Planning Carribean Dive trip

[Guest snapper]

Hey all,

 

  Wife and I are planning a Carribean dive trip and need suggestions on the "hot spots"  Any great experiences out there?

 

Also, need to find a local shop for servicing Regulators and BCs.

 

Thanks,

Snapper

[Guest tgallo]

so youre going to the islands man, im going to  st croix on the 19th for one week and will do some snorkeling first time . i hear  beleaze if thats the proper spelling is one of the best dive sites around mite want to check it out.

[Marty]

You got a couple hours?  There are tons of 'hot spots' in the Caribbean.  Depends on what, if anything, else you want to do and what type of diving you want to do.

 

Belize is very nice, a little remote, but great diving.  Aruba, Bonaire, Turks & Caicos, Caymans, all great spots too.  Aruba has a lot of other stuff to do besides diving.  Bonaire is nice 'cause you can do tons of shore diving and save the time and expense of doing all boat dives.  Turks & Caicos are kinda remote with not much else to do but dive and sit on the beach.  The Caymans can be nice if you stay on Grand Cayman.  But if you go to Little Cayman or Brac, dive or do very little else.

 

The Bahamas have good diving, not great, but good.  They're close, cheap and there's lots of top side stuff to do.  You can get better diving in the out islands, it's more remote and less to do top side.  

 

If you don't want to go international, the Keys have some really good diving too.

 

Cancun and Cozumel have great diving, but it's almost exclusively drift diving.  Cancun has tons of top side stuff to do, Cozumel, a little less, but still fun.

 

I could go on and on, but that should give you enough to think about.

 

mc

[michaelg]

Eric- hit belize if you can.  You won't regret the diving there, and if so inclined, you can do some rain forest excursions topside.  My houston buds think the world of this place and have gone there multiple times.  

 

Marty,

Can you recommend a dive shop in Key largo to arrange a trip to Pennecamp?  I'm going down to Miami at the end of the month and want a little excursion.  I noticed that the park has a boat and equipement as well- is it better to go with a shop or just through the park.  Any experiences appreciated.

Michael

[Guest snapper]

Thanks Guys,

  I'm centering more and more on Belize.  If you had 4 days to dive there, what spots are/would be a must see?  We like wall diving and diving flats.

 

  We're a little spoiled, we were stationed in Okinawa for three years and did about 1000 dives in the east china sea.

imagine cruising along at 100+ feet in 85 degree water!!! and every inch of the reef is alive. :p

 

  Please tell me more of Belize, please.

 

Eric

[Larry Grenier]

Hey, and you can bring those extra C02 tanks for your reactor for backup  ???

 

Take plenty of pics!  

[Sph2sail]

Hey all,

 

  Wife and I are planning a Carribean dive trip and need suggestions on the "hot spots"  Any great experiences out there?

 

Also, need to find a local shop for servicing Regulators and BCs.

 

Thanks,

Snapper

"The Dive Shop" in Fairfax at the Pan Am Shopping Center.

"Adventure Scuba" in Chantilly at the MetroTech center.

 

Both have dive trips to sites of interest to you on a regular basis.  ASC "it's time for the annual season opener in West Palm Beach, Fla."

 

I've been to the British Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman and Belize.

 

Belize on the Aggressor III or Peter Hughes Diving is the way to go.  Way to far out to the "nice" reefs to do it by land.  Top flight, expensive, best in the biz.

 

The BVI is amazing diving w/walls, the wreck of the Rhone, etc.  Easy.  The deepest you can go is about 80' w/ average depth to the bottom at 65'.  Lots of life, good diving.  Check "Baskin' in the Sun" on Tortolla.  We did our diving off of our bareboat sailing charter sloop.  Baskin' did "drop off tanks" to us, etc.  Excellent, easy diving.  I imagine USVI has nice sites around St. John.  BVI seems better.

 

Cayman was our first dive trip and not our best.  Probably need to go back.  Red Sail or other high end would be better than our experience with Parrot's Landing.

 

Check the local dive shops first, though.  Package deals are frequently best bang for buck.

 

As for servicing your equipment, depends on the brand.  ASC is Dacor, Aqualung/Suunto, OMC, DiveRite.  TDS is Scubapro, Oceanic ...  I know I don't have it all, but you get the idea.  They have regional sales contracts.

 

Personally, I was mostly trained at ASC.  Did some travel through them.  Have not used TDS much.  Your choice.

 

s

[cowrie]

Michael,

 

In Key Largo I recommend Cpt. Slades.  We did our Smithsonian Scientific Diving training with them, and have used them recreationally too.  Bob and I just went in December.  If you need more info let me know (my brother lives in Miam so we go down a lot).

 

Eric,  I enjoyed Cozumel diving.  Fast drifts but exciting.  Lots to do on land like take the ferry over to Playa del Carmen and rent a Jeep for a day to see the ruins, or rent a moped and go around the island including the lighthouse with all the iguanas.  

 

Tamie

[Marty]

Michael,

 

I agree with Tamie, Capt. Slades.

 

Snapper,

 

I'm jealous.  If you're looking for really nice pristine diving, Belize will be great.  I'm not sure what if any damage remains after the hurricane that blew through there a year or two ago.  Bonaire is also very good diving.  If you want to do a liveaboard, Saba is ringed with an undersea park.  There's nothing to do top side, but the diving is fantastic and must be done by boat.

 

Another local shop is in Fair City Mall (corner of pickett and 236) Sea Ventures.  They also do repairs and run trips.

[Guest snapper]

Thanks Guys/Gals for everything.

 

I just made a reservation for "Ramon's" on Ambergris Caye in Belize.  Five days, Four nights: Two days/ two dives per day, with one night dive.  A day of sailfin fishing, and a day of rainforest tromping.

 

---I'm beginning to talk like Robin Leach............Champagne wishes and Caviar dreams.........................

 

Snapper