Honeymoon and Diving Caribbean?

[robbcayman]

Hi, me and my soon to be wife will be taking a honeymoon to somewhere in the Caribbean and want to get some opinions on the best place to Dive & Honeymoon? I thought about Bonaire but it's not really honeymoon related. We are looking for a place with awesome diving ie reefs, sharks, rays, dolphins etc. but is not all dive related. Thanks

 

[CSD1129]

I've met people on their honeymoon in both St.Thomas and ST.martin. While St.Martin will never be rated as a dive destination, the diving is still pretty good. You guys would be close to saba, st.barts, and other great day trips. There are over 400 resturants on St.Martin...you could never go hungry there!

St.Thomas is nice...one of my favorite dive places...nice hotels (the Ritz).


Maybe a cruise would be a good idea...you'll have acess to diving at all the ports...but there's always something else there.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I dove with a bunch of newlyweds in the BVI last week. I think this would be an ideal place for a honeymoon. On Virgin Gorda, one of the main islands in the BVI, there are 3 or 4 'everything' resorts where all you have to do is chew your food before swallowing, they do everything else. If that's not your style you can rent a villa. The main dive operator on Virgin Gorda, Dive BVI, will pick you up from any of the resorts (all I know of are: Bitter End, Biras Creek, and Little Dix Bay) or if you're in a villa you can go to the boat at Leverick Bay, Spanishtown, or Marina Key. Another member on here is going to Little Dix on July 9, so you might ask them how they liked it when they get back. I forget who it is but look for a thread in here about Dive BVI and that's him/her.

Hope that helped a bit.

 

[pigletfish]

St. John (shares an airport and connected by ferry to St. Thomas) is a very beautiful island. The diving is not the best in the Caribbean, but it's good, and the snorkeling is wonderful, particularly off of Waterlemon Caye. We saw sharks diving and rays and turtles snorkeling.

St. Kitts and Nevis (also connected by ferry, with one airport) are also nice for a honeymoon. Probably even less of a dive destination that St. Thomas and St. John, but the dives we did there were pretty and enjoyable.

I haven't been to St. Lucia, but have heard really good things about it, both as a romantic and a dive destination.

Happy planning!

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Check out Anse Chastanet on St. Lucia. Very romantic and the diving is well above Caribbean average. http://www.ansechastanet.com/

 

[robbcayman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I especially like the Virgin Islands & St.Lucia. For some reason my wife to be is hell bent on staying at a Sandals & there are a few on St. Lucia. Has anyone had an experience with the Sandals hotel chain? Are they the Wal-Mart of the Caribbean etc..?

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Do a search and you should come up with some info. I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. Check out tripadvisor if you haven't done so already. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...n_Spa_and_Beach_Resort-Castries_St_Lucia.html

Don't write off Anse Chastanet if you are looking for romance, peace and quiet. Also note that the best diving is around the Pitons (one minute by boat from Anse Chastanet) and the op at Anse (Scuba St. Lucia) is a PADI Five Star. Very highly recommended. Sandals is up north near Castries and about an hour by boat to the Pitons.

 

[carbon]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I especially like the Virgin Islands & St.Lucia. For some reason my wife to be is hell bent on staying at a Sandals & there are a few on St. Lucia. Has anyone had an experience with the Sandals hotel chain? Are they the Wal-Mart of the Caribbean etc..?

I have stayed at all three Sandals on St. Lucia. One of them, the Grande St. Lucian was a Radisson property when we stayed there -- and this one is my wife's favorite.

Each of the three has a little something different to offer. Of course, any all-inclusive package scheme has some procedures to deal with, overall the staffs are focused on the guests enjoying themselves.

Now for scuba diving. Sandals resorts offer one-tank dives only. There is a morning and an afternoon dive. For certified divers, they very often require a check-out session in the pool. This can mean that you won't dive until your third day. If you have recently dived, and you're not a jerk, they might let bypass the checkout pool session.

The dive day procedure in St Lucia is to meet at the watersports office, then take a bus to Castries harbor, get your gear at the harbor, then get on the boat. This takes a chunk of time, and can get old as you do multiple dives.

The Grande St. Lucian had a terrific dive center when we stayed there (as a Radisson). If Sandals kept this dive center open, it would be a lot more convenient because the dive boats depart right from the property.

The dive sites closest to the Sandals properties were "just OK" in my opinion. However, they took us to Anse Chastanet and Souffrie about 3 out of 4 dives, and the diving is beautiful. The reefs are healthy and drift dives are fun. Some people are unimpressed with the diving because it isn't on par with the best dive sites in the world. You need to judge this for yourself.

Lastly, if your style doesn't fit the all-inclusive stuff, I second Tim Ingersoll recommendation to stay at Anse Chastanet!

Congratulations,
Carbon

 

[RTRski]

I'd second the St. Martin suggestion. Bigger island with great food and a good bar scene (if you're into that) near Orient Beach side, some casinos and 4- and 5-star resorts, reportedly fairly good (albiet no Bonaire) diving - and only a 15 minute $100 round trip or less plan flight to Saba, which has reportedly fabulous diving. There's also a ferry from Marigot on the French side to Anguilla, which has bar none about the best beaches in the Carribean for just plain lounging over perfect white sand - and not too shabby snorkeling offshore either (Shoal Bay, etc.). Or there are also day-sails to Prickly Pear and Sand Islands, which ditto the white beaches and snorkeling, but with less amenities on-island (in fact they only have a bar or two which are stocked daily, and perhaps closed off-season).

Then again, I may be biased. (Points down to counter.) Will give you a trip report when my wife and I come back!

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I'd second the St. Martin suggestion. Bigger island with great food and a good bar scene (if you're into that) near Orient Beach side, some casinos and 4- and 5-star resorts, reportedly fairly good (albiet no Bonaire) diving - and only a 15 minute $100 round trip or less plan flight to Saba, which has reportedly fabulous diving. There's also a ferry from Marigot on the French side to Anguilla, which has bar none about the best beaches in the Carribean for just plain lounging over perfect white sand - and not too shabby snorkeling offshore either (Shoal Bay, etc.). Or there are also day-sails to Prickly Pear and Sand Islands, which ditto the white beaches and snorkeling, but with less amenities on-island (in fact they only have a bar or two which are stocked daily, and perhaps closed off-season).

Then again, I may be biased. (Points down to counter.) Will give you a trip report when my wife and I come back!

The only trouble with St. Maarten IMHO is that the diving is something less than what you would find on St. Lucia.