Need some guidance for last minute trip, please!

[puppy]

I start a 16 month anesthesia clinicals next month and while for budget reasons, thought I'd do without a vacation, I now realize I MUST have one. Going August 6th, for a week, looking for low cost, beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, diving, and taking in the culture. Looking to relax, big time. My FF miles allows me and husband to get to Mexico, Curacao, and Cayman. I'm easy going and the kind to show up with a back pack and explore.

My Mexico plan was: Cancun, travel to Isla Holbox to chill and swim with the whale sharks, and after 3 nights go to Isla Mujeres, dive and take in the island for 4 nights. I can do this cheap, which I really like. BUT... hurricanes:depressed:

Cayman Islands and Curacao sounds great too, will cost a little more, but not as risky for bad weather, right? I've been to Cozumel/Cancun, but not to the latter two.

Any advice is welcome, need to decide soon, before my ff options dry up!
Thanks,
Kathleen

 

[DeputyDan]

The Caymans are by far the most expensive and are in the hurricane belt.

Curacao is in the middle price wise and out of the hurricane belt.

You know about Cancun.

If you are really worried about hurricanes - do Curacao
If you are not - Cancun will give you the most bang for your buck.

 

[puppy]

Thanks DeputyDan,

Great, cross out Cayman, got a son starting college in September too- 2 students in 1 house = travel on a budget!

I am somewhat concerned about hurricane season, but the whale shark swim sounds great, so it's a gamble.

Anyone else? Curacao can be enjoyed on budget?

 

[gb_williams]

Here's an idea off the beaten track. Panama. You can get there relatively cheaply ($466 round trip from ATL), and it's much less expensive than anywhere in the Caribbean. The currency is the US dollar -- and it goes much further, there.

A nice hotel in Panama City will be under $100. A very nice hostel for $40. A good dinner is about $10 to $15, including drinks.

For diving, I recommend Portobelo (check out DIVE PANAMA WITH SCUBA PANAMA; oldest diving operator in Panama) or Bocas del Toro (check Bocas Water Sports). Bocas will require an additional flight to and from Panama City unless you want to drive 10 hours each way ... which, if you have the time, is a spectacular trip. The snorkeling is better in Bocas, but Portobelo also has a post card perfect sandy cove with a very nice snorkeling reef running across the entrance to the cove in about 10' to 15' of water. I like the diving better in Portobelo and it can be driven to easily from Panama City. Portobelo also has a lot of history and historical sites.

You don't have to worry about hurricanes, either. They by-pass Panama.

 

[puppy]

hmmm, Panama, I like it. How pretty are the beaches and water? I saw something recently on the Today Show about Panama but didn't catch what area of Panama they were talking about. I'm going to check my FF miles and see if they can get me there.

 

[gb_williams]

The beaches on the Pacific are nice for swimming and sunning. In many areas, like Coronado, the sand is black and the water is cooler than on the Caribbean. The beaches around Bocas are also very nice, but they can be much rougher and sometimes have very strong under-tow that can make them dangerous, at times, for body surfing. (Bocas is a surf mecca.) The island beaches around Portobelo -- one is a private island of Scubapanama -- are small but very uncrowded (as in you will probably have it to yourself) even if they are few in number.

Don't expect 100' visibility anywhere on the Caribbean side in Panama. Portobelo tends to have better vis than Bocas. Usually in the 40' to 50' range. You won't see a lot of big stuff, either. But, the variety of reef fish and critters is very nice.

Here is a review I wrote about Bocas in January: www.scubaboard.com/forums/central-america/323572-back-bocas.html

Grant

If you decide to go to Panama, let me know and I'll pass on some recommendations and itinerary suggestions.

 

[DeputyDan]

One of the members on this board owns a dive operation in Panama.

If you are realy interested in Panama look at this thread:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/central-america/340977-diving-panam.html