jbcarioca

As a few have said, one needs quite specific requirements to make recommendations. My favorites may not be yours. There are spectacularly wonderful places throughout the world, with clear standards set.

My personal favorite is diving just outside the harbor of Great Exuma in the Bahamas, which has one of the largest coral reefs in the world, but not many divers and little infrastructure. It is nowhere near a first choice for anything other than diving.

For culture and flavor plus climate the ABC are my choice because of the constant tradewinds and the colorful architecture, plus Dutch-influenced patois.

GordonGordon

Although this thread is a kind of old, I now have the same questions as the OP did. I have been to Tahiti 3 times (Bora Bora, Moorea and couple of atolls at Tuamoto archipelago), Maldives x 4, Palau x 2, Seychelles, Fiji, Bali, Phuket & Phi Phi islands x 2 and many diving spots in Philippines and Malaysia. So far Tahiti is the only place I want to go back again and again mainly because of the unique turquoise water, the "Jurassic Park" liked landscapes, the tasty Tahitian & French food, being less crowded & with less kids/teens, less touristic/commercial, many fabulous dive sites and beaches, being able freely to swim & dive with sharks, the local/Polynesian culture and feeling safe to browse around the islands anytime.

For some biased reasons, I tried to avoid traveling to Caribbean in the past, but next year I want to give Caribbean a try. Can anyone help me find a place in Caribbean similar or even better than Tahiti? Safety is my first priority (place with low crime rate) and being able to snorkel and dive is my 2nd priority. Most likely I will fly from Canada by using Air Canada. Thanks for any input.

slawecki

the two places i would consider best are bonaire and belize.

both are quite safe. bonaire is shallow diving(under 60'). lots of stuff, no pelagics.

belize we have only done liveaboards. lots of pelagics. huge varity.

both have pretty clear water, and both are excellent for night diving. neither are easy to get to, which cuts down on the riff raff a bit.

we have never dove the pacific. i understand it to be far superior. food in the carribean is mediocre at best.

PWMFlyer19

Bonaire is a good suggestion. What about Saba which is often beaten road...

PSUhorty

Belize’s crime rate is starting to climb… at least at the #1 vacation/diving destination there- San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. The locals are even starting to complain that the police aren’t doing enough. There are other choices in Belize though… even other islands quite close to Ambergris Caye… which are very nice.
Placencia is another good spot in Belize. As I understand it, also great for diving and the primary port of call out of Belize for whale shark diving.

psyflyer

As beautiful as some islands in the caribbean are, they can never compare to some of the atolls in the south pacific or the maldives. Truly phenomenal and fascinating. Higly reccomended.

For me its SXM (St. Martin) which not only has great beaches and resorts but superb dining which for us is very important. I guess it depends what your after and what you value, to me a combination of things we appreciate is what drives our business.

scubadiver

My vote goes to Saba. The volcanic peak looks like King Kong could pop up any second. It doesn't lack devoped beaches. It lacks beaches. The cliffs come right down to the sea.

Saba has the shortest runway of any commercial airport. Your Twin Otter swoops along the cliff face, striking sparks with wingtip. Reverse-pitch, full thorottle, stall warning and you jolt to a stop at the very end of the runway a few meters short of a spectacular drop into the sea.

Orchid Cottage has the best view in the Carib. We asked for our room key and got a blank look. This is Saba! OK, we'll find you one.

No beaches, one port, no cruise ships, no crime. Climb the volcano to the highest point in the Netherlands.

If you are an eco-nut or diver, it is for you. (I am both.) Mrs. Scubadiver is neither, but she did some of her best paintings there.

GordonGordon

lol scubadiver, thanks for the info! This was exactly how I felt when I visited Moorea (French Polynesia) the very first time. I will give Saba a try!

Miles Hunter

Like that! ;-) Wonder how many Dutch know that?

Anyway if you happen to be in the Bahamas take a look at www.deepwatercay.com This was and is a private Island open to the public only until club membership is full. No crime since at most there will be 50 people on the island. Has its own private airstrip too. They are famous for Bonefishing but have diving and other water sports. What is great is that on the east end of Grand Bahama there is almost no diving so much is untouched and you are likely to be the only divers for 50 miles. Everything from blue holes to reefs to caves. The countless different blues and greens are my favourite.

stef315

I live in Cayman and I can tell you there isn't a lot to do here but it's one of the safest islands. We do have nices beaches and you can definitely swim year round. I'm not into diving so that limits me a bit but it seems people really enjoy that here.

I've also been to Nassau (Bahamas) and Puerto Rico. Nassau was very crowded and not always safe. There were traffic jams every day and the beaches by the hotels got pretty crowded. It also gets very cold in the winter months. I think their first "beach" day is Easter time. I also made the mistake of going around spring break time so there were tons of kids running around drinking, gambling, and acting stupid! When I say "kids", I don't mean 18-24 year olds. I mean like 14 to 18 year olds!!

When I went to Puerto Rico, I spent 9 days and was pretty much busy the whole time. There are casinos, etc. for night time activities. There were many attractions including Old San Juan, rainforest, etc. It was quite a few years ago so I don't remember everything. We stayed in San Juan the first 4 days then the Westin Rio Mar the last 5 days. I really enjoyed the Westin and it really made me feel like I was on vacation!! Strange for me as my ideal vacation is usually walking around a city.

snowymt

Saba is amazing!!

Easy Victor

+1 Saba and Scubadiver's comments. I didn't stay overnight, but what I did see was nothing less than gorgeous. And the diving was really nice also!

I still think about that place, often