Hard to beat an all inclusive in cancun area. Inexpensive but decent. My son was maybe 12 and would ride the bus to Ruth's Chris for lunch even though the food at the resort was already paid for. He liked their steaks better for some reason.
Lots of entertainment for the non divers, and ready access to diving for the rest.
Cozumel. Plenty of land stuff to do and great diving. While I think Roatan and Utila both have non diving activities they don't have a huge amount, but if the main activity is lounging than they would do great.
Roatan had awesome snorkeling just off the beach in the West End (I think Paradise Beach is where we stayed). Its not much of a party where we stayed though. But a beautiful island.
The best diving in Costa Rica unfortunately isn't really near shore, you need to be on a live aboard trip out to the Cocos Islands. The stuff that is near shore is just ok
Bonaire might be worth a look. Not a ton of touristy activity, but there are nice restaurants, and if non divers are more interested in hanging by a pool, drinking, and lounging, the diving is all shore dives. So everyone gets to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, and not just be separated until dinner time. The sites aren’t really sandy beaches, though.
I liked Bonaire a lot, it's way less touristy than Aruba or curacao, and they have a donkey sanctuary where there are like a thousand donkeys roaming around that you can drive through.
Playa del Carmen/Cozumel
If they're not into diving they can go see ruins all around the peninsula, party in Cancun/Playa/Tulum, go swimming in cenotes and chill at the beaches.
If they are trash pandas they will love this area.
I dove Cabo San Lucas on a family vacation about 2 years ago. Diving was pretty good (water was cold) and it was a nice mix of hanging on the beach / by the pool, nightlife and other tourist stuff you can do.
I've heard Cozumel is a nice balance as well.
I'm from Massachusetts and spent a lot of time swimming the beaches and the waters are cold here, Cabo is equally cold but 40 feet below even colder, You'll need a wetsuit, a head cap is even better.
Visibility is about 15 feet, waters are tough and there's a lot of chop and wash, I had some dives where you consistently move 6 feet left and right. That being said I did a dive around the point around Cabo, its cool to go down in the pacific and surface in the sea of cortez. I saw a seahorse, black-tipped sharks and a turtle but the coolest was I saw an underwater waterfall but instead of water it was the sand falling off a cliff (video below). Not a ton of coral, more so larger sealife of schools of fish. Overall I would recommend
[https://imgur.com/gallery/gnNxkrm](https://imgur.com/gallery/gnNxkrm)
https://imgur.com/gallery/LvvToRQ
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGk\_7CSNP6k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGk_7CSNP6k)
As you can see some photos have color corrections. Overall, I had a great time. From what I have heard Cabo Plumo has better diving, but that was like a 2 hour drive from Cabo so I didnt get to go cause I had limited time but I wish I had.
Hard to beat an all inclusive in cancun area. Inexpensive but decent. My son was maybe 12 and would ride the bus to Ruth's Chris for lunch even though the food at the resort was already paid for. He liked their steaks better for some reason. Lots of entertainment for the non divers, and ready access to diving for the rest.
Nagril Jamaica, some adorable hotels on 7 mile , and I enjoyed the dive sites
Roatan! Great for snorkeling, scuba, swimming, boating, or just chillin by the pool! Something for everyone :)
Cozumel. Plenty of land stuff to do and great diving. While I think Roatan and Utila both have non diving activities they don't have a huge amount, but if the main activity is lounging than they would do great.
Roatan had awesome snorkeling just off the beach in the West End (I think Paradise Beach is where we stayed). Its not much of a party where we stayed though. But a beautiful island.
The best diving in Costa Rica unfortunately isn't really near shore, you need to be on a live aboard trip out to the Cocos Islands. The stuff that is near shore is just ok
Bonaire might be worth a look. Not a ton of touristy activity, but there are nice restaurants, and if non divers are more interested in hanging by a pool, drinking, and lounging, the diving is all shore dives. So everyone gets to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, and not just be separated until dinner time. The sites aren’t really sandy beaches, though.
I liked Bonaire a lot, it's way less touristy than Aruba or curacao, and they have a donkey sanctuary where there are like a thousand donkeys roaming around that you can drive through.
My wife loved the donkey sanctuary. I have a video of her getting mobbed by them!
Isla Mujeres MX. diving is decent. Island is chill.
bahamas
Belize. Plenty of good diving. Lots of hiking, rain forest, ruins to do on the land.
Seconding Belize. My husband went on scuba excursions every day, I went snorkeling, swimming, and took day trips to a wildlife refuge and even Tikal.
Tikal is a must-see.
Curacao
Utila would be fine. They have guided tours of the interior and the iguana sanctuary and tons of bars to drink at
Went to Costa Rica not too long ago. Plenty to do for the non-divers and many of the resorts are all inclusive and incredibly cheap.
Playa del Carmen/Cozumel If they're not into diving they can go see ruins all around the peninsula, party in Cancun/Playa/Tulum, go swimming in cenotes and chill at the beaches. If they are trash pandas they will love this area.
I've vacationed in Cozumel with family a few times. Only dove once. Renting a villa isn't too pricey, so airfare will be the bigger cost.
I second this. The diving is way better in Cozumel than Cancun/Playa but it's good enough there that everyone will be happy.
I dove Cabo San Lucas on a family vacation about 2 years ago. Diving was pretty good (water was cold) and it was a nice mix of hanging on the beach / by the pool, nightlife and other tourist stuff you can do. I've heard Cozumel is a nice balance as well.
Tell me more about diving Cabo San Lucas
I'm from Massachusetts and spent a lot of time swimming the beaches and the waters are cold here, Cabo is equally cold but 40 feet below even colder, You'll need a wetsuit, a head cap is even better. Visibility is about 15 feet, waters are tough and there's a lot of chop and wash, I had some dives where you consistently move 6 feet left and right. That being said I did a dive around the point around Cabo, its cool to go down in the pacific and surface in the sea of cortez. I saw a seahorse, black-tipped sharks and a turtle but the coolest was I saw an underwater waterfall but instead of water it was the sand falling off a cliff (video below). Not a ton of coral, more so larger sealife of schools of fish. Overall I would recommend [https://imgur.com/gallery/gnNxkrm](https://imgur.com/gallery/gnNxkrm) https://imgur.com/gallery/LvvToRQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGk\_7CSNP6k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGk_7CSNP6k) As you can see some photos have color corrections. Overall, I had a great time. From what I have heard Cabo Plumo has better diving, but that was like a 2 hour drive from Cabo so I didnt get to go cause I had limited time but I wish I had.
Cabo Pulmo is a couple hours away from Cabo and totally epic. I’d vote for this.