St. Maarten hotel / dive package recs

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Diver477

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Hey Everybody!

I'm putting together a trip in the next upcoming months and I wanted your insight in St. Maarten since I'm considering taking a trip.

Specifically, are there any good places that have pretty good hotel/dive packages that you've stayed at that wasn't ultra expensive? If so, I wanna hear about it and the dive operators you used! Or any place else you would recommend for some divers trying to escape Chicago's neverending cold blasts.

Thanks!
 
Why St Maarten? I haven't been, but it's not really known as a good dive destination. (A friend of mine did dive there and was not impressed.)

What are you looking for in a dive trip? Budget? Lots of better places to dive in the Caribbean.
 
Preferably something with good diving and some topside activities since we may have a non-diver with us. For ex, we traveled to Cayman Brac which was fabulous, but our non-diver didn't have much to do. Something like St. Maarten would give them plenty of things to do while we're in the water.

I only thought St. Maarten because I heard the diving was relatively alright? Perhaps that info was skewed
 
St Maarten is a short ferry ride from Saba. The diving there is supposed to amazing depending on who you speak to. However, the ferry schedules are not very conducive to a day trip for diving , so you may have to stay overnight. I'm sure someone who has been will chime in.


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Curacao has fantastic shore diving (like Bonaire), easier entries, and activities in Willemstad for non-divers. Better yet, it is outside of the usual hurricane zone.


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SM diving is ok. French side has better diving. No protected marine park, but diving was fun. I used octopus diving and would recommend them/ use them again. I only did a few dives with them, as the main trip was to Statia, which we also enjoyed very much, but nondivers might find it too slow.

 
What sort of topside activities they are interested in? Shopping, sightseeing, hiking, biking, kayaking, other water activities, ...? Are they open to renting a car?

Curacao can be good for a mixed group, it's a larger island with more to see and do than many. There are compromises to be made between convenience to better diving and convenience to other stuff. (Actually, that is true many places.)

Grenada would be a place to check into - another larger island with a real city with history, a fair amount of other interesting things to see and do, and some spa-ish resorts.

Grand Cayman has more to do than the Brac, especially if shopping is desirable, or maybe golf. There's also the turtle farm, the botanic garden, horseback riding, and lots of water related activities besides diving. Takes more care to do on a budget though.

Belize if they are interested in ruins or the many other land activities there - you could stay someplace in the south like Placencia (longer dive boat rides but a bit more accessible for land tours) or Ambergris Caye (short dive boat rides but less convenient to mainland stuff.) IMO the best way to dive Belize is by liveaboard, but that's unlikely to keep your non-diver happy.
 
Could stay in Grand case at the Le Petit Hotel and walk to Octopus Divers.

Not a budget stay - but top shelf....
 
St Maartens is an interesting place to stay. Good food, nice beaches and having a dual culture on a single island is worth a visit. We spent three weeks there last November and quite enjoyed it. The diving is very easy and not the best diving in the world but certainly not the worst either. If your profile is accurate (less than 30 dives) you will find that it is enjoyable diving. I would also recommend Octopus Diving. There are better places to dive in the Caribbean, (Saba right next door for example) but St Maartens is a good place to spend some time and do a bit of diving as part of a holiday. The only serious down side to St Maartens is the crusie ships. A significant number of ships come to the island every week and a large part of the economy is geared to serving this industry.
 
Thanks so much for the info everybody - its greatly appreciated!

Damselfish - those are the exact kinds of activities they are looking for. I didn't consider those other options but am going to check into them.

Lionfish-Eater and Darnold9999 - Octopus was one of the operators we've been looking into since many posts I've read seem to recommend them. We're totally good with easygoing, nice dives (anyday diving is better than a day at work right?) but we just want to make sure that wherever we pick has lots of life, some wrecks and lots of corals and such. From what you two have mentioned, it seems like the life and wrecks are there which is a definite plus. Just want to make sure that wherever we choose its not just staring at sand.
 
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