Newbie to Snorkeling and Snuba. Need some recommentions

1/137 <mathdude@nospam.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:
:Hi folks,
:I've been an avid swimmer for years albeit confined to chlorinated
ools. I would like to go to a place where:
:
: --- the waters are clear but not too deep
: --- sealife
: --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
: want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
: just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
: be too pricey
:
: --- not too touristy
:
:How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?

Never been there but Bonaire and Habitat Curacao meet your criteria.
So does Sunset House in Grand Cayman.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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1/137 <mathdude@nospam.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:
:Hi folks,
:I've been an avid swimmer for years albeit confined to chlorinated
ools. I would like to go to a place where:
:
: --- the waters are clear but not too deep
: --- sealife
: --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
: want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
: just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
: be too pricey
:
: --- not too touristy
:
:How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?

Never been there but Bonaire and Habitat Curacao meet your criteria.
So does Sunset House in Grand Cayman.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

"Dan Bracuk" wrote

> Never been there but Bonaire and Habitat Curacao meet your criteria.
> So does Sunset House in Grand Cayman.

I really like Sunset House and fully agree that it meets most of his
criteria. I'm not sure, however, that I'd call anything on Grand Cayman
"not too pricey" at least for US visitors.

Lee

"Dan Bracuk" wrote

> Never been there but Bonaire and Habitat Curacao meet your criteria.
> So does Sunset House in Grand Cayman.

I really like Sunset House and fully agree that it meets most of his
criteria. I'm not sure, however, that I'd call anything on Grand Cayman
"not too pricey" at least for US visitors.

Lee

1/137 wrote:

> --- the waters are clear but not too deep
> --- sealife
> --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
> want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
> just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
> be too pricey
>
> --- not too touristy
>
> How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?

First, did was "snuba" a typo or did you really mean it? There's a common perception
that Snuba is somehow safere than scuba, but snuba *is* scuba. The only difference is
that the tank floats on the surface and your movement is limited by the air hose.

As Lee and Dan mentioned, Grand Cayman is a good choice othe than the cost. Besides
generaly good diving, GC is famous for the ease of its shore diving, much of which is
available right in front of some of the resorts. Even in GC, though, the best diving
is much more accessible by boat.

As for the USVI, if you want to avoid touristy, St John is the best choice. There are
several good dive operators, with Lowe Key Watersports being my choice. Most of the
dive sites are relatively shallow. IIRC, the deepest dive I did on a trip there a few
years back was a hair over 60', but some sites are about 100'. You can certainly ask
for shallow sites, but depending on how many other divers are going out you may not
always be able to get what you'd like. Several of the sites were limited to about
50'. The visibility isn't as good as in some places, but it's still good, and there
are plenty of the usual Caribbean fish to be seen. There area few resorts with pretty
beaches, but since we didn't snorkel at any of them I can't tell you how good the
snorkeling might be. At the beaches we did snorkel, I thought it ranged from good to
very good. The island is small enough that no matter where you stay nothing will be
very far away. Besides the resorts there are a lot of private villas available. The
scenery in St John is excellent, so you definitely should drive around the island and
explore when you aren't diving or snorkeling.



--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.

1/137 wrote:

> --- the waters are clear but not too deep
> --- sealife
> --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
> want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
> just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
> be too pricey
>
> --- not too touristy
>
> How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?

First, did was "snuba" a typo or did you really mean it? There's a common perception
that Snuba is somehow safere than scuba, but snuba *is* scuba. The only difference is
that the tank floats on the surface and your movement is limited by the air hose.

As Lee and Dan mentioned, Grand Cayman is a good choice othe than the cost. Besides
generaly good diving, GC is famous for the ease of its shore diving, much of which is
available right in front of some of the resorts. Even in GC, though, the best diving
is much more accessible by boat.

As for the USVI, if you want to avoid touristy, St John is the best choice. There are
several good dive operators, with Lowe Key Watersports being my choice. Most of the
dive sites are relatively shallow. IIRC, the deepest dive I did on a trip there a few
years back was a hair over 60', but some sites are about 100'. You can certainly ask
for shallow sites, but depending on how many other divers are going out you may not
always be able to get what you'd like. Several of the sites were limited to about
50'. The visibility isn't as good as in some places, but it's still good, and there
are plenty of the usual Caribbean fish to be seen. There area few resorts with pretty
beaches, but since we didn't snorkel at any of them I can't tell you how good the
snorkeling might be. At the beaches we did snorkel, I thought it ranged from good to
very good. The island is small enough that no matter where you stay nothing will be
very far away. Besides the resorts there are a lot of private villas available. The
scenery in St John is excellent, so you definitely should drive around the island and
explore when you aren't diving or snorkeling.



--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.

On 2006-01-01, 1/137 <mathdude@nospam.com> wrote:
> Hi folks,
> I've been an avid swimmer for years albeit confined to chlorinated
> pools. I would like to go to a place where:
>
> --- the waters are clear but not too deep
> --- sealife
> --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
> want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
> just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
> be too pricey
>
> --- not too touristy
>
> How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?
>
>
Thanks folks for giving some useful suggestions and advice.
I mentioned snuba as a possibility as I have no training
in scuba which does require certification whereas snuba
apparently does not.

On 2006-01-01, 1/137 <mathdude@nospam.com> wrote:
> Hi folks,
> I've been an avid swimmer for years albeit confined to chlorinated
> pools. I would like to go to a place where:
>
> --- the waters are clear but not too deep
> --- sealife
> --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
> want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
> just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
> be too pricey
>
> --- not too touristy
>
> How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?
>
>
Thanks folks for giving some useful suggestions and advice.
I mentioned snuba as a possibility as I have no training
in scuba which does require certification whereas snuba
apparently does not.

On 2006-01-02, Steve <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
> 1/137 wrote:
>
>> --- the waters are clear but not too deep
>> --- sealife
>> --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
>> want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
>> just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
>> be too pricey
>>
>> --- not too touristy
>>
>> How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?
>
> First, did was "snuba" a typo or did you really mean it? There's a common perception
> that Snuba is somehow safere than scuba, but snuba *is* scuba. The only difference is
> that the tank floats on the surface and your movement is limited by the air hose.

How deep can one go with this? I did mean snuba and not scuba since I
don't have certification in scuba and snuba apparently doesn't require
it?

>
> As Lee and Dan mentioned, Grand Cayman is a good choice othe than the cost. Besides
> generaly good diving, GC is famous for the ease of its shore diving, much of which is
> available right in front of some of the resorts. Even in GC, though, the best diving
> is much more accessible by boat.
>
> As for the USVI, if you want to avoid touristy, St John is the best choice. There are
> several good dive operators, with Lowe Key Watersports being my choice. Most of the
> dive sites are relatively shallow. IIRC, the deepest dive I did on a trip there a few
> years back was a hair over 60', but some sites are about 100'. You can certainly ask
> for shallow sites, but depending on how many other divers are going out you may not
> always be able to get what you'd like. Several of the sites were limited to about
> 50'. The visibility isn't as good as in some places, but it's still good, and there
> are plenty of the usual Caribbean fish to be seen. There area few resorts with pretty
> beaches, but since we didn't snorkel at any of them I can't tell you how good the
> snorkeling might be. At the beaches we did snorkel, I thought it ranged from good to
> very good. The island is small enough that no matter where you stay nothing will be
> very far away. Besides the resorts there are a lot of private villas available. The
> scenery in St John is excellent, so you definitely should drive around the island and
> explore when you aren't diving or snorkeling.

Does visibility change with the seasons generally speaking? Not just in
U.S.V.I but anywhere. Obviously diving on clear sunny days during noon
probably helps.
>
>
>

On 2006-01-02, Steve <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
> 1/137 wrote:
>
>> --- the waters are clear but not too deep
>> --- sealife
>> --- close to the shores of where I'd be staying, i.e. don't
>> want to necessarily have to take an extra boat trip
>> just to get to the diving areas, or if I do it shouldn't
>> be too pricey
>>
>> --- not too touristy
>>
>> How's St. John Island of the US Virgin Islands?
>
> First, did was "snuba" a typo or did you really mean it? There's a common perception
> that Snuba is somehow safere than scuba, but snuba *is* scuba. The only difference is
> that the tank floats on the surface and your movement is limited by the air hose.

How deep can one go with this? I did mean snuba and not scuba since I
don't have certification in scuba and snuba apparently doesn't require
it?

>
> As Lee and Dan mentioned, Grand Cayman is a good choice othe than the cost. Besides
> generaly good diving, GC is famous for the ease of its shore diving, much of which is
> available right in front of some of the resorts. Even in GC, though, the best diving
> is much more accessible by boat.
>
> As for the USVI, if you want to avoid touristy, St John is the best choice. There are
> several good dive operators, with Lowe Key Watersports being my choice. Most of the
> dive sites are relatively shallow. IIRC, the deepest dive I did on a trip there a few
> years back was a hair over 60', but some sites are about 100'. You can certainly ask
> for shallow sites, but depending on how many other divers are going out you may not
> always be able to get what you'd like. Several of the sites were limited to about
> 50'. The visibility isn't as good as in some places, but it's still good, and there
> are plenty of the usual Caribbean fish to be seen. There area few resorts with pretty
> beaches, but since we didn't snorkel at any of them I can't tell you how good the
> snorkeling might be. At the beaches we did snorkel, I thought it ranged from good to
> very good. The island is small enough that no matter where you stay nothing will be
> very far away. Besides the resorts there are a lot of private villas available. The
> scenery in St John is excellent, so you definitely should drive around the island and
> explore when you aren't diving or snorkeling.

Does visibility change with the seasons generally speaking? Not just in
U.S.V.I but anywhere. Obviously diving on clear sunny days during noon
probably helps.
>
>
>