silver

Can anyone recommend someplace in the Caribbean where the scuba diving is as good (or better) than Bonaire or Mexico? I'm looking for someplace with shore diving, beautiful reefs, abundant underwater life, snorkeling right off the beach, and a nice resort. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

meta

Cayman Islands has really good diving and snorkeling. The Reef Resort is a good place to stay if you are looking for snorkeling right off the beach.

Check out caymanvacations.com.

Diana

Only the Caymans come to mind, and I have not been there so can't compare it to Mexico (which I think is the best) or the rest of the Caribbean, but it is well-known for its great diving.

Of the places I've been, Provo in the TCI has amazing and pristine diving - some of the best we've done outside of Mexico - and decent (but limited) snorkeling from shore.

Others coming to mind are St Lucia and Virgin Gorda and St John.

diann

My husband likes T&C, Cozumel, and of course Grand Caymans.

KVR

I agree, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We've been to both.

sharkdiver49

Normally I would agree with Cayman, but I have heard that there was severe damage to underwater marine life from the recent hurricane. You will need to confirm this with people that have been diving there in the past several months. I too am a huge fan of T & C. Although, some of the best diving that I have ever done was in Saba, about 35 miles from St. Martin. NO shore diving but it ranks as some of the best, on par or better than Tahiti and I was there last year.

Statia

St. Eustatius has wonderful diving and is closer to the US than Bonaire.

http://www.statiatourism.com/diving.html

http://www.goldenrockdive.com/

Saba also has great diving and is very nearby.

http://sabatourism.com/diving.html

tigerhawk

There are 2 other islands in the Caymans other than Grand Cayman - Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Neither of these islands had any significant hurricane damage. Both islands require a flight from Grand Cayman - the Brac will accomodate bigger planes so it is somewhat easier to get to. Little Cayman is gorgeous but there is little to do other than dive. Also it has only an unlighted dirt airstrip and the only "airline" that serves it is Island Air which will weigh ALL your luggage including carryons and charge you for anything over 50 pounds total, because they use small prop aircraft. However the wall diving there is incredible. The Caymans are quite a bit more expensive than either Bonaire or Cozumel too.

Gekko

Grand Cayman offers excellent diving (particularly the East End), including a couple of nice shore dives on or near Seven Mile Beach.

Believe it or not, Aruba's diving is pretty good (the Antilla especially).

Enjoy!

sharkdiver49

I was just in Aruba and the diving was surprisingly good. I dove with a great little dive shop that gives fantastic personal service! Here's their web address. http://www.searuba.com/ John and Steve are real pros!!!

ScottB

Another vote for Grand Cayman. By far the best diving I've done in the caribbean. There are so many different dive sites to pick from, including several shore dive oppurtunities. It also has a great selection of snorkel sites from shore. According to some information listed on other websites, most of the damage from the hurricane happened (above) the water, leaving most dive sites & marine life in excellent shape.

I couldn't more highly recommend a wall dive, truely an experience you will never forget. There is a small wall off of 7MB that drops into 1000 feet that was fantastic. The wall off the east end drops into 6000 feet and is beyond words. I haven't been to the Little Cayman of Cayman Brac but have heard nothing but positive feedback on the diving.

cmcfong

No argument with the suggestions above, but let me add one more. I went to Small Hope Bay resort in Andros, Bahamas. It is rustic cabins, all inclusive, and some absolutely amazing diving. I was surprised at the high vis and the wonderful marine life. It isn't an elegant resort, but it is very interesting. Check out their website.

millemar

A few other suggestions: (1)Grand Turk has great diving and is more remote/quiet than Provo. Snorkeling is great right off the beach too. You can even do shore diving which was pretty amazing when we were there. Only downside is zero night life. (2)We stayed at Sapphire Beach Resort in St. Thomas. They had a very nice dive operation. The dive masters were fun, showed us a lot of different things. The resort itself is OK, nice beach, no diving off the beach but plenty of good snorkeling. (3)Belize - went there for 2 weeks in 1999. Saw some interesting things, but the mosquitoes were terrible. I would probably not go back there but the Blue Hole is there and the diving in general is interesting there.