So Many diving choices...Please help

[azcat2tx]

Hi.

My buddies and I are trying to plan a trip in the March/early April timeframe.

Some quick details - We are all in our early 30s and single. We are looking for a place to dive that has great diving, and a great (ok, decent nightlife - we want to be able to get out and meet people).

We are looking at the following locations:
Roatan, Belize or Cayman Islands. We have found a ton of information about Roatan, and have an idea about the diving/nightlife on the island. Unfortunately, we don't really know much about the other locales. Our last dive trip was to Cozumel, so we are looking to stay away from there/Playa Del Carmen and Cancun.

We have heard that ambergris caye is the place to stay and dive from in Belize. Is this the best place? Are there other places in Belize that have more to offer?

Grand Cayman seems to be the place to stay, but what is the nightlife like? We have heard that Little Cayman is the best diving of the islands. Are we on the right track? How far is Little Cayman from Grand Cayman? Cayman Brac? Do people generally stay on Little Cayman? If so, what is the scene like there?

Any information you can provide would be great. I would like to know of some reputable dive shops for each location, and dive shops that maybe we should stay away from. Has anyone rented a vacation house? Can you recommend a leasing/rental company? What part of the island should we try to find a house/hotel to stay?

Any thoughts about the diving/nightlife in Trinidad/Tobago?

As you can see, I am trying to get as much information as possible. We would rather sacrifice a little nightlife to have better diving, but we do need a decent after-hours scene to help us relax.

If you would prefer not to mention names on the forum, please send me a message to let me know what you think.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[jaybombs25]

nightlife in trinidad i don't think you can get many more palces on earth with more nightlife.. great great and if you go in feb its carnival entire country takes two weeks off youll have the best time of your life hundreds of thousands of people flock to the island for this event

 

[azcat2tx]

Thankss, but is the diving and nightlife on the same island?

 

[REII]

Ambergris Cay Belize has the best of both worlds.

TOM

 

[diversteve]

Thankss, but is the diving and nightlife on the same island?

No the partying is on Trinidad but the diving is on Tobago.

Grand Cayman seems to be the place to stay, but what is the nightlife like?

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=2566874#post2566874
Look them up, I think Matrix and a couple others have websites.

How far is Little Cayman from Grand Cayman?

90 Miles. Too far to get to except by plane - about 40min.

Cayman Brac?

Brac and LC are close enough that boats from one dive the other.

Do people generally stay on Little Cayman?

Those that want peace and quiet do.

If so, what is the scene like there?

No nightlife to speak of except the resort bars. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/littlecayman/2369010030.html

For what you want, stay on Grand Cayman...

I would like to know of some reputable dive shops for each location.

Grand Cayman:

WalltoWall
Neptunes Divers
Divetech
Absolute Divers

On Brac it's pretty much staying/diving with Brac Reef resort/Reef Divers since the Divi closed. Be aware that there's now a tank shortage on Brac also so if you rent a house, make sure Reef Divers can supply your needs - if you're not diving with them their tank supply is limited.

More info here, but it's not current. Doesn't look like it's been updated since Ivan - there's a couple ops listed that I know were destroyed.: http://www.divecayman.ky/

Has anyone rented a vacation house? Can you recommend a leasing/rental company? What part of the island should we try to find a house/hotel to stay?

Stay along Seven Mile Beach or just north of there. More of the restaurants/clubs are in that area. Georgetown has a few places but it pretty much shuts down when the cruisers leave. We've been there at 6:30 and it's a ghost town.

There's bigger condos along SMB if you don't need a house. The houses I've seen for rental tend to be in the North Sound area and not close to the nightlife. But nothing more than a 10min drive.

Staying on SMB most of the diveops will pick you up also, not sure if they do that in residential areas.

You also don't want anything on the East End, there's no nightlife, a few resorts and two diveops. And a 45min drive back to Georgetown - as you can guess it's really quiet there.

There's a few houses/condos for rent on the East End that show up on sites like vrbo.com or caribbeanway so make sure you locate anything you're considering.