Now we're getting somewhere
Hi Roatan man, thanks a lot for writing again.. I really appreciate it! I'm not sure how, from this thread thus far, you got the idea that I already have dived Roatan.. I haven't!
I was trying to offer the "comparison" that you were looking for with...
I've read about Little Corn Island..and wonder how it compares to Roatan..
How do other places compare with the diving on Roatan? Yes, no, maybe so. How do you describe a color to one who has not seen it? There has to be a mutual basis for comparison.
.... on my radar of places I am considering for this trip..... Trinidad? .... like the idea of Trinidad...
Diversteve and I both mentioned Tobago, never a peep about Trinidad. There is no comparison between (TT) Trinidad and Tobago (two islands, one country) in terms of diving and social culture. Trinidad is good for transiting thru the airport. It is on my "rat-hole scale" of (not as bad as) Caracas or (a bit worse than) Belize City. Not only two different geographic plates, but the difference between "city and country". Go to Trinidad (if you must) during Carnival and see what would lure even pre-jaded New Orleans visitors. There's your ample does of culture!
Tobago is treated nationally as their country bumpkin sister. There is a veiled inferiority complex inherent in the populace. Trinidad (the OPEC half of the country) makes sure that all of Tobago's roads are well paved and they supply all the electricity Tobago needs via a very big extension cord. (Go see it at Pigeon Point) The island of Tobago has been protected AND constrained by it's National Park status. The diving on Tobago's South side has been pre-gawked by 40 years of cruise ship types, still nice- but the North end will absolutely get your undivided attention with its insane currents.
Many, many tourists come via large aircraft from England. They come to bird watch. Although diving has been provided for many years to cruise ship visitors on the South End of Tobago, a collective National light bulb illuminated over their heads about 18 years ago in terms of becoming a real-deal diver destination.
Unfortunately, the day-dive ops on the previously well developed Southern end have gotten larger, and equally unfortunate are the number of unqualified divers who have ventured to the North end. This has caused a universal "dumbing down" of that experience. Small boats, essentially no piers, and stiff vertical and lateral currents. The localized Manatas have run for cover and they can only by located by special hire captains.
...but i think the lives boards there are pretty expensive.
Yup, I think that's a valid general statement- liveaboards are very expensive, certainly when compared to most land based. They usually offer a great deal more than land based options, sometimes- such as in the Red Sea or the Galapagos, this is open to debate, but again- by people with
no basis for comparison. Very, very few divers have done these areas (or any) by both methods. like so many things, everyone has an opinion, but no basis for comparison... ie: "from what I've heard..."
... now that I've clarified some things, what do,you think?
What we are really talking about here is, in terms of the Caribbean/Bahamas basin, what diving is already accessible yet still relatively good? (that eliminates a number of destinations that are simply not reachable to dive by us mere mortals)
In that short list, I place the Outer Bahamas, very localized South Shore Roatan, North end of Tobago. These three areas have very unique and specific u/w geography. The Bahamas and Tobago have some very evident island culture, but Roatan (I don't care what locality therein), the culture is pretty mutated. The macro creatures in this zone make up for it.
You can get a lot of interesting Bahamas diving at
http://www.ridingrock.com/ The Bahamas do not end at Grand Bahama or Nassau.
We can diverge into esoterica- places in the Caribbean that used to have "fairly easy" access or never had any access (yet). The area of Los Roques (VZ) was open to us for a moment with a PH liveaboard, but no longer. Many flock to Grenada, enjoy the Bianca C wreck, but 99.99% are unaware of the true allure of it's so-far inaccessible NE barrier islands. The list goes on and on of "you can't get there from here" kinds of places- like Swan Island Honduras
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/354295-cisne-swan-island.html
You apparently didn't like my original answer, but a few others here did validate it. And, I did predict the Tulum cave response
From your prior experiences, from your list of requirements, it really is an impossible checklist to fill.
It's better that you adjsut your critera, rather than now asking others to tell you what destinations would fit your list if they were to modify your needs. That would be never-ending and "our desires"... not yours. I could diverge, as some have, from your question and add alternative world-wide destinations that you might like and would certainly fulfill your other requirements, but that wasn't within the scope.
If you want literally on-the-edge places (but still in the specified geographic zone) , Yes- check out Corn, Guanaja, and Cayos Cochinos. They have resident diving services, but getting there can be a hump, not impossible.