vacation advice

[ladaniel]

Vacation time is near and we have not chosen where to dive this summer. I have tickets on hold for three diffterent places and would love some feed back on the different places. The three choices are Cozumel, Domican Republic and Belize. My husband, 13 year old son and I are all divers. My son and myself were certified last year and have about 15 dives under our belts. My husband has been diving about 4 years and has about 30 dives. I need advice on dive shops that may have packages or any resort that we could stay at and pay for all things at one time. We usually stay with our hotel points but the smaller islands do not have the major hotels. We will be staying 7 nights in July. We will not be partying as we will have our son with us and we prefer to dive, relax see some sites, hike, sea kayak, etc. The place does not have to be a luxury resort but would like clean and decent area. I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

Cozumel.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[oly5050user]

Vacation time is near and we have not chosen where to dive this summer. I have tickets on hold for three diffterent places and would love some feed back on the different places. The three choices are Cozumel, Domican Republic and Belize. My husband, 13 year old son and I are all divers. My son and myself were certified last year and have about 15 dives under our belts. My husband has been diving about 4 years and has about 30 dives. I need advice on dive shops that may have packages or any resort that we could stay at and pay for all things at one time. We usually stay with our hotel points but the smaller islands do not have the major hotels. We will be staying 7 nights in July. We will not be partying as we will have our son with us and we prefer to dive, relax see some sites, hike, sea kayak, etc. The place does not have to be a luxury resort but would like clean and decent area. I appreciate any and all advice.

Cozumel..you did not place Bonaire as a location,if you did I would have to say Bonaire..I find it more family oriented and with kids it is difficult to keep to a schedule,at Bonaire you can dive at your own schedule with a truck,usually supplied by the resort(Buddys) and do quality dives off beach..No current to deal with too..

 

[scubajcf]

If you've never been to Cozumel, definitely worth experiencing. Other thoughts could include: Cayman, St Croix (US), Tortola and as previously mentioned -- Bonaire.

All are great dive spots, especially for a family with your level of experience. Lots of credible dive operations in all localities. Plenty of relaxing and 'tame' extra-curricular activities.



Have a great time.

 

[ladaniel]

We will be using frequent flyer miles as my husband travels tlhree days a week and we use the points for our vacation. I could not get tickets for Bonaire for June, July or the first of August. School starts here in Georgia the middle of August so I have a time schedule to meet. I have never had the troulble of planning a vacation as I have had this year. All the good spots I wanted to go to were not available for frequent flyer miles on Delta or Delta partner airlines. Iwill be planning our vacation for next year as soon as we get back from this one. Anyone have a particular resort they enjoy? I have seen several in sport diver magazine but would prefer personal experience advice. Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[WOODMAN]

Cozumel is pretty hard to beat for the parameters that you specified. It has almost completely recovered from the hurricane damage, and most (if not all) of the hotels are or soon will be back in business. There is an awful lot to choose from down there, whether you are seeking hotels, dive operations, entertainment, dining, etc, etc. As to your other choice possibilities, I cannot comment, although I am seriously considering a liveaboard trip from Belize later this year. There is an exhaustive amount of data on Cozumel on this board at their dedicated site, or you could PM me for specific recommendations. Hope you find what you are looking for. Woody

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

No brainer. . .Cozumel.

 

[jland800]

I have to agree with everyone.....Cozumel.