Best All Inclusives for Scuba Divers

The opportunity to go scuba diving adds — quite literally — a whole other level to your all-inclusive holiday, giving you the opportunity to explore reefs, wrecks and all the colors of the underwater realm…

Sandals and Beaches Resorts, Various Locations

Scuba diving is fully included at all Sandals and Beaches Resorts. Both require a scuba certification to dive without an instructor, but their introductory course teaches the basics (in a pool) and then you can dive once daily with an instructor-led group. If you want to then take your open-water dives to get your certification, that costs extra, but isn’t mandatory if you just want to enjoy the group dives.

Combined, these two resort operators cover many of the best dive sites in the Caribbean, from Montego Bay in Jamaica to St. Lawrence in Barbados. PADI — the Professional Association of Diving Instructors — voted Check PricesSandals Resorts “one of the top 5 Dive Operators in the Western Hemisphere”, so you know you’ll be in good hands. And good flippers.

Couples Resorts, Various Locations

Want to mix a little romance with your diving? Then consider any of the Check PricesCouples Resorts in Jamaica. Every Couples Resort features luxurious accommodations, great food, and an award-winning Spa, in addition to lush and unspoiled natural surroundings. Then there’s the FREE scuba diving (yes, just like at Sandals Resorts, scuba diving is free at Couples Resorts), with options for certified and uncertified divers. You can explore nearby reefs, swim with dolphins, watch trumpet fish and sea turtles, and get all nervous around nurse sharks (don’t worry, they don’t bite — not normally, anyway). Couples Resorts also runs night dives for a minimal cost, providing a whole new nocturnal experience among octopi, moray eels, drum fish and stingrays.

Small Hope Bay Lodge, Andros Island, Bahamas

If you’re looking for something smaller and more intimate, then Check PricesSmall Hope Bay Lodge might be more your style. Located on the relaxed and secluded Andros Island, Small Hope is aimed at people looking to fish, scuba dive, and reconnect with nature. Established in 1960, Small Hope Bay Lodge was the first dive lodge in the Caribbean, and the resort’s beachfront cabins are a stone’s throw from the Andros Barrier Reef — one of the largest in the world. The resort offers more than 60 dive sites, including wrecks, coral gardens and stunning blue holes. With onsite instruction for beginners and a handful of different all-inclusive dive packages, Small Hope is a top choice for novices and experienced scuba experts.

Cozumel Palace, Cozumel, Mexico

The island of Cozumel, just off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, is one of the top spots for scuba diving in Mexico, and Check PricesCozumel Palace is one of the Best All Inclusive Resorts in Cozumel. Here you’ll be just a short hop away from the extensive Palancar Reef (a solid favorite among in-the-know scuba divers), and you’ll benefit from the resort’s partnership with the Aqua Safari dive shop — a world-class five-star PADI dive center.

Expert or beginner, you’ll have the best guides and instructors, and a selection of vibrant reefs to explore.

Curtain Bluff Resort, Antigua

Not only does Check PricesCurtain Bluff have one of the largest wine collections in the Caribbean (which, by the way, makes it a great place for surviving the zombie apocalypse), it also offers a huge array of activities. For watersports fanatics, this means plenty of swimming, water skiing, kayaking, windsurfing, snorkeling and scuba diving — all included. The resort’s twice-daily snorkeling trips, by boat, are a particular highlight, making it a great place to combine both snorkeling and scuba diving. Curtain Bluff is located on the southern coast of Antigua, which is where you’ll find the island’s best dive sites including the ever-popular Cades Reef.

Bonus! All Inclusive Dive Resorts for SERIOUS divers!

We finish this list with two seriously scuba-focused all-inclusive dive resorts, for those who think a vacation is all about, well, scuba diving. Just the dive, ma’am. Just the dive.

Cayman Brac Beach Resort, Cayman Islands

Cayman Brac is an island about 90 miles north-east of Grand Cayman, and — like the Cayman Islands in general — it’s a mecca for scuba divers due to its beautiful crystal-clear warm water. The Check PricesCayman Brac Beach Resort doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of other all-inclusives, but hard-core divers won’t mind at all. A seven-night package here includes a whopping 17 boat dives to a variety of dive sites, including stunning wall dives and bountiful shallow dives, all among the colorful coral and fish. You can also go on a wreck dive to the sunken Russian Frigate 356, parts of which you can actually penetrate and explore inside.

Anthony’s Key Resort, Roatan, Honduras

The all-inclusive Check PricesAnthony's Key Resort on Roatan, 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras. This is a place for active vacationers, so don’t expect too much in the way of modern entertainment systems of flat screen TVs (and, important to note that alcohol is not included in the price). But do expect a moderately-priced holiday with an abundance of water-based activities, including plenty of unforgettable dives. The seven-night dive package, for example, includes three single-tank boat dives per day and two single-tank night dives per week. From the resort you can easily explore many of Roatan’s 35 dive sites, including reefs, wrecks and deep fissures, all in crystalline waters with an occasional dolphin or two. Now that’s a serious dive holiday!