I am considering possible destinations for a November 18-25 diving trip (my dates are not flexible). I would appreciate your suggestions and feedback as to where to go. I have considered several possibilities, and below are the reasons that I have not selected them thus far.
I had been considering the Turks & Caicos and Saba/St. Kitts liveaboards, but I am concerned that any reef damage or sand accumulation from Hurricane Irma might detract significantly from the quality of the diving in both destinations. I was also hoping to save the Saba/St. Kitts liveaboard for a week that does more diving on Saba than St. Kitts (that week's trip would have more diving on St. Kitts).
The Belize Aggressor IV and the Cayman Aggressor IV are both sold out for those weeks, and the Belize Aggressor III only has one spot for a female diver. I considered land-based options for both Belize and the Cayman Islands, but the liveaboards seem to be the way to go for both destinations.
There are some liveaboard options in the Bahamas, but the quality of the diving and overall marine environment there does not sound that impressive.
Roatan in general and CocoView in particular are on my bucket list, but my research suggested that November would not be a good time to go there because of the rainy season and its impact on dive conditions.
I have already been to Cozumel, Curacao, and Bonaire. I have no desire to go to Cozumel again. My last trip to Bonaire was very recent and I want to save the repeat visit for when I have enough experience for the Self-Reliant Diver course. I am open to diving on Curacao again but have a strong preference for trying a new destination before I revisit a previous destination.
I liked the ABC islands enough to consider Aruba, but I have heard that the quality of the diving there is not high enough to go there specifically for diving purposes, unless one has a special interest in wreck dives.
Could you suggest any other Caribbean destinations that I have not considered? Are any of my reasons for not selecting any of the above destinations questionable or incorrect, in your opinion? (For example, is Roatan diving actually fine during the rainy season? Could the reef damage in the Turks & Caicos be less than I think it would be by that time?)
@Ironborn - Based on your stated criteria for not returning currently to certain locations and based on post hurricane conditions in other locations and based on your narrow timeframe and the fact that you are a solo traveler and have already ruled out the viability of a liveaboard for your dates-- I believe your best option is the East End of Grand Cayman with Ocean Frontiers. You will get your guaranteed 4 dives a day + 2 night dives. You will get a rental car as part of your package and you could look into doing an additional 2 night dives with Sunset House (Assuming they are not the same nights as Ocean Frontiers)- Sunset House schedules 2 night dives per week and 1 of those is on the Kittiwake Wreck, which is pretty cool for a night dive-- I have done it. Also, you could contact Brad Nelson at Cayman University Divers about taking you out on additional supplemental day or night dives: Grand Cayman Scuba Diving with Cayman U Divers
Land based on Little Cayman or Cayman Brac are not real options for your stated criteria-- You will never get 4-5 dives a day in there, even if you were traveling with a dive buddy (which you aren't). They are not set up that way. I have read your Bonaire trip report, so I am pretty dialed in to where you are coming from and what you want to achieve. Given the time of year and the hurricane aftermath, I really think Ocean Frontiers on the East End is your best bet and you will not be disappointed.
I have stayed at Sunset House twice and I like it and you could reach your quota of dives there, but there are two things going against you:
1. You would need to dive the house reef excessively (they only offer 2 tank AM boat dives and the 2 night dives) and you would get bored of it after 2 days.
2. You would be hard pressed to find people to dive with for those house reef dives and would never reach your quota.
There are other great shore dive sites on the west end of Grand Cayman, but again, you don't dive solo, so really not practical. Thus, go with the place that can guarantee you 4 dives a day + 2 night dives and then try and supplement some additional night dives, as I have mentioned above.
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