sister islands Little Cayman and Cayman Brac said to have better diving but Brac modest on topside and Little...there's a topside? My diving the Caymans was 2 dives on Grand on a cruise ship stop, followed years later with a live-aboard trip hitting all 3.
My trip report; scroll down and you'll find my trip research summarizing the Caymans from a dive tourist perspective, with links to get good input from other forum members.
Now, if you tell us you're open to spending a week on a live-aboard boat, we've got more to share (
Picking a Caribbean Live-aboard). When you advance a bit and you're ready for deeper diving,
a North Carolina trip to dive the wrecks with sand tiger sharks can be great, and not so far from you.
The big question is, are you just about diving on your trips or are topside activities important? If so, what? Are you into shopping, beaches, night life, rainforest hikes, deep sea fishing, 'what floats your boat?'
Richard.
P.S.: On the current thing, don't rule-out Cozumel too fast. It's drift diving, but great viz., warm, some big stuff, variety of underwater topography, a budget trip for many, often spoken of highly for great food and friendly people, and a very popular repeat destination.
