Places to avoid in the Caribbean?

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(disclaimer: I haven't read the thread to see if this is repeat info)
Went to Jamaica 20+ years ago. one time only. Not going back because of:
the pushy drug salesmen at the airport and outside the bus windows as we moved through town to the resort; the cautions from the resort staff to not leave the grounds without a staff guide (the resort itself was beautiful).
But the winner was the group of armed guards stationed around the perimeter of the resort grounds.
Did they make me feel safer? Not sure, the need for them made me feel unsafe.
As I said 20+ years ago. Maybe (hopefully?) things have changed .
 
All great points Doc and Rich! I guess that on my one trip to Roatan the conditions offsite from the "properties" just seemed far worse than I've seen elsewhere. I started diving Bonaire in 1990 and have been back over a dozen times overs the years... Last time pre-covid in 2019.....and I still always felt safe there and don't even have 2nd thoughts about my wife and buddy's wife making day trips alone to the supermarket if not doing afternoon dives with us .....although I will say that it's not quite the same since the cruise ships started visiting....

In Coxen Hole I felt a sincere need for my Glock.... The other reason for my negativity about Roatan is that on our one and only trip we stayed at Anthony's and there were a few bad weather days that necessitated a bus ride to the other sive over by Coco View.....so we ended up seeing a lot that we were probably not intended to see.
 
. I still feel pretty safe out after dark on Bonaire trips.
Just don’t lock up your vehicle during the night dive. That way, you won’t get charged for a broken window.

There is that.
 
What better way to dive in Roatan than show up on a cruise ship, dive the reef and then go back to the cruise ship? Don't have to stay there, just drop off your dollars, dive and then leave. No muss, no fuss.

Am going back to Roatan in Dec on a cruise ship. Will be diving again. Looking forward to it.
 
What better way to dive in Roatan than show up on a cruise ship,,,,,No muss, no fuss.
Be sure to get your log book signed.

Pro tip: The only place to get the Roatan Harley Davidson shirt is in the Cruise Ship Straw Market at Mahogany Bay.

I can’t get in there as I’m not on a cruise ship but I’ve bought mine used (but clean from a pet-free, smoke-free home) on eBay.

I do not think that Roatan Harley sells motorcycles as the roads suck and the locals can barely afford to live there as the ‘cruise ship money’ only goes to the 1% you always hear about.
 
Surprised Barbados and Grenada have not been mentioned. Barbados has great resorts, amazing beaches lots to do around the island, good nightlife, great food is safe and has OK / pretty good diving. Not that many americans on the island but loads of Canadians, Brits and Italians

Grenada is a bit quieter but lovely.
 
Surprised Barbados and Grenada have not been mentioned. Barbados has great resorts, amazing beaches lots to do around the island, good nightlife, great food is safe and has OK / pretty good diving. Not that many americans on the island but loads of Canadians, Brits and Italians

Grenada is a bit quieter but lovely.

Probably because they sound like nice places to go, and this a thread of places to avoid lol
 
Piling on for Curacao, with the non divers out weighing the divers 2 to 1, you can still keep everyone happy. Plus there is plenty of fun down town at night.

Beaches with restaurants, and beach chairs, and dive shops, oh my!

Around $15 a dive if you bring your own gear.
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I'm not sure people are reading this thread title very well. It also begins to make more sense why stuff comes with pictogram warning stickers all over them instead of relying on people to read the instruction manual lol.

Places I wouldn't recommend in the Caribbean so far are limited to Jamaica. I wouldn't recommend it solely due to the existence of other better options, it wasn't exactly bad. Reefs were the worst i've seen in the caribbean (which means they still are better than by me lol), and the you had the shady drug dealers outside of the resorts. Not terrible but other places to go and spend money.
 
Piling on for Curacao, with the non divers out weighing the divers 2 to 1, you can still keep everyone happy. Plus there is plenty of fun down town at night.

Beaches with restaurants, and beach chairs, and dive shops, oh my!

Around $15 a dive if you bring your own gear.
View attachment 715995View attachment 715996

Seems like a nice place to add to a thread of places to avoid lol
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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