Where to go in Caribbean?

[DiverVince]

I know you indicated that you ruled out Bonaire but based on your decription it sounds like the perfect place to me.. I'd recommend the Plaza (first choice it's much larger) or Belmar (smaller) on Bonaire. Beautiful diving right out front & always someone to dive with if you feel uncomfortable diving alone.

 

[Chocoholic]

I know you indicated that you ruled out Bonaire but based on your decription it sounds like the perfect place to me.. I'd recommend the Plaza (first choice it's much larger) or Belmar (smaller) on Bonaire. Beautiful diving right out front & always someone to dive with if you feel uncomfortable diving alone.

I just looked up both Buddy Dive and Plaza on tripadvisor and both sound wonderful. It would work great to be able to shore dive any time of the day. No schedule to follow, awesome. So, how difficult is it to find a buddy? I assume that most people staying here would be divers, but how many would be without a buddy? I would consider a few solo dives but would be way more comfortable with a buddy, especially at first, my navigation skills could use a tuneup.
thanks, Choco

 

[Chocoholic]

as an added note, I would rather dive solo than be 3rd party.

 

[tjmills]

Go to Grand Cayman and choose one of the resorts. He will enjoy himself all day long and you will eat well. It is not the cheapest option but the place is pretty nice for the non diving spouse and is very laid back and safe.

Check out RedBaron divers as your dive op and Patrick or Nick will pick you up and drop you off.

 

[ronbeau]

We are going to Puerto Aventuras, Mexico this January and then somewhere NOT in Mexico in late April..... so where to go?
Considerations are that my husband has limited mobility (hopefully temporary) and I want to dive but be able to get back to him for most of the day. He can't golf right now so that's not a problem. I am hoping to find a place that he can spend lots of time in the pool and hang out while I dive then I can just hang out with him. Also I would like it to have pretty good diving (close by), doesn't have to be spectacular, lots of fish would be my choice. We like less crowded places, not into partying, good food would be nice. I am considering:

St Kitts
St Lucia
Virgin Gorda
Aruba
Caymans (not my husband's favorite choice)


I have ruled out (for various reasons) Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Saba, St.Maarten, Puerto Rico, Bonaire and St. Thomas from researching the board. Any ideas as to where to go? I have looked at Tripadvisor and other boards but I am most interested in the scuba side of it. Thanks for any input. Choco

Have you considered Curacao?

My wife, daughter and I stayed at Breezes Curacao last summer. My daughter and I were certified and my wife was not. My daughter and I walked out the front door of the building and walked about 100 yards to the Scuba shop at Breezes. The is a two-tier dock in from of the Scuba shop that has dual rinse tanks and a hose with fresh water to rinse off. The second (lower) tier of the dock has a tank rail to which makes donning equipment very easy.

One free shore dive per person is provided while you are staying at Breezes. We brought all of our own equipment but they supply everything except wet suits as part of the free shore dive.

The house reef was actually quite good.

My wife found plenty of things to do at the resort while my daughter and I were diving.
We also found plenty of things to do together on and off of the resort when we were not diving. All food and beverages (including alcohol) are included during your stay.

Another possibility would be to do some dives with the Dive Bus. They go to places such as Porto Mari which has a full restaurant and bar. They also go to Caracas bay which has shaded picnic tables, a Scuba shop, bathrooms and place that sells food and drink. I only mention these as possibilities in case you wanted to dive away from the resort and have your husband come with you.

There is also an American ex-patriot ScubaBoard member who is working in Curacao who could probably provide you with even more information about Curacao.

I forgot his handle but if you post a message with "Information About Curacao" in the title he might respond to your posting.

 

[O'Malley]

My wife and I visited Curacao this past January and absolutely loved it, a quick search in the ABC Islands subforum will provide a wealth of information...Tony (scubatexastony) is the American living/working on the island and offers great insight, he's a stand-up guy.

 

[diversteve]

I just looked up both Buddy Dive and Plaza on tripadvisor and both sound wonderful. It would work great to be able to shore dive any time of the day. No schedule to follow, awesome. So, how difficult is it to find a buddy? I assume that most people staying here would be divers, but how many would be without a buddy? I would consider a few solo dives but would be way more comfortable with a buddy, especially at first, my navigation skills could use a tuneup.
thanks, Choco

Should be easy to find a buddy at Buddy's. And they have an easy dock entry out to a fairly good reef that would be no problem to solo dive. And no one there will care if you do.

In most areas Bonaire is simple to navigate, there's a double reef structure that parallels the shore. So you swim out to the ball marking the site, drop and (usually) swim a short distance further out until you roll over the edge and into deeper water, turn 90' to your right or left, reverse to end the dive. Most dive profiles start as shallow as 30', the sand bottom is typically 90'-130' in most areas. Some sites to the north run deeper. Watch for currents at the sites around Red Slave to the south, they can be ripping in the afternoon.

If you go to Buddy's, there's the original Buddy's side and the (slightly) nicer Lion's Dive side, a property they bought out last year. The Buddy's pool. bar and dive shop are on the Buddy's property (to the south), the Lion's Dive side has the restaurant. Parking on the Buddy's side is fairly close to the rooms etc.

Be warned that there's a lot of walking at the Plaza, it's really spread out. Especially between the condos and the pool/beach bar since they're all the way south by the lagoon. And it's quite a hike to the parking lot from just about anywhere. As I recall, some of it has paved paths, other areas are sand. And some decks/slight elevation changes around both the diveshop/dock and the beach bar. Tables near the bar are mostly in the sand.

I wouldn't stay at BelMar, it's really quiet, there's no food or bar on-site and the one bedroom condos are on the second floor and reached via a tight circular staircase. The pools 20' from your patio and the dive dock is 20' below that. Exactly why we liked it but it doesn't sound like what you're looking for.

 

[Chocoholic]

My wife and I visited Curacao this past January and absolutely loved it, a quick search in the ABC Islands subforum will provide a wealth of information...Tony (scubatexastony) is the American living/working on the island and offers great insight, he's a stand-up guy.

I just changed my signature to the same quote you have... it hit home with me.

 

[Chocoholic]

I just requested mileage tickets to Bonaire. I requested to fly into Curacao and out of Bonaire on Continental. Will be there for ten days if it works out. thanks for all the help