Late November/ Early December trip - Bonaire, Curacao, Roatan or Utila - where to go?

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sequoiaf

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I am trying to plan a diving trip for the end of November, beginning of December and want some advice from folks who have been to these places about which would be our best bet for that time of year. The main focus of the trip will be diving, but I enjoy hiking and nature a lot as well. I prefer laid back areas that are not super touristy. I have about 30 Open Water (Florida and Mexico) dives and prefer shallow (under 60 feet) dives, I like shore diving and am good with boat dives as long as the sea is calm. Would like to keep the trip as inexpensive as possible, but want a great destination. Thanks in advance for the advice on choosing a location!
 
We have been to all three. Curacao is great for shallow dives, 60 feet or less. It seems that our dives were more like a quiet walk in the forest. There are plenty of shore dive sites, but check out All West Apts and Ocean Encounters West in Westpunt. Boat dives and shore dives available. We're going back this October.
Bonaire is also very good for diving, shore dives or boat. The island is set up for shore diving. There are yellow stone markers right by the highway to mark the sites. You can't go wrong with either choice of island.
We stayed @ Anthonys Key Resort in Roatan and had a great dive week. This was much more secluded, with boat dives and all inclusive meals.
One of the factors for me is Reasonable Airfare. Roatan and Bonaire can be hard to get to by air and expensive from Chicago or Milwaukee. I've found lots of good bargains on lodging and diving, but the airfare can be the decider for me.
 
Thanks for the replies! My concern with Curacao is it potentially being more crowded, touristy and I crave some laid back and quite, do you think this will be an issue on Curacao? The flights especially to Bonaire are difficult and pricy from Colorado so that is an issue, but I don't want to sacrifice excellent diving either. My concern with Roatan is Ive read that November, December can be bad weather and rough seas> I was leaning toward it originally but the rough seas are a deal breaker for me and I though it might be better to do that trip another time of year. Any experience in these months? Thanks!!
 
My friend lived in Utila so I am fairly certain there are no hikes there. Curacao has nature and hikes but is pretty busy in fact the most populated of the islands you reference. Bonaire has hikes (Branderis and Dos Pos to name a few)...mangrove kayaking, caving and well diving. If you need further info don't hesitate to email me.

Ann Phelan
 
Curacao, Westpunt aka AllWest apartments might work well. stayed there Nov 2010. we really liked the setup and diving. Boat dives are okay but optional to me. Curacao Sunshine I am sure can give you info. about walks, and nature stuff etc. this end of the island is in the country. Have been to Bonaire many times and love the island but it requires a lot of effort to get there! Only downside for us was not alot of choices for restaurants. Cuaracao Sunshine's place is great but pickings after that are slim compared to our Bonaire vacations. Stop at supermarket before Westpunt really important.
 
We visited Curacao and Bonaire in March, 2011. Curacao is much busier than Bonaire. On Curacao we stayed at ScubaLodge. Scuba Lodge & Suites - The premier boutique hotel on Curacao It is a small, boutique style dive hotel. The room and grounds were lovely. The staff were wonderful! They couldn't help us enough. Scuba Lodge & Suites - The premier boutique hotel on Curacao There is more to do above water on Curacao than Bonaire. Getting to the dive sites is not as easy as Bonaire. Curacao is more of a big city, where as Bonaire is more like a small town in the country. On Bonaire we stayed at Eden Beach Resort. :: Eden Beach :: Bonaire :: Dutch Antilles :: We had a small apartment (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen with bar, balcony facing the sea and pool) for the 10 days we were there. It was clean and freshly painted. The grounds were clean and the staff was helpful. The dive shop on the grounds was WannaDive. Wannadive Bonaire - Bring back the fun, by mZeven.com Never had a problem getting a full cylinder at any of their locations. They were helpful and friendly. WannaDive also puts on a BBQ weekly at one of their other locations. It's a great place to meet other divers and have a good time. Bonaire is SUPER easy for shore diving. We loved every minute of it. Literally, you pick up your cylinders, drive down the road and get in the water. All sites are marked with rocks painted yellow.

A note about security. On Curacao we saw a group of young guys trying to get into a car at a park. Not sure if it was their vehicle or not. No one tried to stop them and there were a lot of people coming and going. We did not have any trouble with a break in while we were there. The car rental company will tell you to simply lock your car and go dive. Leave nothing valuable in the car. That's exactly what we did.

On Bonaire, the rental company will tell you to leave your windows open and leave nothing in your car. Ditto here. Left the windows down and only a towel, sunglasses and full/empty cylinders in the car. Didn't have any problems.

Havent' been to Roatan or Utila. Planning a trip for the spring.

Hope this helps! Have fun!
 
I just got back from Utila for 2 weeks, have been 3 times to Bonaire, once to Curacao (going again March 2012) but not to Roatan (yet). I would respectfully disagree with Phelana re: hikes in Utila. There are paths criss-crossing the island and there are organized hikes for a modest price with a guide. I think that there is certainly a different "Vibe" on each island. You mention wanting to keep the trip "as inexpensive as possible". I think you can accomplish this in Utila depending on the your level of tolerance for "slumming it". The majority of the folks coming to the island are 20-something backpackers who have a high tolerance for living on a shoe-string. You can also pay more and have much more comfortable accommodations. We rented a house on the water for the 2 weeks for $2900 (including all taxes and fees) - this wasn't so bad once we split it with our in-laws. Shore-diving is a challenge in Utila unless you are staying at one of the resorts on the south shore. We weren't able to make it happen due to logistics while there. Bonaire is quite a bit more expensive for lodging and meals - however if you have an unlimited tanks package and you go at it hard, your cost per dive can work out to be less than other places. I think I managed 27 dives in one week in Bonaire and only did 22 in 2 weeks in Utila. Either way, I think you'll have a good trip with any of your choices.
 
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