how to start picking an island?
 

My cousin and I are looking to go to an island this summer. We have no idea where to start in choosing which island to go to.

The one thing that she definitely wants to do is swim with sharks or dolphins--is there somewhere I can search to see where this is available? That would help us narrow our choices.

Thanks!

Well, the first thing you have to remember is no two islands are the same and no one island "has it all". There are big islands, small island, lush mountainous islands, flat arid islands, island with long strands of white sand beaches, islands with smaller cove-like golden sand beaches, islands with palmtree lined darker sand beaches and some island with no beaches. Some islands have ative night life and others are quiet and laid back. There ae islands with a definite American feel, some that are more European in style and others are Old World Caribbean. You have to determine what best suits your style.

The best way to start your search is by doing some basic research. Go to the "Destinations" section at the top of this page and click on the Caribbean Section. There you'll find a list of all the islands. Click on each one and read the brief summary to get a feel for what each has to offer. That will help you narrow down your search to 2 or 3 islands that fit what you have in your mind's eye. Once you do that you can use the search feature on this forum to read recent pots about those particular islands to gain more information about specific places to stay, things to do, restaurants to dine at, and how to get there from your home.

You can also do a google search using such topics as "Swimming with Dolphins" or "Dolphine Encounter" to find out where you can do that. Be warned it's a controversial subject and there's a lot of material out there written by those who think it's cruel. I'm not exactly sure but I think there are only 2 or 3 islands in the Caribbean where you can still swim with the dolphins. Not sure about swimming with sharks, more people wish to avoid those types of predators. You might see a nurse shark or reef shark while snorkeling in places like the BVI's but shark sighting are rare. FYI - Grand Caymen has an area known as Stingray City where, as the name implies, snorkel tour operators take people to swim and feed stingrays.

I'm not sure there is any program to swim with sharks in the Caribbean. The only place I can think of would be Shark-Ray Alley in Belize.

There are several dolphin swim programs in the Caribbean, but most aren't of very high quality. I would strongly caution you to avoid the programs in the Dominican Republic. Jamaica tends to have better-run programs. There's a place in Ocho Rios.

The best dolphin swim program that I have any direct knowledge of is in Puerto Vallarta, but that's not in the Caribbean. But it's definitely more focused on education than the others

Can't really "swim" with sharks, but can certify to dive with them:

http://www.dive-bahamas.com/pages/di...adventure.html

Another possibilty to "swim" with sharks, is the all day fast boat excursion to North Exumas:

http://www.powerboatadventures.com/

As for dolphins, this is a cool place, on it's own island from Paradise Island, which makes a fun excursion:

http://www.lovetoeatandtravel.com/Si...lue_lagoon.htm

All are located, or can be done as day trips from either New Providence (where Nassau is) or Paradise Island, both in Bahamas. You can stay at either side, and do all the excursions from there.

You can dive or snorkel with whale sharks off Placencia Belize in April and May. Best days are three days before and after the full moon.

The whale sharks are also around Isla Holbox and Isla Mujeres in Mexico in the summer months.

http://www.stuartcove.com/

Stuart Cove in Nassau, Bahamas has a snorkeling tour that includes an opportunity to get into the water with Caribbean Reef Sharks. I went on this excursion last September and it was amazing. There are 3 snorkeling spots, the first two are your standard snorkel spots (tons and tons of fish but not much variety) and the last stop is with the sharks. The first thing they did was throw in some fish food to attract the snapper (?) which attract the sharks. Then they lower a cage with food deep into the water. The sharks circle this cage and then they allow you to get into the water. I have never been in the water with sharks before so it was a very creepy feeling to see 20-25 sharks circling 20 feet below. A few minutes after circling the cage the sharks start circling around you (maybe the closest was 5 feet away but most of the time they were about 10-15 feet away). There were approximately 12 of us on the tour and only about 5 or 6 of us actually got in the water with the sharks. I went in first and when I saw them I just froze. It was so scary but also fascinating. When the sharks started to leave the cage of food and circle around us I had a death grip on my bf. There were so many of them! With this tour, you are not allowed to swim freely around. They have a rope extended into the water and you hold on to that and are told to hold your arms close to your body. They have a morning and afternoon snorkeling tour. I went with the afternoon tour so I don't know if the morning tour also includes the sharks. I know they also have a scuba dive tour that involves the sharks but I don't know anything else about that tour.

You can swim with sting rays in the Cayman Islands - not quite sharks but exciting all the same.
www.destinationcaribbean.net has a list of places with dolphin programmes that might help.

Ive done Shark Ray Alley in Belize. It was pretty cool. All nurse sharks & sting rays, pretty tame, but still a lot of fun.

Sting Ray city in Grand Cayman is also a blast, but also somewhat tame.

While snorkeling on various beaches of ST John, I encountered sharks on several beach snorkels. Most were nurse sharks, and a couple Lemon sharks....pretty awesome to come face to face with them.