My Best/ Worst Dive places in Caribbean

[diversmith]

Bill,

That is some list.....I agree with your top picks but I 2nd the fact that you have missed out on alot of good T&C diving. Most people probably don't realize the winter months can be a little chilly there and the trade winds are great but not in the chilly winter. Cozumel has some of the best most affordable diving but the flights are going up and if you don't like cruise people it is way to busy for you, just stay away. Your to do list looks good I guess it depends on your taste. I am sure you could find some decent reports on those with a search.

I have to agree on the great diving in Coz....we saw sharks, eagle rays, turtles and morays constantly. Great wall dives too. Palancar Divers was the way to go for us....nicer boats, dive lockers right next to the dock, short boat rides, flexibility in picking some or all of the dives for the day (boats come back after nearly every dive). We packed up from the Park Royal and moved down to the Occidental grand after 6 nights and switching rooms 3 times, and it saved our vacation. Park Royal is a crappy place with bad food and nonstop pressure from the timeshare sharks. Tons of noise from the cruise ships and city traffic. Downtown was crappy for us...too much noise and traffic, hustlers trying to sell a bunch of garbage and fake Cuban cigars. We did one night in town and had enough. Once we moved to Occidental we became totally relaxed and started eating good food and good drinks post-dive. Met a couple of funny guys from Chicago who were really good divers and the rest is history. Moral of the story is to stay away from downtown and the docks and get off the beaten path in Coz. To me it was slightly better diving than Roatan but Roatan was really good overall for us at Anthony's Key...had great weather, good diving, lots of time with the dolphins and were totally relaxed the whole time. The wife and I just booked Fiji for this June and we are wondering if we will be forever spoiled as far as reefs go?????!!!!!!! Just wanted to throw in my .02 worth on Coz and Roatan for those it might help

 

[Bioteacher]

My husband and I have been to a lot of the places mentioned. In Roatan I would check out Seagrape plantation. The dive shop is really well run. It is within walking distance of the West End but far enough to be quiet. We went there 2years in a row which is kind of unheard of for us.

We liked Grenada. We dove with Christine at Ecodive. She is amazing. We really enjoyed touring the island and learning about spices. I will say it was really hot topside with no real breeze. That was the biggest drawback IMO. We took the red eye flight on Delta out of New York. It was OK.

We are kind of stuck on where to go in the Carribbean next. I like some of the suggestions in the posts.

 

[on_two_wheels]

Just a note on grand cayman: if ya want quiet, easy diving stay on the east end!! Went in oct last year. East side has awesome diving, easy access to dive ops and most resorts have their own. NO cruise ships either! We managed to schedule the kittiwake on a day no cruise ships were in port. I can see how staying on the west end would be crazy busy. Plus, east end has rum point. For a relaxing, uncrowned day in a hammock with a beer, it's the best!!!!

 

[nipi]

OP is wrong about Little Cayman - there is a ton of shore diving there as well as on Grand Cayman & Cayman Brac.

Also about Jamaica - the most beautiful & fascinating Caribbean Island.

My 3 favourite Caribbean dives:-

1. Randy's Gazebo - Little Cayman
2. "The Windjammer" - Bonaire
3. El Spiral - Providencia

 

[scuba-trini]

OP is also wrong about Tobago. Maybe at that time of year, there was a lot of rain. There are also some good dive resorts on the beach there - Coco Reef and Blue Waters Inn.

I would have to agree with him on Jamaica. Very scary place.

 

[VDCFitz]

Wow...there is a lot of info to digest on this thread.

Here's some more. Info on diving in Puerto Rico: | Scuba Diving Magazine

If you can only do one dive in PR...go to Guanica see Pedro and Nayda at Island Scuba. www.sanjuandiver.com

Fitz
Vieques Dive Company
www.viequesdivers.com

 

[ronscuba]

This is an interesting thread. My wife is a new diver and I am an experienced diver. I am trying to think of what places to take her to make her love diving as much as I do.

The topside activities, service, boat dive, shore dive, resort/hotel, food, etc., all combine to make up the vacation experience. But when I eliminate everything and just compare the underwater diving itself, the diving in the Caribbean is not that much different from place to place. I know many will totally disagree, but if I think back to what I wanted to see as a new diver, this holds true for me. I hate to say it, but the diving in the Caribbean was not as good as I was hoping for. The picture I had in my head of large colorful corals, tons of marine life and a lot of fish were not met in my many years of searching in the Caribbean. It wasn't until I dove Indonesia and Galapagos did I find the diving I dreamed of.

Sorry if I sound negative. It's just my opinion for what it is worth. I will still dive, vacation and enjoy the Caribbean. But as far as searching for the best diving in the Caribbean, the UW diving in the top areas is more alike than different.

 

[DeputyDan]

Sorry if I sound negative. It's just my opinion for what it is worth. I will still dive, vacation and enjoy the Caribbean. But as far as searching for the best diving in the Caribbean, the UW diving in the top areas is more alike than different.

In general I agree 100%. There are differences here and there but overall it's basically the same!

 

[BDSC]

I also agree with you Ron. While some places in the Caribbean are better than others, none of them are all that much different. Of course I still love going there but I am starting to venture outside of the Caribbean some. Last year it was Cocos and in 2014 I am in the process of reserving this entire liveaboard going to the Socorro Islands. Rocio Del Mar Liveaboard I will have the dates of November 8th - 16th in case anyone is interested and I discount the price as well.

I am also interested in doing the Sea of Cortez. So while I do intend in getting over to Indonesia, there is still a lot to see on our side of the world that's not Caribbean diving.

 

[Cumbo]

Me and my girlfriend are going to do our first trip to the States (and Caribbean) in August. What places would you recommend? We fly from Europe to New York and either from there to Miami and onwards to Caribbean or straight from NY to our Caribbean destination. I'm hoping for recommendations where to go. She's new to diving, so I don't want to take her to places such as Cozumel or others, where there are strong currents. The things we're looking for are:

- cheap(ish) flights from New York (or another city close to it) OR Miami
- cheap(ish) flights to Miami (we're flying back to Europe from Miami)
- cheap(ish) diving + resort (packages for divers)
- nice diving
- nice beaches or other things to do
- we do not care for nightlife or shopping that much because we're gonna get enough of it at NY and Miami, I think.

So far, we've been thinking about Bonaire(+Aruba), Turks and Caicos and Cayman Islands (don't know which on). All comments and recommendations are highly appreciated!


EDIT: a question about Bonaire: do the prices generally include a guide and if not, how much does it usually add to the prices? I'm definitely not going to dive anywhere with her without one..