some suggestions would be most welcome for trip next March 2015

[scarke]

We are thinking of going to the Lesser Antilles next year for a holiday. My husband is a master scuba diver and after last years live aboard in the Maldives he has agreed to do a land based holiday. (the Maldives diving was superb but the boat was not).

So we thought of Bonaire but when I look at the hotels it seems that there are not many 5 star hotels and the beaches look very narrow..I want fab beaches !..but we also want good dive operator so that you can do land based diving but also go on boat excursions.

Does anyone have any suggestions for us ? It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nivek Llekots]

Bonaire is mostly "iron shore" beach entries or boat diving, if you want nice sandy beach entries and similar very good shore diving go to "Curacao".

"The Dive Bus" is a good operator who will take you to all the best shore diving sites around the island. For boat diving it depends which sites you want to dive, "Dive Charter Curacao" offers more advanced divers great trips on a RIB to "East Point", which is arguably the best diving on Curacao. More conventional dive boat operators are "Ocean Encounters" and "Go West Diving".

Plenty of good hotels in Curacao just checkout trip advisor, also plenty of topside stuff to do including some great restaurants.

 

[RJP]

So we thought of Bonaire but when I look at the hotels it seems that there are not many 5 star hotels and the beaches look very narrow..I want fab beaches !

To be clear... there aren't ANY 5 Star hotels on Bonaire. Nor are there any beaches to speak of. Certainly not any FAB beaches.

The fact of the matter is that conditions that make for fabulous beaches - like wide, long expanses of powder fine sand and gently lapping water - by definition tend to make for crappy shore diving. See Long Bay on Tortola...

Or Dickenson's Bay on Antigua...

Conversely, conditions that make for great shore diving - hard bottom, little sand, reef with significant drop-off close to shore, jagged/varied coastlines, etc - by definition make for crappy beaches. See Tailor Made on Bonaire...

Or Playa Funchi...

As Nivek suggests, Curacao has the same type of diving as Bonaire (Albeit fewer sites, and navigating the island is not as easy) but with some honest to goodness beaches. Not "fabulous beaches" but very nice beaches.

As my wife says "Bonaire is where divers go to vacation. Curacao is where vacationers go to dive." And I think it's a good balance of "great shore diving" and "very nice beaches." See Cas Abou beach...

Or Grote Knip...

Or Playa Porto Marie...

That said, there are no 5-Star resorts on Curacao. In fact, there are few 5-Star resorts in all of the Caribbean. (Bear in mind that most Caribbean "5 Star" properties would be 4 Star anywhere else.) Fewer still located anywhere there's great diving of any type. Ritz Carlton on Grand Cayman and a few of the private island types in the BVIs are all that come to mind. However, there are ZERO 5 Star hotels located anywhere in the Caribbean where there is decent, plentiful shore diving. Trust me... I would know if there were. There aren't even any 4 Star ones. (With the possible exception of Harbour Village on Bonaire, which is a 4 Star hotel on a 3 Star island.)

My family and I love the Marriott on Curacao. It's not 5 Star. My wife calls it "Caribbean 4 Star." Curacao has nice beaches, including one at the Marriott which is not fabulous, but fine. East side shown here...

But I prefer the smaller, quieter beach to the West end of the resort, between the dive shop and the "Board Room" beach bar...

Marriott has a house reef and on-site dive op (Caribbean Sea Sports) with two boats that go out daily, AM and PM. Rent a car and drive around to some of the other beaches. Most of the larger/nicer ones have an on-site dive op. In fact two of them have outposts of the Marriott's dive op.

 

[scarke]

To be clear... there aren't ANY 5 Star hotels on Bonaire. Nor are there any beaches to speak of. Certainly not any FAB beaches.

The fact of the matter is that conditions that make for fabulous beaches - like wide, long expanses of powder fine sand and gently lapping water - by definition tend to make for crappy shore diving. See Long Bay on Tortola...

Or Dickenson's Bay on Antigua...

Conversely, conditions that make for great shore diving - hard bottom, little sand, reef with significant drop-off close to shore, jagged/varied coastlines, etc - by definition make for crappy beaches. See Tailor Made on Bonaire...

Or Playa Funchi...

As Nivek suggests, Curacao has the same type of diving as Bonaire (Albeit fewer sites, and navigating the island is not as easy) but with some honest to goodness beaches. Not "fabulous beaches" but very nice beaches.

As my wife says "Bonaire is where divers go to vacation. Curacao is where vacationers go to dive." And I think it's a good balance of "great shore diving" and "very nice beaches." See Cas Abou beach...

Or Grote Knip...

Or Playa Porto Marie...

That said, there are no 5-Star resorts on Curacao. In fact, there are few 5-Star resorts in all of the Caribbean. (Bear in mind that most Caribbean "5 Star" properties would be 4 Star anywhere else.) Fewer still located anywhere there's great diving of any type. Ritz Carlton on Grand Cayman and a few of the private island types in the BVIs are all that come to mind. However, there are ZERO 5 Star hotels located anywhere in the Caribbean where there is decent, plentiful shore diving. Trust me... I would know if there were. There aren't even any 4 Star ones. (With the possible exception of Harbour Village on Bonaire, which is a 4 Star hotel on a 3 Star island.)

My family and I love the Marriott on Curacao. It's not 5 Star. My wife calls it "Caribbean 4 Star." Curacao has nice beaches, including one at the Marriott which is not great, but fine. Marriott has a house reef and on-site dive op (Caribbean Sea Sports) with two boats that go out daily, AM and PM. Rent a car and drive around to some of the other beaches. Most of the larger/nicer ones have an on-site dive op. In fact two of them have outposts of the Marriott's dive op.

Wow thats a lot of brilliant info…thanks . i had some sort of idea that there were no 5 star hotels alright just looking at trip advisor etc. We have always done liveaboards and then land based in Malta as well but I love swimming and snorkeling but would like to have the option of a beach as well. Egypt liveaboards are great for snorkeling but last years 10 day trip to the Maldives was disappointing in that I couldn't swim or snorkel every day due to currents and waves so this year my hubby agreed it was my choice !

We also don't want to spend this much money and end up at a hotel full of kids either so lots of research to be done I think before we decide….

Thanks a lot tho.

 

[diversteve]

(Bear in mind that most Caribbean "5 Star" properties would be 4 Star anywhere else.) Fewer still located anywhere there's great diving. Ritz Carlton on Grand Cayman and a few of the private island types in the BVIs are all that come to mind. There are ZERO 5 Star hotels located anywhere there is decent/plentiful shore diving. Trust me... I would know if there were. There aren't even any 4 Star ones. (With the possible exception of Harbour Village on Bonaire, which is a 4 Star hotel on a 3 Star island.)

Exactly..

Some other options to consider.

Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda in the BVI's - outstanding resort on it's own private beach/bay. Via their catamaran you have access to other isolated beaches/islets.
Biras Creek Resort on Virgin Gorda - isolated on the NE - requires boat/helicopter to get to.

The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas on the East End. IIRC not the best beach.
The Westin on St. John never been to St. John but they do have shore dives there.
Caneel Bay Resort on St. John

The Ritz-Carlton on Grand Cayman
The Westin on Grand Cayman - liked it a lot but it's more of a casual 4 star place.
The Marriott Grand on Grand Cayman
All on Seven Mile Beach - 5+ miles of nice, wide (in some areas) white sand. Some of it looks like this:



But some of it also looks like this:



Amanyara on Providenciales (Provo) Turks & Caicos - could be 6 stars. But it's not on Grace Bay Beach.
Grace Bay Club - Provo
The Regent something Resort
There's at least 1/2 dozen other 4-5 star properties there. Grace Bay Beach has been named the Best Beach in the World repeatedly. Photos:



It's not all that pristine though:



Anse Chastenet on St. Lucia
Jade Mountain on St. Lucia - literally above A/C on the mountain.
Ladera on St. Lucia
Sugar Beach Resort? on St. Lucia.

Of all these the best diving is probably Turks/Caicos - second Grand Cayman. But I've never been to St. Lucia. St Thomas/St. John diving is maybe 3.5/5 - shallower, soft fans/corals, not as much fish life. The wreck of the Rhone in the BVI's was a good one and I don't like/dive wrecks generally.

Of course nothing in Caribbean diving compares to the Maldives.

 

[mjrob]

Of those, I will say that Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda is a wonderful place, definitely "Caribbean" five star. And five star in many other places, too. Diving is there but not the best in the Carib. LDB has an excellent spa, great food and excellent lodging of several types, including a large villa. We stayed in the beach bungalows and they are very quiet, somewhat secluded and very comfortable. Good thing about BVI is that you can go from island to island easily and there is plenty to do.

Grace Bay on Provo is a beautiful but getting to be a pretty busy beach. We took a four-bedroom condo for the family at Grace Bay Club and it worked out well for us. Full kitchen, comfortable living area and bedrooms and a large, screened porch with the pool nearby. Very different from Little Dix and I'd give it a solid 3.5, maybe a 4. Maybe.

Anse Chastenet on St. Lucia has several room options and a goodly amount of stairs. The rooms "on the hill" are not air conditioned as the breezes cool them. The beach-level rooms have a/c as they're sheltered by lots of trees and plants, hence no breeze. I like those because I like air (although the bathrooms are not air conditioned), they're close to the dive shop and beach restaurant--where the food is good. Beach is pretty nice, shore diving is good and, personally, I like the diving there. AC itself is removed from any other resorts and they have many dive sites almost to themselves. I'd rate them as a 4, just because I like it there. You will get to use the 200 or so steps regardless as breakfast is "upstairs" and lunch or dinner is really nice on the beach.

Oh, and the frogs. Every night brings a symphony...well, a cacophony really, of tree frogs. If you don't sleep well listening to a rather raucous natural serenade, the beach rooms might be a better bet. They're nicer, too.

And then there's Jade Mountain. Is there a six or seven star rating in the Caribbean? We spent two nights up there on our last trip and will spend a week (beginning on Valentine's Day--very appropriate) with them this time. It is near the top of the hill, overlooking the Piton Mountains. Each room is unique, huge and almost inconceivable. They all have private swimming pools...in the room. And we're talking actual pools you can swim in, not hot tubs. The pools extend out to the edges of the decks, past the walls; except there is no wall. That's right, the missing fourth wall overlooks the ocean and is simply a spectacular aspect of the property. Their restaurant (on the top level of the incredible structure--it's an architectural and engineering marvel) is, of course, five-star with excellent service, great menu selections and a fine wine list.

You get a cordless phone with a direct connection to your butler in case you need, say, a cheese tray, a bucket of ice, a drink, dinner reservations or a car and driver to get down the hill to the dive shop. Seriously. Like I said, and then there's Jade Mountain. You really have to see it to comprehend it.

And I still like the diving off St. Lucia. In fact, I enjoyed it more then the Maldives where Male, where you fly to and often overnight in, I found to be rather a dump. Sadly, our dive experience didn't meet our expectations with very heavy currents, limited visibility and a striking lack of large pelagics--which they're famous for. The live aboard we experienced was excellent and it seems we just must have hit a bad week; I sure hope so. Mileage is such a variable thing.

You have a lot of choices and the great thing is that many of them are very nice. Safe travels and enjoy your trip, wherever you choose to go!

 

[scarke]

Will examine all these options suggested! Just so hard to pick. We went to the Maldives last year for a trip of a lifetime, did a live aboard which was very disappointing..the diving and swimming were amazing and occasionally we got to go to little islands on our own which was paradise. so I am very skeptical when looking at expensive hotels now..as we paid a lot for the live aboard.

 

[diver 85]

Dominica -----& don't consider anything else..........It's a National Geographic(type of) trip...........Best divin'-----IMO----in the Caribbean,..........to boot...

EDIT:....Here's a short 'piece' about Dominica(google for more)....You can go 18/7 for 6 straight days & not get everything in.......enjoy.....REMEMBER--it's where they filmed(parts of) 'Pirates of the Caribbean--Parts 2 & 3.....hmmmmm
About Dominica
In a region saturated by tourism, Dominica remains one of the hidden gems of the Caribbean. Known as the “Nature Island’ due to its abundance of natural splendors: 365 rivers, the second largest boiling lake in the world, volcanoes, mountains, waterfalls, hot springs, and black and white sand beaches. Much of the island is protected under national parks, one of which has been given UNESCO World Heritage status. Regarded as one of the top dive destinations in the Caribbean, Dominica is a paradise for explorers and adventurers, both above ground and underwater. Champaign reef and Scott’s Head drop off are just a couple of the many underwater highlights for divers".......