Shore Diving/Travel Destinations

[Larry G]

My wife and I have made a lot of dive trips around the Caribbean. We keep going back to Curacao and Bonaire as they have great diving. Like most dive destinations, they offer 2 tank boat dives in the morning. Curacao and Bonaire also have very easy and plentiful shore diving. But, we'd like to try another island (Caribbean). Anybody know of dive destinations that offer 2 tank boat dives AND good shore diving for early morning, afternoon, and evening diving?

Suggestions appreciated!

 

[scubadada]

Grand Cayman could work. Turtle Reef/Macabuca, Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast and others near town.

 

[drrich2]

You've been to the main 2. Other potential shore diving destinations are Grand Cayman (which Scubadada already covered), Cayman Brac and St. Croix. I wouldn't put St. Croix on par with Bonaire and Curacao, but I enjoyed my trip there years ago; since then a hurricane hit and a lot has changed, but my old trip report might give you some idea.

St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017 - Trip Report - St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017

 

[Doc]

@drrich2 What’s that place you went to in Roatan? CoCo Puff?

 

[drrich2]

Hah! Yeah, Doc, can't believe I didn't list CocoView Resort in Roatan.

CocoView Trip Report May 2021 - Trip Report - CocoView Resort May 8-15, 2021

My Research Notes from planning a Roatan Trip - My Research Notes from Planning Roatan Trip

They also offer some topside excursion options. And if you're after shore diving on Roatan, CCV is the place you want to be.

 

[Thereefiscalling2612]

I would recommend Cayman Brac for an interesting shore diving alternative to Bonaire. They have around 25 sites accessible from shore (20 on the north side and 5 on the south side). We just got back from a 2-week trip - one week in Little Cayman and second week on Cayman Brac. We did 2-tank boat dives in the morning and shore dives in the afternoon / evening / night (including a few great shore dives on Little Cayman's north side). We even skipped a few days of boat diving on Cayman Brac for extra shore dives. We have been to Bonaire several times. That has historically been our go-to destination for shore diving. The underwater topography is more interesting on Little Cayman / Cayman Brac, and you do see a lot more smaller pelagics than Bonaire (reef sharks, nurse sharks, many eagle rays, groupers, and also outstanding massive barrel sponges everywhere). Bonaire I feel has slightly more colorful reefs (more soft coral) and noticeably more fish, and the expense of what can become redundant underwater topography. We love Bonaire and it will always have a place in our heart. However, we will also definitely be returning to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac to spice things up. Happy to provide more details on our trip!

 

[mikecable66]

Thinking about a trip to Cayman Brac. Who did you use for the boat dives? Did you rent a truck for the shore dives? Do they pick you up in the mornings? Gear storage? Anything else would be appreciated. Never been to Brac, it looks great.

 

[Thereefiscalling2612]

Thinking about a trip to Cayman Brac. Who did you use for the boat dives? Did you rent a truck for the shore dives? Do they pick you up in the mornings? Gear storage? Anything else would be appreciated. Never been to Brac, it looks great.

We used Brac Scuba Shack. They’re the only dive shop on the island that also provides tanks for shore diving. They have a brochure with about 25-30 shore dive sites. We rented a hatch-back, but I assume you could find truck rentals. They do not pick you up or provide gear storage. We kept ours at the AirBnB overnight.

 

[TheScubaDirectory]

+1 for Cayman Brac. A very laidback island with great shore diving and boat diving.

Here's a list of shore dives with GPS coords if helpful:
Cayman Brac Shore Dive Sites

 

[divezonescuba]

Cayman Brac is my favorite destination in the western hemisphere. The underwater topography is stunning. Way more interesting and varied than Bonaire. We generally shore dive with the exception of a boat trip to Little Cayman with the Brac Scuba Shack. We rent a minivan from 4Ds. It actually cheaper than renting a truck on Bonaire.

The only thing about Cayman Brac is that you may not be able to consistently shore dive between November and February as the wind shifts and makes the north side where the shore diving is too rough. You can't really shore dive the south side due to the great distance to the wall. So if you go in the winter, you may only be able to boat dive.


After doing the VRBO thing, we now do the Alexander. Everybody is much happier.