Looking for non-touristy that is great not just for divers

[Hostage]

We love Belize so much, we have been there 4 times, though my family is wanting to a new destination to get the "band back together". We liked how non-touristy and non-college-party-ish Belize was, though we are wanting to try some place new. We love good food, local crafts, hiking, biking, history, nature, snorkeling and a few of us dive. My brother, father and I all scuba dive, though our spouses, sister and brother in law don't. We will also be bringing my 1yo and my niece 3yo.

I had the displeasure of going to OBX with my outlaws...I mean inlaws a couple of years ago and hated it. Red flag every day, couldn't dive, and I wasn't a fan of how it was a tourist trap.

My mom does tend to have expensive taste, though we were all a bit surprised about how expensive air fair was to St. Barts. While I am fine with rustic, I don't know how keen she would be with it. As this is a family trip we will only get to do 2 or 3 dive trips, though I would like a place that would be very nice. As much as I LOVE Belize, I think the snorkeling was better there than the diving, with the exception of the very interactive dolphins.

 

[KathyV]

Grand Cayman is very touristy but these activities are concentrated around the 7-mile beach, Georgetown, and Camana Bay areas and it is not a college-party destination.

There are other nice locations to stay that are away from the tourist areas but you will need a car to get around (Morritt's on the East End for example, but it is a long drive.)

Grand Cayman is expensive but you can often find reasonable airfares. We like to stay in an apartment or condo so that we can cook some simple meals and then go out to dinner. There are many excellent restaurants and other activities available and Grand Cayman offers great snorkeling and diving. There are also some very nice shore dives which are less expensive.

You might take a look at Sunset House, it offers easy access to both the touristy and more remote parts of the island.

We usually like to stay at the Turtle Nest Inn and Condos in Bodden Town, a small, clean, family-owned/operated venue that is about 10-12 miles from the 7 mile beach and Georgetown and it has a small beach and good snorkeling right out front. Below are some links describing things to do on GC, take a look at them and see if the island might be of interest.

Since you like things like hiking, biking, swimming, snorkeling, climbing, caving, nature, and good food then the recently renovated and renamed Cayman Brac Beach Resort might also be of interest and the diving is even better than GC IMO. The resort is all-inclusive and the food is buffet but excellent. It's a quiet, tiny island and the CBBR is located across from a wetlands nature preserve.

The island also has a parrot preserve and a red and brown booby preserve. For a non-diver there is not a lot to do besides relax and enjoy nature. There are not many restaurants and it is certainly not a touristy or college-party place.

There are also some links about Cayman Brac below. You will need to take an interisland flight on Cayman Air to get to CB from GC, but they do offer daily jet service to and from the island, or you can choose to fly in a (large) propeller plane.

The diving is best off Little Cayman but there is very little for a non-diver to do on that tiny island. Little Cayman Beach Resort is served by Reef Divers who are also the operators for the CBBR and the Cobalt Coast resorts and they provide full valet services as part of your dive package. You would have to fly in a twin otter propeller plane to get to and from LC from GC. There are many fine dive operators in the Caymans.

The Caymans are a clean and friendly destination, and you can eat the food and drink the water without concern. They have a low crime rate, good roads, quality healthcare, and good mosquito-abatement programs. They have a very low incidence of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and no problem with malaria.

You might want to check them out and see if they would be a good fit for your family trip, good luck!

Things to do on Grand Cayman (both touristy and non-tourist attractions):

Grand Cayman: Driving Tour - A Guide - TripAdvisor

http://danilew.biz/blog/2014/03/03/grand-cayman-paradise-found/

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cayman-islands/437891-topside.html#post6532430

TESTUDO'S SNORKEL GUIDE Cayman Off the Beaten Path

Grand Cayman Restaurants Guide for Cayman Islands Restaurants

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/skip-cayman-islands/story?id=32807539

http://www.compasscayman.com/whatshot/

http://www.barefootman.com/whahappenin.html


Cayman Brac is a quiet little island; it's a lovely place to relax and enjoy the sun, sand, sea, and nature - but there are not a lot of topside attractions:

http://caribjournal.com/2015/09/15/journey-to-cayman-brac/

Cayman Brac free tours:
http://www.islands.com/free-tour-you-cant-miss-cayman-brac


FYI, a post that I wrote about the difference (for a diver) between the 3 Cayman islands:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...ween_the_3_Cayman_islands-Cayman_Islands.html

 

[DeputyDan]

You might look at the Marriott on Curacao and dive with the dive bus.

Exnay on the Hilton there - it's a dump!

 

[Damselfish]

Grand Cayman and Curacao can be good places for a group with mixed interests. They've both got plenty of good food, but you'll find Cayman is more US feeling and Curacao is more European feeling. I would give the nod to Curacao for being generally more interesting, with better hiking and biking - just need to pick the appropriate place to stay. Curacao Marriott is probably one of your better all-around hotel choices since it's a pretty nice resort in a centralish location with beach, dive shop, activities, casino, restaurants, and you can branch out from there.

Grenada is another place to consider. It's a pretty interesting island with lots of sightseeing possibilities both in and out of the city, history, hiking, beaches, and a wide variety of accommodations. I wouldn't expect either the diving or snorkeling to live up to the best you can find other places, but as an all-around compromise it could be just the place.

As far as the snorkeling in Belize being better than the diving - I suppose that depends where you were diving. Really the best diving in Belize is to be had from a liveaboard, or staying out on one of the atolls - neither of which you'd probably want to do with a non-diving group.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'll give a big up to Grenada and the diving is pretty good too! Not too much for bike riding though they do have a bike rental place or two, tons of amazing hiking and beautiful sightseeing. Lots of more upscale places to choose from. I don't recommend the Flamboyant , even though it is highly advertised, it's up quite a hill and then across a road from the beach.

 

[KathyV]

St. Croix is another option for a dive/non-dive vacation spot with nice places to stay and explore. The cruise ships do stop there but you can just stay away from the tourist areas when they are in port. And the Fredricksted pier is a fabulous spot to both snorkel and shore dive.

The Divi Carina is an all-inclusive resort. We visited the property and casino it looked nice but we didn't eat there so I can't comment on the food. It is located away from both Christiansted and Fredricksted but I think you would want to rent a car anyway - at least for part of the time.

Renting a condo is another option so that you can eat in sometimes for convenience and to save money and then go out to dinner.

Here is information about things to do on St. Croix:
St. Croix | US Virgin Islands

 

[diversteve]

Two other places to consider with upscale accommodations, hiking, better than average diving and excellent snorkeling are St. John or the BVI's - esp. Virgin Gorda. Both easy to reach thru St. Thomas and a short fast ferry ride over. Cruise ships dock on St. Thomas or Tortola so you don't have that to deal with either. Here's a few links of interest in no particular order except grouped by destination. St. John has dedicated snorkel trails, Virgin Gorda some of the nicest, often un-inhabited beaches I've ever seen. Most with good/excellent snorkeling.

Since VG is similar in some ways to St. Barths - lots of affluent tourists rent villas there - there's also some really excellent restaurants. The break the bank place for Mom is Rosewood Little Dix Bay - it's as nice as it looks, we had drinks there once and would pickup divers there with DiveBVI. Excellent shallow reef there also - as we motored in the channel turtles would dive for the bottom. It's just a very pleasant, quiet place - they own the beach/bay. The Baths on the south end is a world famous snorkel spot and some of the dive sites in the islands to the south are also snorkel spots. And the RMS Rhone the signature dive off Salt Island - the front section featured in the film "the Deep".

St. John | US Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands Ferry Schedules - VInow
Best Snorkeling on St John | St John Beach Guide
USVI Watersports: Snorkel Tours, Visit the BVI, Boat Charters & More

Welcome to the Official Website of the BVI Tourist Board
http://www.divebvi.com/
http://bviscuba.org/

 

[John A Lewis]

Anybody mention Barbados yet? A bit laid back, but has the stuff for diver and non-diver alike.

Shot a jittery promo video on spec there a few years back...added to this jittery video underwater.