Your Opinions on Comparing First Timer Coral Triangle Destinations?

[Dan]

The upcoming 3rd trip to Banda Sea will be on another Phinisi boat, Pindito, and about the same time of the year as the first trip, 21 Nov. to 2 Dec. 2022.

Here’s a couple videos from my 3rd trip to Banda Sea:

 

[Strombo]

@drrich2: I, too, have been contemplating a Coral Triangle trip and was waiting for that area of the world to reopen and get reestablished before seriously planning the trip. I have similar thresholds of comfort that you require. I had planned a trip to Palau and Tubbataha in 2020 that, obviously, never happened. I was ready for the required reef hook diving in Palau, but two years later, it's not so appealing. Tubbataha required an 18-month advance reservation and the season is very short.

Also, given the tenuous state of the liveaboard industry, I'm wondering if Raja Ampat can be done from land or is it best dived by liveaboard?

After reading through this thread, it makes me think about my recent disappointing Caribbean diving trips. Looking back, the time and expense invested in traveling from Oregon to the Caribbean a few times just since the pandemic, I probably could have just gone to the Coral Triangle, although, I wouldn't have been able to refrain from diving for the last two years. The Bahamas and Mexico have been open most of the pandemic and I could still get wet waiting for the rest of the world to open.

I always enjoy reading your posts and queries.

I've never dived the Caribbean and was thinking about planning a trip there as well this October, but have been rethinking that due to many trip reports that paint it in a less than satisfactory way, as far as diving goes. After diving this spring in the Philippines and a fantastic liveaboard in Thailand, I am now going through diving withdrawal and despite the urge to just get into some warm water, I'm reluctant even though the Caribbean is much more accessible. I am now considering waiting until next year for a longer adventure in Raja Ampat.
What were your disappointments about the Caribbean and wher did you go?

 

[dirtfarmer]

I've never dived the Caribbean and was thinking about planning a trip there as well this October, but have been rethinking that due to many trip reports that paint it in a less than satisfactory way, as far as diving goes. After diving this spring in the Philippines and a fantastic liveaboard in Thailand, I am now going through diving withdrawal and despite the urge to just get into some warm water, I'm reluctant even though the Caribbean is much more accessible. I am now considering waiting until next year for a longer adventure in Raja Ampat.
What were your disappointments about the Caribbean and wher did you go?

I have some experience in the comparison as a Coral Triangle Junky. Ixve spent the last 2 years diving Cozumel and the Lighthouse Reef of Belize after spending most my time diving for the past 20 years diving the Triangle.
The biggest thing missing is color, soft coral color especially, the Caribbean has brown and tan and purple and some yellows and reds in the sponges. But the riot of color in top notch destinations in Indonesia makes the Caribbean seem pretty dull. Fish life is another letdown in color comparisons. Fish density comparing top sites in the Triangle to the tops sites in the Caribbean also puts another win in the Triangle colum.

I started looking closer to home as I'm not as young as I used to be and even in my younger days had time adjustment difficulty. So in staying closer to home I got addicted to Tiger and Hammerhead shark diving at Tiger Beach, I enjoyed Soccoro, I tried Cozumel to get wet and see if I wanted to use it as an easy trip destination, and this last winter spent 10 days on Lighthouse Caye diving some of the best reefs in Belize. My next trip will be Sea of Cortez.

If you just need to get your fix in there are some nice locations closer to home, but if you have the time and inclination Indonesia and other spots in the Triangle cant be beat.

 

[Strombo]

I have some experience in the comparison as a Coral Triangle Junky. Ixve spent the last 2 years diving Cozumel and the Lighthouse Reef of Belize after spending most my time diving for the past 20 years diving the Triangle.
The biggest thing missing is color, soft coral color especially, the Caribbean has brown and tan and purple and some yellows and reds in the sponges. But the riot of color in top notch destinations in Indonesia makes the Caribbean seem pretty dull. Fish life is another letdown in color comparisons. Fish density comparing top sites in the Triangle to the tops sites in the Caribbean also puts another win in the Triangle colum.

I started looking closer to home as I'm not as young as I used to be and even in my younger days had time adjustment difficulty. So in staying closer to home I got addicted to Tiger and Hammerhead shark diving at Tiger Beach, I enjoyed Soccoro, I tried Cozumel to get wet and see if I wanted to use it as an easy trip destination, and this last winter spent 10 days on Lighthouse Caye diving some of the best reefs in Belize. My next trip will be Sea of Cortez.

If you just need to get your fix in there are some nice locations closer to home, but if you have the time and inclination Indonesia and other spots in the Triangle cant be beat.

Out of everywhere you've been so far, which is your favorite spot in the Caribbean?

 

[dirtfarmer]

Out of everywhere you've been so far, which is your favorite spot in the Caribbean?

The diving in the area around Lighhouse Caye, I stayed with Hurracan Dive Lodge. It was pretty pricey but the reef conditions around Lighthouse and Half Moon was pretty nice.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I'll add staying at Hurracan was the closest I've come to LOB diving on land, most the boat rides are 15 minutes or less. They also do a day trip over to Half Moon Caye with surface intervals on Half Moon Caye and an awesome bbq for lunch. The resort is really small, like 8 divers max, the food Is excellent. With such a small resort it's fun meeting all the other divers, but just like on a LOB, if there is someone you dont fancy you still got to get along with them.

 

[Living4Experiences]

I've never dived the Caribbean and was thinking about planning a trip there as well this October, but have been rethinking that due to many trip reports that paint it in a less than satisfactory way, as far as diving goes. After diving this spring in the Philippines and a fantastic liveaboard in Thailand, I am now going through diving withdrawal and despite the urge to just get into some warm water, I'm reluctant even though the Caribbean is much more accessible. I am now considering waiting until next year for a longer adventure in Raja Ampat.
What were your disappointments about the Caribbean and wher did you go?

The coral bleaching, SCTLD (coral disease), overfishing and illegal fishing have been killing the reefs for several years but has intensified since the pandemic. The underwater landscape is brown, dull and dead. The green, purple and red algae are choking the reefs. IMO, diving is boring in the Caribbean. The density of fish and critters has been greatly reduced and the colors of the reef are bland. What used to be big, beautiful purple sea fans are now browned out with holes throughout its structure. I observed these changes even before going to Southeast Asia for the first time in 2023.

Here's where I have dived in the Caribbean in the past 15 years.
Mexico (Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas, Isla Mujeres, La Paz, Socorro)
Bahamas (Nassau, Eleuthera, Bimini, Grand Bahama)
St. Maarten
St. Croix
St. Lucia
St. Thomas
St. Kitts
St. Eustatius
Grenada
Bonaire
Belize
Honduras
Aruba
Grand Cayman
Curacao
Barbados
Dominican Republic (Sosua)

My last dive trip to the Caribbean was in October 2023 to Cozumel, Mexico. The picture here shows how dead the coral was. If you look at the bottom of the coral structure, you'll see the red algae choking the life out of it. The other picture is from Fiji this year. This is why I prefer the South Pacific and Asia now. It's not going to get better...only worse in the Caribbean. Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, so that's a risky time to visit. It's also the time when the waters are the warmest and most comfortable for diving, but warm water is what feeds hurricanes.

I would say my best diving recently in the Caribbean was Barbados and St. Lucia. There was still some color to the reef and I loved finding seahorses in Barbados. Since your dive experience started in Asia, you will be disappointed with the Caribbean. However, if you need a dive fix, it might be the way to get wet for a few days, but you have to set your expectations very low. My dive experience started in the Caribbean, and once I went to Asia and the South Pacific, I would rather dive there now.

 

[noserider]

I would say my best diving recently in the Caribbean was Barbados and St. Lucia. There was still some color to the reef and I loved finding seahorses in Barbados. Since your dive experience started in Asia, you will be disappointed with the Caribbean. However, if you need a dive fix, it might be the way to get wet for a few days, but you have to set your expectations very low. My dive experience started in the Caribbean, and once I went to Asia and the South Pacific, I would rather dive there now.

Boom - I have dived SE Asia since 95 and still think it is superb and whilst changed a lot in some places others have kept their magic.

I am also always surprised and impressed by the diving in Barbados, no real big stuff but enough to keep you interested and far better than other places I have dived