"lunitic" <luniticismyfriend@hotmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:

What's suitable for me ain't necessarily suitable for you.  The reason
is that we all priotitize things differently.

Things I would consider are (in no particular order)
- how easy it is to get there.
- will the instructors have accents that are hard to understand?
- is the water warm, clear and full of pretty fishies?
- on site dive shop?

Living in Toronto, I suggest Grand Cayman.  For a resort/dive shop, I
recommend Sunset House/Sunset Divers.

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

Did you mention the part about "same time" in the first post? The conventional wisdom
around here is that at the very least you should do the classwork at home rather than
devote a substantial portion of your vacation to it. Not that a dive class isn't
going to be fun, but it's easy enough to do at home and have more of your (expensive)
vacation time for actually diving and whatnot. If you only expect to dive in warm,
clear tropical water doing the checkout dives as referrals may make sense. If you
think you may want to dive closer to home there's a lot to be said for doing the
whole course at home. At Cocoview an OW course will cost a bit more than at home,
plus you'll be paying at least $200/day to be there. You'll have time for some other
stuff. but in my book that effectively adds $800 to the cost of the course (assuming
they take 4 days to do it).

 I have read about

I've got a friend who's in Utila right now. She's only a snorkeler, but when she gets
back maybe I'll have a more informed opinion about Utila; at present I kno wsome
people have loved it but I've heard others say it was a poor choice (to be fair, some
people no doubt say that about Roatan, too). Just because Roatan is mentioned more
often doesn't mean it's better, but it certainly offers some advantages. Despite
busting Dan's chops about the difficulty of one more plane ride, simply staying on
Roatan does simplify the travel logistics, and probably saves you some money (it's
possible that an itinerary with TACA will cost the same whether you go to Roatan or
Utila). Roatan offers more choices than Utila, and you'll probably be at the resort a
little bit sooner. If you take Continental's early flight you could be at Cocoview in
time for a late lunch, and then make your first dive at about 3 (if you're already
certified; I don't know if you could schedule a referral dive for the day of
arrival). Other resorts will mean a slightly different schedule.

Dan's suggestion about Grand Cayman is also good, though it's more expensive. The
west end of GC is famous for easy diving, and there are numerous choices for
accommodations, food, and dive ops. Some will warn beginners away from the rest of GC
because the diving is a bit more challenging, but as long as you aren't particularly
timid or overly cautious I think anyplace on GC is an option. There are plenty of
other islands that will probably meet most or all of your needs. The more specific
you are about what you want (think carefully before taking a non-diving spouse or
boy/girlfriend to Utila or Roatan unless they like quiet and laidback, and don't go
to GC if casinos are an important part of your trip, for instance) the better the
advice you'll get.

Steve <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:

I am also toying with the idea of going to either Cocos Island or
Hawaii next year.  Some arduous trips are worth it.

In fact later his year, I might go to Little Cayman, even though it is
a more arduous than going to Grand Cayman.

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