need dive AND beach vacation suggestions

[johnsand]

New here....first post.....My wife & I have been diving in Cozumel almost 95% of our dives. We are looking for a new place (we are on a budget.) Good diving is important as well as great beaches. We love to spend time walking on beautiful beaches. Do you suggest: Belize? Caymans (I am concerned too expensive)? Jamaica? St Thomas? St. John? Trunk Bay? Pleas, please give me reasons WHY or WHY NOT; pictures if possible; as much info as possible; place to stay etc etc.


We have been certified for over 20 years and dive a few times a year. Both have the basic certification. We both have been to depths of 110' or so, we're comfortable with decompression stops, btw have done walls, and night dives. While I feel were are fairly experienced and we are very comfortable down there....I would not say we are experts.


So.....where do you suggest we go and WHY? Pictures too if you have them......THANKS!!!!

 

[danvolker]

New here....first post.....My wife & I have been diving in Cozumel almost 95% of our dives. We are looking for a new place (we are on a budget.) Good diving is important as well as great beaches. We love to spend time walking on beautiful beaches. Do you suggest: Belize? Caymans (I am concerned too expensive)? Jamaica? St Thomas? St. John? Trunk Bay? Pleas, please give me reasons WHY or WHY NOT; pictures if possible; as much info as possible; place to stay etc etc.


We have been certified for over 20 years and dive a few times a year. Both have the basic certification. We both have been to depths of 110' or so, we're comfortable with decompression stops, btw have done walls, and night dives. While I feel were are fairly experienced and we are very comfortable down there....I would not say we are experts.


So.....where do you suggest we go and WHY? Pictures too if you have them......THANKS!!!!

I am going to say Palm Beach, Singer Island specifically. I will give you a short video to see the beaches in the intro ( note the huge mangrove and wilderness area for miles of beach) . The video will show you excellent diving that will be very different to the good diving you have already enjoyed....by this, I mean an entirely new kind of diving experience with large marine life and lots of it

When you are not diving, and not walking on the beach, there are more things TO DO in Palm Beach County than virtually any other Famous Dive Resort destination...the dining out is world class, the shopping is world class...clubs and music are world class...I can give you links for all this as well. For now, please check out the video and tell me how it strikes you

[video=youtube_share;ZTdpxYSiv5M]http://youtu.be/ZTdpxYSiv5M?hd=1[/video]



---------- Post Merged at 07:50 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:18 PM ----------

In case you have an interest in wreck dives, this is another area Palm Beach is fantastic for....see
[video=youtube_share;XyzTrJha5Kc]http://youtu.be/XyzTrJha5Kc?hd=1 [/video]

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Are you on the Palm Beach Tourist Development Council Dan?

 

[diversteve]

danvolker is always going to suggest Palm Beach - it's what he does... We think they pay him...lol

I've included links to things I talk about after each section since I have them all bookmarked.

Grand Cayman has nice beaches. It's also very expensive both staying, diving - 2/$100 boat dives is standard, and eating except for some local options. Seven Mile Beach is a nice stretch of sand but the diving there is farther offshore - some operators have flat bottom boats and will pick you up right off the beach. Most of the others offer a free shuttle to their boat in one of the nearby marinas. You can do Cayman more reasonably if you rent a condo or stay off the water, eat at local spots or the U.S. chains - there's a Hard Rock, Burger King, Subway etc. There's also two semi-AI's - Sunset House and Cobalt Coast - meal plans are optional. You can also do quite a bit of good shore diving there to save money. You'll need a car to get around from Cobalt Coast it's pretty far north.
Cayman Islands Scuba Diving Resort
Cayman Resort | Vacation Packages from Cobalt Coast
Cayman Islands | Caribbean Vacation Packages, Honeymoon Caribbean
Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Cayman Islands, Caribbean

Equally nice and pricey but smaller is Turks & Caicos. Grace Bay is often rated the nicest beach in the world - and priced accordingly. I think the diving there is even better than Grand Cayman - we saw more larger stuff there. But we did a liveaboard - doing day trips from Providenciales (Provo) would require 45min. rides to the best sites - West Caicos and French Cay. There's little to no shore diving off Provo, the reef off NW point is slightly too far out. There's also Grand Turk, it's a lot smaller but there's a major cruise port there. There is a wall there that's shore accessible but IDK any details.
Beautiful by Nature - Turks and Caicos Islands - Turks and Caicos Tourist Board

The East Side of St. Thomas also has some nicer beaches. The diving there is mostly shallower out in the cays and off St. John nearby. South of Charlotte Amalie there's a lot of wrecks. There's a couple of decent shore dives but you'd need a car to access them. IIRC staying on St. John is quite a bit pricier than St. Thomas also - we rented condos in a complex near St. Thomas's East End - you'd need a car in that area though. There's two or three dive operators nearby as well - one at Coki Beach, one in Red Hook and one at Sapphire Beach resort. There's also Bolongo Bay, it's more or less an AI dive resort on the east side also. We spent a day or two in Charlotte Amalie transiting thru, if I was going to spend any time on St. Thomas it would be elsewhere. It's a big cruise port and pretty much every resort we saw in town was fenced with gated security.

If you stay on the East End it's possible to day trip over to St. John - afaik there's only one or two dive operators on St. John now. No personal exp. but my friend's nephew owns there. I think Trunk Bay is more of a snorkel than dive spot - shallow for a long way out. From St. Thomas there's a car ferry all day.

Wreck Dives St. Thomas USVI Scuba Trips Guided Snorkeling Packages
Coki Dive Center | St Thomas US Virgin Islands | Diving Certification Lessons
Red Hook Dive Center | Scuba Diving in St. Thomas US Virgin Islands
Bolongo Bay Beach Resort | The Caribbean's most entertaining beach resort, USVI
S T J O H N U S V I . C O M - Ferry

I've never been but the consensus from what I've read is that Jamaica diving is a step or two down - some of the reefs are pretty fished out.

You might look at Curacao also. It's the same great diving as Bonaire - on the same reef. One advantage it has over Bonaire is there are some nicer beaches there. Most of the beaches are also shore dive sites with onsite rental operators. It's easier to get to - more major carriers fly there - and less expensive than Bonaire since it's the major container port for the region. There's diving in town but the better dives are farther west in more remote areas. An affordable option if you don't mind the 45min. drive back to town (for most things) is All West Apts. in Westpunt. Their shore dive - Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland is among the best I've done on either island. We did 22 dives on Curacao - only one was by boat. It's mostly easy entry, low current diving. The reef parallels the shoreline so it's hard to get lost.

We stayed two places on Curacao. One was My Dream Apts. - a nicer newer small complex (8 units) in the resort area of Lagun. It's near nothing except the Playa Lagun divesite. A few minutes north is Playa Jeremi - a top snorkel site listed on Frommer's and other lists. It's also a good shore dive. And a totally isolated beach, we were the only people there all morning. My Dreams cost me $85/nt. for a 1 bedroom apt. with full kitchen - except cooking was limited to a cookplate and microwave. They have WiFi and the ocean front units look down on the water 60' below so no beach. Mt. view is $65/nt. Definitely need a car to stay/dive out there.

Later we moved closer to town to Piscadera Bay. Stayed at Piscadera Bay Resort. A 2 br. condo - not waterfront but water view was $125/nt. Plus cleaning and electricity charges. Mine was $175. Full kitchen, private deck/yard - gated security. Across the street is the Marriott and the Hilton. Both have dive operators, casinos and an average shore dive. There's a couple of nearby restaurants (Denny's and better) and a beach bar within walking distance. Centrum market two miles away for groceries. Dining on Curacao was no more than other reasonably priced resort destinations. 10 minute drive from there to downtown.

We moved into town to do more non-dive things like shopping downtown although we did the Tugboat and Dolphin dive from there. And drove back west 15mins. to Varsenbaai - good dive - avg. local beach.

..:: All West Apartments & Diving, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles ::..
Curacao Travel- Caribbean, Curacao, Dutch Caribbean
http://www.mydreamapartments.com/Englishindex.html
Piscadera Bay Resort
Curacao Beaches - Caribbean Holidays
Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Curacao, ABC Islands

hope this gives you some options, PM if you have more specific questions.

 

[danvolker]

Are you on the Palm Beach Tourist Development Council Dan?

I wish I have been on a mission for many years, without pay, to attempt to correct what I see are Advertising Budget based misconceptions about the quality of diving at many Dive Destinations. Just to be clear... No one pays me, or has ever paid me, for what I post on Scubaboard.

I figure the video I posted does the real talking.

Considering Monroe County gives the Keys 9 million per year for primarily Dive advertising, you guys have plenty of paid professionals pushing articles and ads and creating the "illusion" of what diving the Keys has become. My thing is to push REALITY. Real Diving.

Note that i was NOT saying anything negative about any destination with my post. However, I don't turn the other cheek, for anyone. Certainly not the Keys.
You might want to PM me rather than continue this here.

 

[Reck Diver]

Both S. Florida and the Keys have excellent diving opportunities. West Palm is a more urban environment, and does have some fine entertainment areas. You must have a concern about the violent crime in the West Palm Beach area. Riviera Beach has fine surfside area, with a several Oceanfront hotels. However cross the Blue Heron Bridge and you are in the drive-by capital of Palm Beach County.

To me, what separates the two is that the Florida Keys is a tropical paradise.

 

[DSR-3]

I remember walking this beach (in Grace bay) after returning on the Aggressor Turks & Caicos, and thinking that is as perfect a beach as I've ever seen. In that entire distance, I passed 1 jogger, and had 2 dogs walk for a while with me- that was it! It looked "more crowded" as you get into the resorts part of the beach (opposite direction). Unfortunately, you mentioned "a budget" and I don't know that T&C fits that too well. As mentioned/qualified, the diving was very good. Have fun.

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[danvolker]

Both S. Florida and the Keys have excellent diving opportunities. West Palm is a more urban environment, and does have some fine entertainment areas. You must have a concern about the violent crime in the West Palm Beach area. Riviera Beach has fine surfside area, with a several Oceanfront hotels. However cross the Blue Heron Bridge and you are in the drive-by capital of Palm Beach County.

To me, what separates the two is that the Florida Keys is a tropical paradise.

Reckdiver certainly has the right to his opinions....However, if you are staying on Singer Island, Crime in West Palm is no more relevant than crime in Washington DC.
Singer Island is the exotic Getaway feel many people are looking for....but when you want things to do non-diving related, you go 10 to 15 minutes away to some of the nicest places in Florida. In 15 minutes, you could be on the Island of Palm Beach, of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous fame.....hardly a drive-by capitol. Or 13 minutes away is the Waterfront of Downtown Clematis in West Palm Beach, a beautiful area with extremely upscale nightclubs, shopping, and a great deal of local character as the area is not national chain related, but created and run by locals. Home to great music and a relaxing feel, this is a fun place to visit... Any good sized city has "some area" with the "wrong side of the tracks" and a higher crime area. In Palm Beach County, there is an area of Riviera Beach where late at night is not so great to be wandering around at gas stations or conveniance stores....in areas that look like they would not be good. Easy to see, easy to avoid. This has nothing to do with a diving vacation, except in Reckdiver's psyche. If that is what he wants to think about, again, that is his business. For me, when I think of the Keys, I think of a huge long drive on a terribly dangerous two lane road ( because of the accidents on it and frequent enormous delays after a crash) ..and then I think of how cool Key West was in the 60's and 70's, and then when you get there, all the Zen has been destroyed by greedy developers, and what was once an Island paradise with amazing local color, is now devoid of charm. The Mom & Pops that made the Keys were run out of town, and this has been replaced by a corporate illness and time shares and condos. While they still have diving, it is a long boat ride out to the reefs. Once on the reefs, there can be a pretty shallow relaxing dive on a nice day, but don't expect lots of big fish, or lots of fish, period. They should provide videos of what the diving experience is like, but apparently they would rather not.

Again....I had no intention of discussing negatives about other destinations. I would rather just showcase what is good. Maybe we could shift this thread in that direction?

 

[Divingbases]

Hi John,
You can have a look on my website. http://divingbases.com
We have over 11,400 addresses.

greet
Rob

 

[pugdiver]

I would echo the Turks and Caicos recommendation from Diversteve. We go down at least once a year. He is right though it is not cheap. You can tone down the costs a little by staying off the beach. Comfort Suites has a number of dive packages and the Trade Winds Condotel often has some deals. Both are a three minute walk from Grace Bay Beach and within walking distance of a number of great restaurants. Pretty much all the dive operators are great there and the sites rock especially down in French Cay and West Caicos.

Was in Jamaica last march break and I am happy to say that the reefs seem to becoming back. They are still not what you are going to get elsewhere but the Iberostar Rose Hall Suites and Dressel Divers combination was a pleasant surprise for me. If you go they will remember me by the Bhudda tattoo on my back.

One last plug for turks we are heading back in December.