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drrich2
Contributor
You mentioned St. Lucia. I've been twice on cruise ship stops; rainforest hiked once, did a 2-tank boat dive once. It was nice. It's got lush rainforest and it's mountainous. They do have Sandals resorts if you're into that (and willing to cough up the money), assuming no kids are involved and you're diving expectations aren't high (you can forum search what we've heard about Sandals from people who've been; I recall hearing about 45-minute dive times).
On, and T&C diving averages deeper since the reef wall starts deeper with less to see in the shallows, plus you may spend much of the dive alongside a near vertical wall with the bottom way deep under you.
I'm gonna throw in an odd duck that might make you guys really happy. I've dove there a couple times on cruise stops and done a couple of topside excursions. St. Thomas.
From the forum, you may sense St. Thomas isn't exactly a dive destination, but more a place people dive on cruise stops or when there for other things. No argument from me. But let me lay out some practical considerations:
1.) It's a major cruise port and loaded with topside excursions.
2.) It's got beautiful beaches.
3.) It's a U.S. territory so you're technically in the U.S., sort of.
4.) You can take a ferry over to St. John for some really beautiful beach.
5.) It's a major shopping center of the Caribbean.
6.) The main diving appears to be shallow over a solid bottom (not diving alongside a wall over an abyss). What I recall of the diving, if I wanted to go get over 40-feet deep, I'd have needed a shovel.
7.) It wasn't a 'big animal' destinations, but I recall a nice spotted moray. Viz. was maybe 50 feet, not up there with Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but fine.
8.) I dove with Admiralty Dive Center, and they were an excellent operation. The first time my wife was there (we were finishing our last open water dives on referral); they put her at ease, and that's saying something. Really nice, fun, supportive people.
9.) If you guys are newbies, and you don't have much experience yet, you don't know yet whether or not you're an 'air hog' (quick to breathe through your scuba tank), perhaps? In which case you may be self-conscious about deeper dives where you run low on gas before most others? If this is an issue, shallow water diving may be your friend (or a private guide service, like Dive Bus in Curacao or VIP Diving in Bonaire).
I recall not terrible long ago someone wrote a pretty glowing report about a St. Thomas dive trip. Sounded like they stayed somewhere expensive, but they had a good time.
Oh, on St. Thomas they dive on the 'wrong' side of the road. Also true of St. Croix and Grand Cayman.
P.S.: The Florida Keys also offers good shallow diving over solid bottom, albeit with the additional option for deep diving of offshore wrecks (typically requires Advanced OW certification, I think). I'm thinking Key Largo. You're driving distance from Miami. Lot of stuff to do.
I've been to T&C once but it was a live-abroad trip. Boat rides to and from the reef tend to be long, so it's often recommended to make it a liveaboard destinations. Topside it's got a rep. for being quite expensive (as bad or worse than Grand Cayman from what I read years ago). I don't hear people write of anywhere near the topside attractions G.C. has. It does have beautiful beaches, but riding in a vehicle to the liveaboard, I wasn't all that impressed with how it looked.
On, and T&C diving averages deeper since the reef wall starts deeper with less to see in the shallows, plus you may spend much of the dive alongside a near vertical wall with the bottom way deep under you.
It can. If you dive with an operation that caters to beginners you should be okay, and you can hire a private 'dive master' (guide) for added comfort to get you started. Some people love drift diving because they adjust well and don't have to fin along, mostly just ride the current. I struggled because I couldn't pace the guide well, but it was still a blast.
Beautiful beaches - Grand Cayman, Curacao, Turks & Caicos, maybe parts of St. Croix come to mind.
I'm gonna throw in an odd duck that might make you guys really happy. I've dove there a couple times on cruise stops and done a couple of topside excursions. St. Thomas.
From the forum, you may sense St. Thomas isn't exactly a dive destination, but more a place people dive on cruise stops or when there for other things. No argument from me. But let me lay out some practical considerations:
1.) It's a major cruise port and loaded with topside excursions.
2.) It's got beautiful beaches.
3.) It's a U.S. territory so you're technically in the U.S., sort of.
4.) You can take a ferry over to St. John for some really beautiful beach.
5.) It's a major shopping center of the Caribbean.
6.) The main diving appears to be shallow over a solid bottom (not diving alongside a wall over an abyss). What I recall of the diving, if I wanted to go get over 40-feet deep, I'd have needed a shovel.
7.) It wasn't a 'big animal' destinations, but I recall a nice spotted moray. Viz. was maybe 50 feet, not up there with Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but fine.
8.) I dove with Admiralty Dive Center, and they were an excellent operation. The first time my wife was there (we were finishing our last open water dives on referral); they put her at ease, and that's saying something. Really nice, fun, supportive people.
9.) If you guys are newbies, and you don't have much experience yet, you don't know yet whether or not you're an 'air hog' (quick to breathe through your scuba tank), perhaps? In which case you may be self-conscious about deeper dives where you run low on gas before most others? If this is an issue, shallow water diving may be your friend (or a private guide service, like Dive Bus in Curacao or VIP Diving in Bonaire).
I recall not terrible long ago someone wrote a pretty glowing report about a St. Thomas dive trip. Sounded like they stayed somewhere expensive, but they had a good time.
Oh, on St. Thomas they dive on the 'wrong' side of the road. Also true of St. Croix and Grand Cayman.
P.S.: The Florida Keys also offers good shallow diving over solid bottom, albeit with the additional option for deep diving of offshore wrecks (typically requires Advanced OW certification, I think). I'm thinking Key Largo. You're driving distance from Miami. Lot of stuff to do.
TheScubaDirectory
Registered
Grand Cayman might be what you are looking for.
Here is some general dive info about the Cayman Islands if you're interested:
Diving the Cayman Islands
Here is some general dive info about the Cayman Islands if you're interested:
Diving the Cayman Islands
Thank you all for your responses. My GF and I watched a bunch of YouTube content on the areas mentioned, and it looks like we are indeed leaning towards Curacao! One more beginner question: since the water there is often quite warm and we're unlikely to go below 30 feet, can we skip the wetsuits?
I'm reading this other thread and there seems to no general consensus beyond "wear something because of stings/cuts/scrapes". I'm not a fan of wetsuits, but I'm less a fan of getting super cold or stung by jellyfish.
I'm reading this other thread and there seems to no general consensus beyond "wear something because of stings/cuts/scrapes". I'm not a fan of wetsuits, but I'm less a fan of getting super cold or stung by jellyfish.
Club Med Turks and Caicos. Excellent diving. The boat departs right from the resort.
Lots to do topside between dives. Try the trapeze at the included circus school. Or tennis lesson or sailing.
Or take a short walk to the puppy rescue place and for a small donation take a puppy for a walk on the beach. Caution - you will want to adopt one.
I’ve been there twice if you have any questions just reply here or DM me.
Lots to do topside between dives. Try the trapeze at the included circus school. Or tennis lesson or sailing.
Or take a short walk to the puppy rescue place and for a small donation take a puppy for a walk on the beach. Caution - you will want to adopt one.
I’ve been there twice if you have any questions just reply here or DM me.
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