Winter can be tough on boaters, but there's a cure for those of us who grow weary dreaming of spring. It's the Caribbean, where winter takes on a very different complexion.
Blessed with lush rainforests, rugged mountains, golden shores and year-round sunshine, the West Indies can melt memories of ice and snow in minutes. For boaters, the islands offer some of the most gratifying – and accessible – cruising grounds in the hemisphere. The Caribbean is also rich beneath the waves, offering a bounty for divers and snorkelers of all abilities.
You can jump in almost anywhere in the clear Caribbean Sea and find beautiful scenes and fascinating marine life. But which of the dozens of countries, hundreds of destinations and thousands of dive sites should you choose? We've created a list that combines the best of boating and underwater exploration, from the finest wreck dives and uninhabited island sites to the top liveaboard adventures.
Of course, much will be determined by your abilities on or under the water, your taste for adventure and the cost. But there is no shortage of exotic options, from diving wrecked ships to exploring rarified underwater formations never explained by man – plenty to ward off winter blues.
Aruba has become the go-to place for diveable wrecks, with more than a half-dozen downed ships.Â
ARUBA
If you love boats, you probably love wreck dives, too. There's something wonderfully mysterious about gliding through the remains of a sunken vessel and learning its story. Aruba has become the go-to place for diveable wrecks, with more than a half-dozen downed ships surrounding the island's southern coast. Pieces of the Pedernales, an oil tanker torpedoed by a German submarine during WWII, are scattered in 20 to 30 feet of water, making it perfect for beginning divers and snorkelers alike.
Only five minutes away from Pedernales is the most famous wreck in the Caribbean, the 400-foot Antilla, whose remains stretch to a depth of 50 feet. Antilla was built in 1939 and was used by the Germans to supply their subs during WWII. The ship was moored off Aruba, a Dutch territory, in 1940 when the Germany invaded Holland. Rather than allow the ship's capture, she was scuttled.
In deeper waters is the Jane Sea, once a 170-foot-long ship, which now rests in several pieces at a depth of 70 feet. The English freighter was scuttled in 1988 in order to create a fish habitat.
You'll want a dive master to show you these and other highlights.
BIMINI
"Road trip" takes on new meaning with this adventure. Just 45 miles from Miami, the island of Bimini makes an ideal weekend getaway for cruisers, with one of the must-see sites being Bimini Road, an underwater formation of limestone blocks located less than a mile off the northwest end of North Bimini. The large stones, which lie in about 15 feet of water, have fascinated historians for decades. Are they a naturally occurring geological feature, part of an ancient seawall, or perhaps a road to the legendary city of Atlantis? Snorkel the site and draw your own conclusions.
If wreck diving is more your style, don't pass up the S. S. Sapona, located just behind South Bimini, on the Great Bahama Bank. The ship, which ran aground on a reef during a hurricane in 1926, rests in 17 feet of water today. Military target practice and the weather have stripped the hull of concrete. Because it sits in the shallows, it attracts multitudes of fish and is very popular with snorkelers.
Antilla was built in 1939 and was used by the Germans to supply their subs during WWII. The ship was scuttled off Aruba.BAHAMAS LIVEABOARD
For those who want to get chummy with hammerheads, tigers and lemon sharks, there's no closer encounter in the Bahamas than from aboard the 65-foot Shear Water. Departing from West Palm Beach, Fla., the 10-passenger motoryacht offers week-long liveaboard cruises to "secret locations" like Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. Once there, the crew anchors where they know their guests can spend quality time with some of the Caribbean's most notorious predators.
Shark diving can be dangerous if done improperly (these are not cage dives but open-water experiences) and since there can be strong currents in the areas visited, divers should be Advanced Open Water certified or the equivalent. For less extreme adventures, the Shear Water also offers dolphin encounters and more relaxed diving and snorkeling trips to Grand Bahama, Cay Sal Bank and the Southeastern Bahama Islands, lasting from four to 12 days. Prices vary depending on schedule and activities, but range from about $1,700 to $6,000 per person.
BELIZE
Ambergris Caye, separated from the mainland by a narrow sliver of channel, is the jumping-off point for exploring the second largest barrier reef in the world. This immense span of living reef "” all 186 miles of it that border Belize "” includes nearly every kind of hard and soft coral in nature, as well as an organic rainbow of marine species.
