New to this board. Looking for Caribbean recommendations

[galiam77]

Hello fellow divers,

I've been a diver for over 20 years, but I mostly dived in the Red Sea. In the past few years, since we moved to the US, I started diving in the Caribbean. We dived in Punta Cana, Aruba and St. Martin, and I have to say that I wasn't that impressed. The visibility was not so great, and all in all the reefs were not that amazing.

We just came back from an amazing vacation in Saint Lucia, where we dived in some of the most amazing sites I've ever been to (Anse Cochon, Anse Chastnet, Soufrire). Now I'm looking for recommendations for some more beautiful Caribbean dive sites. I'm not looking for very deep dives (60 feet is plenty for me), but I am looking for beautiful colorful reefs or wrecks. I like shore diving, but ok with boats too.

Also if you can recommend a nice All Inclusive resort to stay at, with nice sandy beaches and good food - that would be great.

One thing that is important to me is that it's relatively easy to get to from the main airport. We tend to get motion sickness in very long rides on windy roads, or small plane rides.:depressed:

Thank you in advance!

Galia

 

[diverjen]

For shallow, warm, easy (not really wreck locations, but each have one larger one, and more smaller ones):
Harbour Village or Plaza Resort on Bonaire
Suscape(more family oriented) or lodge kura hulanda(AI?) on Curacao

I would also say Belize or Little Cayman for beautiful shallow reef, but your "close the main airport" criteria rules it out.


I have heard that nothing in the Caribbean compares to the Red Sea, but haven't seen it for myself.

 

[KathyV]

Hello fellow divers, I've been a diver for over 20 years, but I mostly dived in the Red Sea. In the past few years, since we moved to the US, I started diving in the Caribbean. We dived in Punta Cana, Aruba and St. Martin, and I have to say that I wasn't that impressed. The visibility was not so great, and all in all the reefs were not that amazing...I like shore diving, but ok with boats too...Also if you can recommend a nice All Inclusive resort to stay at, with nice sandy beaches and good food - that would be great...One thing that is important to me is that it's relatively easy to get to from the main airport. We tend to get motion sickness in very long rides on windy roads, or small plane rides.:depressed:

Welcome, this forum is a great site to help you find good diving all over the world!

Sometimes you have to travel a little out of the way to find the best diving. Personally I think Bloody Bay Wall off Little Cayman is the best diving in the Caribbean and the reefs off Cayman Brac are also excellent. The Brac Reef Beach Resort and the Little Cayman Beach Resort are both all-inclusive, diver-dedicated resorts but you will have to take another plane from Grand Cayman to visit either of the Cayman Sister Islands, but it doesn’t have to be a propeller plane because Cayman Airways does offer some jet flights to the smaller islands.

Cayman Airways operates several different types of aircraft for interisland flights including small and medium propeller planes and jets. I know that the jet flies round trip regularly to/from Cayman Brac out of Grand Cayman because I’ve taken it. And I was scheduled to take it again last fall but then we changed our flights. I’m not sure if you can get a jet from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman, you would have to check on that.

We were at the Brac Reef Beach Resort in October (our 3rd visit) and it's a short flight from GC. After you land it is only a very short drive (5 to 10 minutes on good, paved roads) to get to the resort. The resort is all-inclusive, clean, nice, provides good service, terrific food, you can safely drink the water and walk on the beach, and they have an excellent dive operation, short boat rides, beautiful reefs, and you can dive on the wreck of a sunken Russian frigate.

We usually take one of the propeller planes to the smaller Cayman islands because my husband likes them! (It's one of the highlights of his trip - go figure!) I am prone to sea-sickness and car-sickness but I have never gotten ill travelling by air to the Cayman out islands on any craft.

I've never dived Aruba or St. Marten and for good reason; neither of those islands have reputations as great dive locations. When I went to St. Marten it was because I was traveling to Saba (now that's a scary plane ride!) I have dived in Bonaire and Curacao (but not Aruba) because they have reputations as better dive destinations. Bonaire has the best shore diving IMO but there are other nice options available.