Recommendations on dive resorts

[Gray Diver]

Kathy,
Brac is a great island, good diving, loads to do/see on shore. But it isn't what we're looking for in the way of this thread. (We aren't ruling Brac out of further trips, the wife has always said she'd love to go back, but it would probably be in conjunction with a trip to LC as well.) Plus the dive boat is usually out for 2 or all 3 dives without returning and this is specifically what I'm trying to avoid. If I was by myself this wouldn't be a problem, but then I'd be on a liveaboard somewhere.

The wife enjoys relaxing and reading her Kindle for hours/days. She is quite content to do nothing, as this is her vacation. When I take a day off from diving, we typically go kayaking, walk the beaches etc. In the past we've ziplined, gone fishing, snorkeling, hiking and seeing ruins, waterfalls etc. But for this type of trip, all we need is kayaks, beaches and maybe some fishing. If she were to plan the trip, it would be serious beachtime, with no one in sight. But I can't sit still that long, so this combines her love of beaches with my passion for diving.

Someone asked about budget, and I should answer that. Huracan was less then $2400/wk per diver, all meals included, 15 dives. Boat transfer from Belize City included. So that is my baseline. Non-diver was like $1800. Food was outstanding, no buffets. Conch was to die for.

 

[drrich2]

What did you think about Hoag's suggestion in Post #5, Bohio Dive Resort on Grand Turk? Short rides to dive sites, back to Bohio in between, package for 2 morning dives/day, per website:

• Free use of kayaks, hobie cats, paddle boards and snorkel equipment.

and judging from photos the beach looks fine.

It is a cruise port, and a fairly small island, but he said there are areas off-limits to the cruisers. Here's the Grand Turk port schedule - you can see who's due to be in port, and which days are 'shipless.' If you check out Any good Caribbean dive resorts for a non-diver?, post #28 by bobfmdc:

The beaches are pristine white sand--some of the most beautiful you have ever seen. The cruise ship terminal is on the far south end of the island; the Bohio is on the north end (maybe 7-8 miles apart). In the middle is the town, with some building that date to the 1840s salt trade. Shops open up in town when the cruise ships are in port.

You can do maybe a day of sightseeing before you run out of surface stuff to see. Maybe spend another half day at the cruise ship port watching white-skin fat people get drunk and sunburned.

A key point is that Bohio is well away from the cruise ship terminal.

If you like small and isolated, perhaps you'd be interested in this one - Salt Caye in the Turks & Caicos. I don't know how they fared in the 2017 hurricanes.

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

Kathy,
Brac is a great island, good diving, loads to do/see on shore. But it isn't what we're looking for in the way of this thread. (We aren't ruling Brac out of further trips, the wife has always said she'd love to go back, but it would probably be in conjunction with a trip to LC as well.) Plus the dive boat is usually out for 2 or all 3 dives without returning and this is specifically what I'm trying to avoid. If I was by myself this wouldn't be a problem, but then I'd be on a liveaboard somewhere.

The wife enjoys relaxing and reading her Kindle for hours/days. She is quite content to do nothing, as this is her vacation. When I take a day off from diving, we typically go kayaking, walk the beaches etc. In the past we've ziplined, gone fishing, snorkeling, hiking and seeing ruins, waterfalls etc. But for this type of trip, all we need is kayaks, beaches and maybe some fishing. If she were to plan the trip, it would be serious beachtime, with no one in sight. But I can't sit still that long, so this combines her love of beaches with my passion for diving.

Someone asked about budget, and I should answer that. Huracan was less then $2400/wk per diver, all meals included, 15 dives. Boat transfer from Belize City included. So that is my baseline. Non-diver was like $1800. Food was outstanding, no buffets. Conch was to die for.

The CBBR dive boats go out for the first 2 dives, they always come back for lunch and then go out for the afternoon dive; they never go out for 3 dives at one time. Sometimes they come back to the resort between the first 2 morning dives but not regularly.

There's no zip-lining in the Caymans but kayaking is available. It sounds like Southern Cross Club on Little Cayman might be more your style. A very small resort with few or no people in sight and the price is more consistent with your generous budget.

Maybe you should go back to Huracan; that is what you love so why not just enjoy it; who cares if you have done it before? We've been going back to the Caymans for the last several years and every year we discuss going someplace else and we weigh the pros and cons - but we wind up back in Cayman because it is what we love - and that's okay.

 

[Gray Diver]

What did you think about Hoag's suggestion in Post #5, Bohio Dive Resort on Grand Turk? Short rides to dive sites, back to Bohio in between, package for 2 morning dives/day, per website:

• Free use of kayaks, hobie cats, paddle boards and snorkel equipment.

and judging from photos the beach looks fine.

It is a cruise port, and a fairly small island, but he said there are areas off-limits to the cruisers. Here's the Grand Turk port schedule - you can see who's due to be in port, and which days are 'shipless.' If you check out Any good Caribbean dive resorts for a non-diver?, post #28 by bobfmdc:



A key point is that Bohio is well away from the cruise ship terminal.

If you like small and isolated, perhaps you'd be interested in this one - Salt Caye in the Turks & Caicos. I don't know how they fared in the 2017 hurricanes.

Richard.

Drrich, and Hoag,
Sorry to not have responded to Hoag, thanks for the suggestion. Initially I was scared off of Bohio due to the cruise ship daypasses. We have had bad experiences with them being allowed onto our hotel grounds in Cozumel. So I immediately dismissed it. In looking into it further, (Google maps) we realized how much smaller GT's cruise ship port is (then Coz). (I won't get into a dissertation here about how I think Cruise ships have ruined Coz for divers.)
Bohio looks great, though the price of a 3rd dive is pretty steep, ($80), perhaps there's a break for a wk package? I don't see Nitrox, is it available?
But the bottom line is, while this resort could indeed be an option, it is more in line with a Cozumel trip, rather then a secluded getaway. We have been considering a TC trip, and Bohio and Salt Cay will bear more investigation. Thank both of you for the suggestions.

 

[Hoag]

Drrich, and Hoag,
Sorry to not have responded to Hoag, thanks for the suggestion. Initially I was scared off of Bohio due to the cruise ship daypasses. We have had bad experiences with them being allowed onto our hotel grounds in Cozumel. So I immediately dismissed it. In looking into it further, (Google maps) we realized how much smaller GT's cruise ship port is (then Coz). (I won't get into a dissertation here about how I think Cruise ships have ruined Coz for divers.)
Bohio looks great, though the price of a 3rd dive is pretty steep, ($80), perhaps there's a break for a wk package? I don't see Nitrox, is it available?
But the bottom line is, while this resort could indeed be an option, it is more in line with a Cozumel trip, rather then a secluded getaway. We have been considering a TC trip, and Bohio and Salt Cay will bear more investigation. Thank both of you for the suggestions.

FWIW, the "boat people" are really only a factor from about 10am till about 3pm. They are restricted in where they can go and other than when you grab lunch (they also have access to the restaurant), you can pretty much avoid them without any effort. (I think that they are restricted to a specific part of the beach, leaving the majority of the beach for Bohio guests.)

One thing that I did forget to mention is that it is kind of a family environment. I don't mean that it caters to families, but rather that Tom & Ginny who own Bohio will greet you and treat you like you are long lost family. They will call you by name (they will call you Gray, not Mr Diver) and they will sometimes come over to chat when you are having a meal to see if everything is OK or if there is something else you need (or want). To be honest, I genuinely think that they really want you to feel welcome.

 

[diversteve]

The only thing about Salt C

Salt Cay will bear more investigation.

Dive Salt Cay Divers, scuba diving, Salt Cay, Turks Caicos Islands - there's also some island info.

Since you liked Huracan - maybe another atoll resort.

Turneffe Island Resort
Turneffe Flats
Isla Marisol
Blackbird Cay

 

[diversteve]

and for something really small (island/resort)...

Chub Cay Resort

I've run out of suggestions...

 

[Damselfish]

Your wife might like Young Island Resort, private island right off St Vincent. Might be in your budget, rates vary a lot depending on season and AI or not. (We've always done AI as it didn't used to be an option, and probably still would.) It's not a dive resort per se, but works pretty well. Think there are currently 3 ops nearby on the mainland, I assume all would pick up at the YI dock but not sure. We've always used Dive St Vincent, they pick us up and stored gear we didn't want to haul around. (Wetsuits we would just wear right back to our room in and hop in the outdoor shower - we always stay in lower rooms along the beach and water, not the ones up on the hill.)

We haven't been there in years as St Vincent had gotten to be more and more of a pain to get to. But they finally completed their new international airport last year and I just read that American is starting weekly year-round flights in December. No A/C in most of the cottages so we stick to winter there which works ok.

Bequia is also an interesting off the beaten path place, you might find something that suits you there - perhaps Plantation? You can catch the ferry from St Vincent and combine the 2 places. I think there's 2 dive ops, who will pick up at the various lodgings nearby and from peoples boats. More restaurants than you might expect as it's a popular stop for sailboats.

 

[Snoweman]

St. Lucia is beautiful but it is mostly big, all-inclusive resorts so that might not be what you are looking for

I'm going to disagree with Kathy on this point. I came back from St. Lucia about a month ago. We stayed in a VRBO and loved it. I only did two dives, but I could dive Superman's Flight over and over again. Just a spectacular reef. There's tons of other stuff to do in the area, or you can just chill to some spectacular views. If you go off season and use ff miles to get there, it can be very reasonable. We stayed with another couple at LaBagatelle. Just wonderful.

 

[Gray Diver]

Diversteve, Thanks, I'm actually surprised that no one suggested the other Belizean Atolls, I do know of them, in fact almost turned right around after the trip to Huracan, and went back to Belize and Turneffe, (the LDS was going and had a late cancellation.) But I do want to try somewhere else, I started diving in Belize in 1990, the only place I've been more often is Cozumel, and that is because of cheap, easy flights for us. (Belize is double the price.)
As for the Bahamas, thats another place I've heard really mixed reviews on. As a topside vacation, it sounds ideal, just not sure of the diving.