# Carribbean or Hawaii??? (especially scuba)



## glypnirsgirl (Apr 6, 2010)

In looking through the various threads, it appears to me that those on the west coast have a tendency to favor Hawaii for their tropical vacations and those on the east coast have a tendency to favor the Carribbean. In Texas, we are about half-way between the coasts, but much closer to the Carribbean.

I grew up going to Hawaii. My dad worked for Delta Airlines and he made the mistake of allowing the three of us kids to vote for where we wanted to go and we voted for Hawaii every year for more than a decade. The only place that I have been to in the Carribbean is Jamaica (the year my dad vetoed Hawaii) and I do not have particularly fond memories of that vacation.

I am still trying to figure out how to best use my timeshare. With others' help, I have ruled out using it for a trip to national parks, I am not pulling trades for convenient urban vacations, so that leaves beach resorts.

Because I love to scuba, I am interested in the Carribbean. The water is WARMER. (Last year diving in Maui, I had to wear a wetsuit on every dive and I was usually chilled before I got out of the water). Still, I enjoyed the diving and I have heard that diving from Kauai (where you actually dive is Niihau, as I understand it) is very pristine. So, now I am trying to decide on where to use my timeshares for a scuba vacation.

I cannot pull much in the Virgin Islands. I can pull LOTS in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. 

Most of my experience has been in Cozumel (more than 100 dives there). I have done week long scuba vacations in Roatan, Turks and Caicos (on a live-aboard) and 2 weeks in Maui. So not a lot of experience any where other than Cozumel.

While in Cozumel, we basically dive, sleep and eat. We rarely even drink alcohol because of the diving. And we have only been out of the dive hotel for dinner ONE TIME. We have never done any sight seeing there. We just prefer the sights under the sea.

Does anyone have any suggestions on really good dive spots and resorts?

Elaine


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## brankatz (Apr 6, 2010)

Have you ever been to the Florida Keys it is one of my favorite dive spots because of the mass differences you can experience there.  Lots of wrecks and many shallow enjoyable dives.  Some with strong currents others completely docile.  Lots of life and lots of divers but enough dive areas to keep things the way you prefer.  We have been to Hawaii and to Caribbean I prefer the Caribbean I am a East Coast person though but I do love water temps 85+ and prefer to dive w/o wet suits.  I also am not a big fan of drift diving so my experiences in Mexico were not my favorite I prefer to look at the Macros on a reef.  Anyway while Virgin Islands are beautiful they are more of a snorkelers delight with not as many dive sights in one area very spread out.  Bahamas not as warm as Keys or VI but lots of Big fish like Hawaii, but warmer than HI. Bahamas great for Shark Rodeo and Big Holes like Cozumel.


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## Skinsfan1311 (Apr 6, 2010)

As a fellow diver, my vote is for Grand Cayman.

We love the Morritt's on the East End.....


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## DeniseM (Apr 6, 2010)

Actually, you cannot go to Ni'ihau Island at all. It's privately owned. There is a dive/snorkel boat that goes to a nearby Lehua Crater - but not the island itself. We did it once, but it's a 2 hour trip each way, over rough water, and we didn't find it much different than other trips around Kauai, closer to shore. There is lots of great shore diving on Kauai, too.

As far as water Temp. you might enjoy it more in Aug.-Oct. when the ocean in Hawaii is at it's warmest. It gets close to 80º then.


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## timesharejunkie4 (Apr 6, 2010)

There are plenty of places to trade to where you can dive! 
My most favorite dive was the Manta Ray night dive on the Big Island, day time dives were good, not as good as the Caribbean. Other places I have been diving on timeshare vacations are Belize, Curacao, Playa del Carmen, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. 
PV has the worst diving so I wouldn't suggest PV for a dive vacation but it has so many other great things to offer.
Cabo has a lot of fish but little coral and color but diving with the sea lions is pretty neat. 
We loved diving from the shore in Curacao, a lot of juvenile fish, not many big ones. We just got back from PDC and dove the cenotes which was different and enjoyable.
Belize and PDC are similar, both with excellent diving.
Top places on our timeshare list to trade into are Bonaire, Caymans, and Turks and Caicos. We would certainly check out the diving on any other island too. 
We usually only dive 2-3 days on a week's vacation as we like to spend time exploring and get in a little relaxation as well.


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## bobby (Apr 6, 2010)

The Bahamas and upper Caribbean can be cool in January some years.


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## Talent312 (Apr 6, 2010)

I would vote for Bonaire... if you can find a place. Its devotion to marine conservation is unique.
The island is encircled by a marine park established in 1979 that runs from the shoreline out to the 60m contour. Here is a paragraph from Wikipedia...

"The island caters mainly to scuba divers and snorkelers, as there are few sandy beaches, while the surrounding reefs are easily accessible from the shore. Bonaire is world renowned for its excellent scuba diving and is consistently rated among the best diving locations in the world. Bonaire's license plates carry the logo Diver's Paradise (in English)... Tourism infrastructure in Bonaire is contemporary and based on time-share resorts. There are a few small bed and breakfasts. Most resorts have an on-site dive shop. The rest are affiliated with a dive operation."

I have fond memories stemming from an invitation night dive.


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## Luanne (Apr 6, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> Actually, you cannot go to Ni'ihau Island at all. It's privately owned.



Denise, I believe you can go to Ni'ihau.  There was something just recently in our local paper, and I pulled this up using google.  There are probably other articles, and even tours.  I was surprised to find out that the island has been accessible to the public for quite awhile.

http://www.niihau.us/


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## DeniseM (Apr 6, 2010)

Luanne said:


> Denise, I believe you can go to Ni'ihau.  There was something just recently in our local paper, and I pulled this up using google.  There are probably other articles, and even tours.  I was surprised to find out that the island has been accessible to the public for quite awhile.
> 
> http://www.niihau.us/



It really isn't accessible to the public.  The only way to visit the island is to book a very expensive helicopter trip to the island with the owner of the island.  The link you posted is to their website.  A half-day excursion is $385 per person.  You are not allowed to visit the village or mingle with the locals.  The excursion includes an aerial tour, and some time on the beach, and lunch.  No other tour groups or boats are allowed.


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## gnipgnop (Apr 8, 2010)

*GO TO ARUBA.*  Stay at Eagle Beach somewhere.  We stayed at the Casa Del Mar and loved it there.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 9, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> Actually, you cannot go to Ni'ihau Island at all. It's privately owned. There is a dive/snorkel boat that goes to a nearby Lehua Crater - but not the island itself. We did it once, but it's a 2 hour trip each way, over rough water, and we didn't find it much different than other trips around Kauai, closer to shore. There is lots of great shore diving on Kauai, too.
> 
> As far as water Temp. you might enjoy it more in Aug.-Oct. when the ocean in Hawaii is at it's warmest. It gets close to 80º then.



WOW! That is a lot warmer than May. Cozumel is about the same temperature year round so I did not realize that there could be that much variance.

I realized that the diving was just off the shore of Niihau, and i knew from doing the research that the boats leave from the Lawai/Lihue area (I did not want to repeat the mistake of being an hour or more away from the dock like we did in Maui). But all of the boats that I found on the internet tout that Ni'ihau trip as the big deal. 

Ian and I love to shore dive if we can find good access to the good dives. Heck, I even enjoy snorkeling! (the snorkeling was EXCELLENT at Ka'anapali).


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 9, 2010)

timesharejunkie4 said:


> There are plenty of places to trade to where you can dive!
> My most favorite dive was the Manta Ray night dive on the Big Island, day time dives were good, not as good as the Caribbean. Other places I have been diving on timeshare vacations are Belize, Curacao, Playa del Carmen, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta.
> 
> I would love to find a trade to Belize or Curacao. I imagine that the diving would be similar to Cozumel at PDC. I have gotten sick every time I have been to PV - so it is not my favorite.
> ...



Maui was the first place that we have ever managed to dive and relax. It is probably a good thing that the dock was so far from our hotel. We were getting up at 4:00 in the morning to go diving.

These are really great ideas --- now I know what to look for.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 9, 2010)

gnipgnop said:


> *GO TO ARUBA.*  Stay at Eagle Beach somewhere.  We stayed at the Casa Del Mar and loved it there.



The diving was good in Aruba? Are the flights expensive?


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 9, 2010)

Talent312 said:


> I would vote for Bonaire... if you can find a place. Its devotion to marine conservation is unique.
> The island is encircled by a marine park established in 1979 that runs from the shoreline out to the 60m contour. Here is a paragraph from Wikipedia...
> 
> "The island caters mainly to scuba divers and snorkelers, as there are few sandy beaches, while the surrounding reefs are easily accessible from the shore. Bonaire is world renowned for its excellent scuba diving and is consistently rated among the best diving locations in the world. Bonaire's license plates carry the logo Diver's Paradise (in English)... Tourism infrastructure in Bonaire is contemporary and based on time-share resorts. There are a few small bed and breakfasts. Most resorts have an on-site dive shop. The rest are affiliated with a dive operation."
> ...



I always wanted to go to Bonaire from reading Scubadiving --- but friends that went had their car broken into while they were on one of their shore dives. We have gotten so spoiled by not having to be very careful with our stuff in Cozumel. We usually leave it under a palapa while we go eat lunch everything has always just been waiting for us to come back - nothing has ever been missing. I had the impression from the same friends that the people of Bonaire really do not like divers. Was your experience different?


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 9, 2010)

brankatz said:


> Have you ever been to the Florida Keys it is one of my favorite dive spots because of the mass differences you can experience there.  Lots of wrecks and many shallow enjoyable dives.  Some with strong currents others completely docile.  Lots of life and lots of divers but enough dive areas to keep things the way you prefer.  We have been to Hawaii and to Caribbean I prefer the Caribbean I am a East Coast person though but I do love water temps 85+ and prefer to dive w/o wet suits.  I also am not a big fan of drift diving so my experiences in Mexico were not my favorite I prefer to look at the Macros on a reef.  Anyway while Virgin Islands are beautiful they are more of a snorkelers delight with not as many dive sights in one area very spread out.  Bahamas not as warm as Keys or VI but lots of Big fish like Hawaii, but warmer than HI. Bahamas great for Shark Rodeo and Big Holes like Cozumel.



We were thinking that the Keys would be great! We are not pulling ANYTHING in the Keys --- is it hard to trade into, or is my timing just off?

We are happiest just watching small tropical fish going about their "fishy" business. Neither of us is attracted to wrecks or big fish, but we both love to watch turtles, angel fish, parrot fish, tetras, chromis, drums, --- those I could watch all day. 

In Cozumel, when they take us out to the dedicated wreck, Ian and I just stay on top and watch the bait fish. 

It is frustrating to get really interested in watching something and have to struggle to try to stay and watch what you are interested in. It was one of the great things about both Hawaii and Turks and Caicos --- we could stay still without struggling.


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## Talent312 (Apr 9, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> I always wanted to go to Bonaire from reading Scubadiving --- but friends that went had their car broken into while they were on one of their shore dives... I had the impression from the same friends that the people of Bonaire really do not like divers. Was your experience different?



Well, it was 10 years ago, but I found the locals friendly enuff, esp. those in occupations catering to tourists. Its best not to leave belongings unattended in most Caribbean Islands. We rented a jeep to explore the island for one day (its small enuff) and had no issues pulling off at dive/snorkel sights -- just about any wide spot in the road -- for an hour or two. All the resorts, just about, cater to divers and many organized trips leave from the resorts' own docks. The night-dive I did was right at my resort.


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## brankatz (Apr 9, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> We were thinking that the Keys would be great! We are not pulling ANYTHING in the Keys --- is it hard to trade into, or is my timing just off?


When are you looking you can always put in a sightings request on the sightings board?  I regularly see Keys especially in Key Largo area but I went to Key West last year and they apply the 1 in 4 rule be back in 2013.:whoopie:


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## brankatz (Apr 9, 2010)

Just checked and I saw a lot of availability for Key Largo which is where I would choose to stay if I wanted to dive the Keys there is much more diving there than in Key west.  Just use 1 day to visit Key West like the 24 hour window before you have to fly.  But if a dive vacation is what you are looking for and you would like to visit the Keys I would suggest staying from Marathon North to Key Largo.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 11, 2010)

*still not pulling any Keys resorts*

I went back and tried both weeks and points on RCI and I am still not pulling any resorts in the Keys. Ian and I are perfectly happy in what we call dive dives - a safe place to store our gear without need for much in the way of amenities - but I am pulling NOTHING.

I checked airfare to Aruba. Right now it is running about $562 round trip from DFW - that is based on a fairly short notice trip. I normally track air fare for some time before booking to get an idea of whether or not the air fare is a good deal. The Aruba airfare was less than what I booked to Turks and Caicos and less than Hawaii, a whole lot more than the air fare to Cozumel.

elaine


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## Judy (Apr 16, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> I always wanted to go to Bonaire from reading Scubadiving --- but friends that went had their car broken into while they were on one of their shore dives. We have gotten so spoiled by not having to be very careful with our stuff in Cozumel. We usually leave it under a palapa while we go eat lunch everything has always just been waiting for us to come back - nothing has ever been missing. I had the impression from the same friends that the people of Bonaire really do not like divers. Was your experience different?


I go to Bonaire every year.  This year we're going for 3 weeks.  The diving there is very different from Cozumel.  The currents are not so strong; you don't see so many big animals; and you don't have to dive from a boat.  You can rent a truck and buy unlimited air/nitrox, then dive until you run out of bottom time.  
We've attended a couple of locals' festivals while we were on the island.  We were always treated in a friendly manner.  It never occurred to me that the Bonaire people don't like divers. Maybe the fishermen because of the marine protection regulations, but I've never run into any hostility.
As for theft, there is some.  I had a pair of very old flip-flops stolen during the night last year at the resort.  We always leave our truck open while we're shore diving and never have we had anything taken. We usually leave towels on the seats and tanks in the back.
There are direct flights to Bonaire from Texas.


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## DVB42 (Apr 17, 2010)

We recently dived in St Maarten while spending a week there on a ts trade. It was comparable to other places in the Carribbean. I like diving the Carribbean much better than Hawaii. However, I enjoy diving just about anywhere.

There is a small island (Saba) near St Maarten that is reported to have excellent diving. Next time I plan on divig there for two or three days.

We live in Houston so Cozumel is a short flight from here. The diving there is very good but the reefs have not fully recovered from damage inflicted by a hurricane several years ago. It is heavily dived as well.


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## Judy (Apr 17, 2010)

I've been diving in Florida, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Egypt, Spain, the Canary Islands, Mexico and many places in the Caribbean.  My favorite places to go back to are all in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Cozumel, Roatan Honduras, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 17, 2010)

Judy said:


> I've been diving in Florida, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Egypt, Spain, the Canary Islands, Mexico and many places in the Caribbean.  My favorite places to go back to are all in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Cozumel, Roatan Honduras, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.



Now that is a lot of diving! 

When you go to Bonaire, where do you stay?

Can you do a compare and contrast for French Polynesia versus Caribbean? Our dive shop owner (5000+ dives) believes that the best diving he has ever done is in Fiji.

Elaine


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## BocaBum99 (Apr 18, 2010)

Here's another vote for Grand Cayman.  It's my favorite timeshare destination for diving


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## Judy (Apr 19, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> When you go to Bonaire, where do you stay?


Buddy Dive.  We own there.
Where do you stay in Cozumel?



> Can you do a compare and contrast for French Polynesia versus Caribbean? Our dive shop owner (5000+ dives) believes that the best diving he has ever done is in Fiji.


We didn't dive Fiji.  We spent a week on Moorea and then did 10 days on the Paul Gauguin, diving at most of its ports. We saw large lemon sharks on every dive in Moorea and Bora Bora.  They came really close to the divers. You don't see that in the Caribbean (nor should you) We discovered that it was because they are fed.  The reef was DEAD in Moorea, mostly dead in Raitea, and under pressure from the Crown of Thorns starfish at Bora Bora  Dive of a lifetime was running Tiputa Pass at Rangiroa.   The current was much stronger than anything I've experienced in Cozumel. The reef was in good shape there too. That's the only spot on our trip that I'd recommend for diving.


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## buffyscrubs (Apr 20, 2010)

ARUBA is a good place The island's economy has been dominated by five main industries: gold mining, phosphate mining (The Aruba Phosphaat Maatschappij), aloe  export, petroleum refineries (The Lago Oil & Transport Company and the Arend Petroleum Maatschappij Shell Co.), and tourism.


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## Judy (Apr 23, 2010)

Elaine, Where do you stay in Cozumel?  We're going for a week in June and hope to stay at the Vista del Mar downtown.


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