cd

Just certified. What Island is really good for scuba diving? Two of us coming from the midwest. Want 2-3 star facility for 2-3 days. Thank you

GM

Either of the 3 Caymans.

cd

Thanks GM

islander

CD you might try some of the outislands in the Bahamas, like Abaco, Cat Island, Harbour Island. All have dive shops and some great reef diving.<BR><BR>For hotel try www.romorabay.com or Valentine's on Harbour Island, not sure of the web address but try here, www.briland.com and www.abaco.com <BR>

cd

Will check out those web sites islander. Thank you.

Nauicard

I would stick with Caymans. Long time dive operators with fairly easy flight connections.<BR><BR>

Ryan

While not specific to your question, for future reference you might want to look into a company called Blackbeard's Cruises. They run 3 and 7 day dive trips from Miami to the Bahamas. They use 65' foot sailboats that take, as I recall, about 20 people per trip. <BR><BR>You can get in at least 3 dives a day, sometimes 4 if they do a night dive. I've gone with them 3 times and have always found the diving to be great and the food pretty good. <BR><BR>I did one of their trips 5 years ago, just after I got certified. It was a nice mix of wreck dives and coral at various depths from 30' to 110'.

cd

Appreciate all the suggestions. What about Cozumel?

cd

Ryan<BR>That's sounds great. What if one of the two of us only snorkels?

Ryan

On two of the trips we took, my Dad came with my brother and I. He doesn't dive but did find several good places to snorkel. Not on every dive site, but on several of them. He enjoyed being on the water, so for him, being on a live aboard wasn't a problem.<BR><BR>To me, the key issue is the non-divers willingness to be on a boat for 90% of the time. When I've gone, the boats spend most of the time on the water. <BR><BR>I should caution you that the sailboats can be a bit &quot;rustic&quot; They are nice and they are clean, but they do lack creature comforts for some. They have catamarans which are much more posh.<BR><BR>They do have a website which shows rates, etc. Good luck and have fun!<BR>

Nancy

cd,<BR>Cozumel is fantastic, but I did not suggest it because most (not all) of the diving is drift diving and a little challenging for a brand new diver.<BR>There are some sites that are shallow without currents, but not the best ones.

cd

Ryan:<BR>Thanks again.Will look into the catamarans.<BR>Nancy:<BR>What about Chankanaab Lagoon (sp?)in Cozumel?

Nancy

cd,<BR>Chankanaab is a lot of fun for both snorkeling and diving.<BR>There is a small cave with some huge tarpon and about a million little silver fish in there with them. That's pretty neat.<BR>There are some sunken &quot;artifacts,&quot; and a few patches of coral with tropical fish.<BR>The only problem is that the whole park can be seen on one dive.<BR>If you are not going to be there for longer than a week, Cozumel has a few great shallow dives that do not have too much of a current.<BR>If you like it, you can always go back and do some of the more advanced dives. <BR>We've been going there at least once a year for 10 years, and it is a wonderful place

GM

I was GOING

GM

(Yikes - my typing previous post sent it before I got to finish!)<BR><BR>LIKE I WAS SAYING....<BR><BR>I was going to recommend Cozumel, but my hubby agrees with the poster named Nancy; Cozumel wouldn't be good for a just certified diver. Hubby trained with a Canadian Naval Diver, and has experience (sounds like 'Nancy' has great experience too), so I only noted Caymans.<BR><BR>Have a great time; relax but be careful, wherever you decide.

cd

Thanks everyone. How about Bonaire?

TC

You might want to consider ease of travel if you are only going for 2-3 days. You can be in Cozumel from the midwest in 3 1/2 hours, whereas other islands are much more difficult, costly, and time consuming to reach. Just a suggestion.

Naui

Best scuba locations below. Need to follow advice regarding best novice locations and best diver operators and 2-3* accomodations.<BR><BR>Rodales<BR>Caribbean/Atlantic <BR>1. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman 96.4 <BR>2. Cozumel, Mexico 93.7 <BR>3. British Virgin Islands 91.2 <BR>4. Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras 90.5 <BR>5. Bonaire 90.4 <BR>6. Grand Turk and Salt Cay, Turks &amp; Caicos 86.7 <BR>(tie) San Salvador, Bahamas 86.7 <BR>8. Ambergris Caye, Belize 84.4 <BR>9. Grand Cayman 83.9 <BR>10. U.S. Virgin Islands 83.1 <BR><BR><BR>Best Value<BR>Caribbean/Atlantic <BR>1. Cozumel, Mexico 91.3 <BR>2. Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras 86.4 <BR>3. Ambergris Caye, Belize 81.8 <BR>4. Bimini, Bahamas 81.3 <BR>5. Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras 80.1 <BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR>

Debbie

I went to Grand Cayman and took a resort course so I just went on one dive. My husband is certified and went on quite a few. It was also great for the non-diver because we went on the same trip to stingray city and he dove while I snorkeled. I think there may have been other trips like that. We also went to Bonaire and my husband said the diving was great. I was pregnant at the time so I just snorkeled. It was the best snorkeling we've seen. The islands are very different. Bonaire is much quieter, but we liked it very much. It is also more of a pain to get to. Both are interesting islands. There are more upscale restaurants on Grand Cayman, but we had our favorite casual spots on <BR>bonaire. Depends what you're looking for. I'd be happy to answer any other questions if I can.

xxx

My husband liked T&amp;C. We stayed at Beaches which is AI and the price included unlimited diving. The snorkeling was also great right off the beach. (Provo) Cozmel was also good. We have never been to Caymans so I can't comment on others.