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Scuba Review Index
On the wharf in front of the hotel is Pelican Water sports. I went diving with them. They are efficient and the dive leader was knowledgeable and made sure you saw every aspect of the site. There are 18 dive sites around Aruba with 5 being a 10 minute or less boat ride from the hotel. This means you can go for a single tank dive and be back on the beach within 1 ½ to 2 hours. I went to a site called the Antilla Wreck which, according to a number of people I spoke with, is one of the three most popular sites in Aruba. It is a 63 year old German freighter (400 feet long) that was sunk intentionally by its captain when it ran out of fuel so that it would not fall into the hands of the Dutch navy, during WWII.
Pelican Water Sports - Holiday Inn
May 2006Pelican Water Sports Barbara ~ Canada
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Bahamas Links
Andros Island
Small Hope Bay Lodge
Rest, Relaxation, Rediscovery, and Great Diving. 21 rooms in cottages on the beach w/easy all-inclusive rates.
Scuba Review Index
Small Hope Bay Lodge
| Small Hope Bay Lodge | Tanya |
I visited Small Hope in April 2004 with my best friend. I am a scuba diver and she is not, but we both found tons to do at Small Hope Bay Lodge. I had always wanted to visit Small Hope since I got certified 4 years ago. They have a reputation for having wonderful diving and they definately lived up to that reputation. Every dive was a totally different experience. One day we did a wreck dive, one day a cavern, several days we did wall dives in the morning, the coral garden dives were beautiful, especially Brad's Mountain, the Ocean Blue Hole was "out of this world" and I did their shark dive one afternoon and that was GREAT fun! I even did my first night dive while I was there, now that was very cool. I was there for a week and I never did the same dive twice. They offer at least 3 dives per day, but I usually did only 2 because there were so many other things to do.
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Scuba Review Index
The Nautical Inn - Placencia
| The Nautical Inn - Placencia | Kelley & Tucker ~ Colorado |
The dive operation that CJV recommended, The Nautical Inn, was a completely unsafe, sketchy operation. The divemaster lost everyone on our first dive and we had to resurface after burning 1/2 a tank of air. They never once mentioned safety stops or sticking with your dive buddy (2 very basic things). We also saw next to nothing on both dives. Unbelievable that CJV would recommend them. After we described our experience, they did nothing, but charged us the full $220 U.S. for the dives.
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Scuba Review Index
General Info
Buddy Dive Resort
| General Info | Mike |
Snorkeling:
Bonaire is known mostly for its' diving and snorkeling spots. Unlike
most
islands with diving spots, almost all of the Bonaire dive (and
snorkeling)
locations can be reached from the shore; no boat required. Dive and
snorkel locations are marked with yellow rocks along the road and
there are
several maps available that list all the dive locations, their
characteristics,
and their name (which is painted on the yellow rocks). Once you
understand
how it works, you can easily locate any of the eighty-some dive spots.
However, the same characteristics that make shore dives possible also
mean
that there are essentially no soft sandy beaches. All beaches we saw
are
really hard rocks and coral. Getting into the water was sometimes a
challange. But once in the water, there were very nice reefs and coral
areas. The sea floor seemed to drop off very close to shore, so the
transition from shallow to deep was within easy snorkeling distance.
For SCUBA divers there are a large number of dive shops and outfitters. If you don't have (or take) your own snorkle gear, there are numerous snorkle tours available which will provide the equipment. The only real 'caution' is that there appears to be a problem with locals breaking into cars parked at the more remote dive spots. The general suggestion os to not take anything valuable and leave the car unlocked so it is not "broken" into.
| Buddy Dive Resort | Kathleen< |
Buddy Dive Resort is THE most organized non-all-inclusive dive resort that I have been to. It is set up with divers in mind. The hotel and dive staff are extremely hospitable.
The rooms are like condos. You have a living area and kitchen. A/C is generally in the bedrooms only.
The hotel always had something going on and there was always a board that would list the upcoming activities. The restaurant was excellent and the staff was extremely courteous.
The diving was set up where divers could pick and choose when they wanted to dive. You did not have to 'worry' about being stuck at a set time each day. Our package contained six boat dives and we could divvy those up any way we chose to. There were boards set up and it was a first come, first serve basis for the trips.
The dives were great. The guides were excellent at pointing out creatures (ex: seahorses and frogfish). You could either follow them or you could dive your own plan, as long as you were back at the boat within the time allotted. It was best to follow them, as they knew the area and could point out the various creatures.
There were separate water bins where you could rinse: Cameras / Dive Gear / Regulators. As soon as the water got the slightest bit murky, the dive staff would drain and refill the bins with fresh water.
There was a room on the premises where you could hang and leave your gear to dry. This area was locked nightly. VERY CONVENIENT.
Our 'package' included unlimited tank usage and a truck to get around the island with for shore dives. Buddy Dive has a drive thru facility where you can pick up and drop off your tanks easily.
I would definitely recommend Buddy Dive to anyone who is going to Bonaire!!!
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The British Virgin Islands are best known for perfect sailing conditions, and they also have more than 100 dive sites for underwater explorations. While the BVI may not have walls or drift diving, it does have sites full of stunning coral gardens, canyons, tunnels, caverns, grottos, and wrecks teaming with underwater life of every size and kind. It also has dive operators who like to pamper and satisfy their guests, from newly certified to advanced.
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from Dive Cayman
Our warm, calm waters, 100 ft. plus visibility and breath-taking variety of marine life offer a world of exciting logbook entries. Each island offers very different diving adventures for divers of all levels - from novice to Nitrox and technical diving.
At Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Marine Park, the wall starts at 20 ft.! On all three islands, great boat dives are minutes from shore, like the Caribbean's only diveable Russian shipwreck, the 330 ft. M/V Captain Keith Tibbetts on Cayman Brac. Easy shore dives are also only a giant stride away.
Scuba Review Index
Snorkeling - This was the main reason for this trip and boy did we get what we were looking for. I had gathered a lot of info about snorkeling locations in GC from various web sites( as GC is just about surrounded by coral reefs) and it helped immensely in selecting the sites to snorkel. We started out directly on the beach of the Reef Resort. The reef is a little bit out and the currents can be relatively strong even on a non-windy day. So we stayed close to shore, not a lot of coral, but a lot of rock formations and a few fishes like peacock flounder, bar jacks, blue tangs, french grunts, palometas, sergeant majors, puffy fish,etc... Most of the fishes will gather just underneath the Reef Resort pier and you can usually see a 4 feet barracuda hanging around as well as many tarpons. Water is not that clear because of the waves but you can get real close to all of these fish species.
Eden Rock: Right into Georgetown before getting to the cruise ship piers. You will notice the dive shop with the "diving apple" sign. You can get easily in the water directly from the ladder and go to the buoys. Nice big coral formation with vertical drops and quickly get to over 60 feet deep of water. Lots of fish, hung around with a turtle for about 10 minutes(very nice) and saw stingrays. A few small jellyfishes but didn't bother us.
Stingray Sandbar: We did Stingray Sandbar with Captain Marvin outlet located in the Cayman Falls (small stripped mall). We wanted to do the Stingray thing on Sunday as there is not a lot of people, only certain operators are allowed(locals I think) to go to the Stingray Sandbar or Stingray City. We boarded a comfortable boat and were about 24 people aboard but never felt crowded. We started by doing stops at Coral Gardens and the Barrier Reef for snorkeling before hitting the sandbar. Both places had nice snorkeling. Coral Gardens had nice coral heads and numerous fishes in about 15 -20 feet deep water but we preferred the Barrier Reef as it was shallower and had more colorful sights and fishes( saw a nice trumpet fish standing still vertically imitating a soft coral...). When you reach the Sandbar, you get in the water without fins in waist deep and immediately the stingrays starts circling you and then rub your legs in search for food. You can pet them, touch their backs and bellys but do not worry they will not hurt you and the guides tell you everything you want to know about the Stingrays. They even will handle a few Stingrays and show them up close(their mouth, thier tail with the sting...yes...) and even make you kiss the Stingray as it is supposed to bring you good luck! Although we are just crazy about snorkeling and seeing as much sealife as we can, we didn't like the feeling of being touched by the stingrays but it did made for wonderful uderwater pics and video shots. Definitely a must do and the Capt. Marvin team was very good, except for reef protection. They didn't advise about reef protection and there were a lot of people new to snorkeling and it was just horrifying to see the damages caused by the inexperienced snorkelers hitting the reefs with their fins, standing on the coral heads and so on . Just a note to tell you that Stingray Sandbar is the snorkeling version of Stingray City, which is the scuba diving version. The Sandbar, Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef is located just off the Rum Point area so if I was to repeat the excursion, I would prefer going out from the Rum Point or Kaibo Beach area as you don't have to cross the whole North Sound to get to the snorkeling areas and the stingrays...
Sunset House: A diver's resort, a little bit before you get into Georgetown coming from the East End. We wanted to see the mermaid, a bronze sculptur fixed to the bottom of the sea. Easy access as you get into the water from a ladder and an easy swim to the buoys. The mermaid is in about 50-60 feet deep of water so for snorkelers it is not easy to find(ask the dive shop for directions) and if you find it, the views are deceiving as your as too far above. The rest of the snorkeling is average, again because the bottom gets deep rapidly and limits your views of the coral formations...
Cracked Conch:(near Turle Farm) We left out stuff on the chairs at the Macabuca Bar, adjacent to the Cracked Conch restaurant, and got in the water easily from the ladder close by. We snorkeled alond the rock formations along the water's edge and swam out a bit to the vertical drop. Nice views with lots of fishes. We met with a couple from Long Island, New York(in their seventies) that snorkeled the same area. We chatted about their snorkeling experience in GC and they directed us to Cemetary Reef and mentionned not to hesitate to swim out a bit before you hit the better coral formations...
Cemetary Reef: Coming back from the Cracked Conch, we stopped at the Cemetary Beach(yes, right by a nice cemetary nicely decorated with flowers on all tombs). The beach is very nice with fabulous views of Seven Mile Beach but we immediately got the fins on and swam out a bit(maybe 500 to 1000 feet) from shore and got to very nice coral formations and stangely found out after a while that numerous fishes were following us( mostly Bermuda chubs) in our snorkeling trek... probably because these fishes are used to be fed by the snorkelers. A strange feeling as when you were going about the different coral heads and you would suddenly look back and you could see all these fishes following you....
Rum Point: A well groomed beach with beach chairs, hammocks, picnic tables, restaurants, bars, souvenir shop and dive shop, with lots of trees for shade. No fees for use of the chairs or hammocks but they ask you not to bring any outside food or beverages. We walked about 5 minutes to the right (when facing the pier) and swam out quite a bit (about 1000-1500 feet) to the coral formations and we swam in what would be a big quadrant around the pier and then back to the pier. And we had a blast. Very colorful coral formations with many queen angelfishes, french angelfishes, grey angelfishes, huge parrotfishes, squirrelfishes, spiny lobsters, sort of a never ending display of sea life. We would be going out snorkeling for about one to one and a half hour at a time. Getting back to the beach we would reward ourselves with a nice cocktail from the bar(at $10US apiece..ouch..) but they were very tasty with high content of the "hard stuff". We would usually get to Rum Point Beach at about 9:00 am and we were just about the first ones on site. As the day progresses, cruise ship people and island tourists start to arrive, making the place a lot more lively(there are activities available), but we never felt any real crowding and the place was always relaxing(no loud music). We spent another half day at Rum Point to repeat the snorkeling as this turned out to be our favorite spot on the island.
Babylon Reef/Queen's Monument: We tried to snorkel this area but had a hard time to find the right entry spot. We were back from Rum Point and stopped at what I thought was the location just east of Old Man Bay (no signs here...) but there was not a lot to see except lots of fan corals(green) and a mostly sandy bottom with just a few fish species. I'm sure that we didn't have the right entry point or didn't head out in the right direction. Better luck next time..(or get better directions...).
Compass Point/Ocean Frontiers: This is a boat outing that we booked with Ocean Frontiers, a well trusted dive shop operating out of Compass Point located approx. a 10 minute drive from the Reef Resort. This outing was $35US per person and consisted of a three stop snorkeling excursion on Sunset Reef and two other reefs (I don't recall the exact names) that were located inside the barrier reef close by the Wreck of the Ten Sails. We got onto a pontoon type boat with 8 snorkelers on board, with an excellent guide. The first two sites had views of a huge anchor from the Wreck of the Ten Sails, a more recent sailboat wreck and all that in about 20-30 feet deep water with the nice coral heads getting at about 5-6 feet from the surface. Saw lots of parrotfishes, stingrays, french angelfishes , queen angelfish etc... The third stop was along the barrier reef in very shallow waters(2-4 feet at times) with nice "swiss cheese"like coral formations with nice schools of blue tangs, french angel fishes. My wife saw a green moray but I didn't get to see it... In between snorkeling sites they would provide cold water bottles and freshly cutted oranges to everyone, a nice touch. Also, when you get on a boat outing like this one, you will notice that the people onboard are a lot more serious at snorkeling/diving than say an outing to Stingray Sandbar. Very good dive shop to deal with, I would recommend them strongly.
Note: Wherever we got to snorkel out of a dive shop(Eden Rock, Sunset House, Cracked Conch, Rum Point, etc..) we didn't hesitate to ask about snorkeling pointers and safety tips to the young dudes at the counter and all of these were very gentle and talkative about their snorkeling or dive spot. That was very nice. Also, we felt maybe a bit lucky throughout our snorkeling week as The Ocean Frontiers guide mentionned that the wind was unusually down for this time of the year. A lot of times in winter, GC has what they call a Norwester(I think), a prevailing wind from the North West that makes a lot of places in the East End of the island subject to much bigger waves, therefore making snorkeling more difficult. But for us, all of the places we snorkeled the water were very calm to calm, with minimal waves. The only place we really felt a current was in front of the Reef Resort!
It was exactly what we dream of...900 feet of secluded private white sand beach, just 13 airy and well appointed ocean-front bungalows with air conditioning, and superb diving and dining. The clubs kitchen offers wonderfully fresh and tropical dining alfresco. The club specializes in scuba diving and deep sea fishing. My husband and I are not experienced divers, in fact this was his first dive trip~ but the dive team and facilities at the club were so exceptional that we had a great time. The club has its own pier and boats right in front... so everything is easy. The staff only allow 12 guests per dive, so you are always VERY well attended. And Bloody Bay wall, one of the most famous dive sites in the world, is just a short trip away. The magic starts just a few feet down, which is great for the novice diver.
Snorkeling - Grand Cayman - 1
The Southern Cross Club - Little Cayman - 1
March 2007Snorkeling - Grand Cayman Francois & Manon ~ Canada<
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April 2005The Southern Cross Club Michele - USA<
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Scuba Review Index
Sol Playa Hermosa - snorkelling
Guanacaste Region - Resort Divers
| The Sol Playa Hermosa - snorkelling | Jackie |
My wife and I took a snorkeling trip with "Aldolpho" who is located on the beach. Aldolpho has a little stand on the beach about 50m to the left of the entrance Sol Playa Hermosa. He will take you out for $20 U.S. per person for a 1.5-2.0 hour trip which includes snorkeling and time at a white sand beach. Aldolpho was fantastic. He took my wife and I out by ourselves. He snorkeled with us, and showed us numerous fish, including holding blow fish, star fish etc in our hands. We even saw a sea turtle. Aldolpho's tour was so good that we hired him to take us snorkeling 3 times during the week. He is a very friendly and knowledgeable guy. I highly recommend that you take his snorkeling tour. He won't rip you off and makes it a great time -especially since my wife was nervous about snorkeling the first time.
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| Guanacaste Region - Resort Divers | Ileana |
Diving in Guanacaste area is spectacular and when I say this I'm referring to the marine life less to the water visibility which is around 30ft - 45ft. I've seen humpback whales, dolphins, white tip sharks, several varieties of eels, hard and soft corals, starfish, jewelfish, turtles, octopus, hundreds of rays of all types.
Water temperature was most of the time around 78-84F with few thermoclines here and there specially in deep water. Dive Masters are ok, they sometimes go fast on the safety part of the briefing, and sometimes go for the deeper dive after the shallower one but they're pretty good and knowledgeable. Bottom is mostly dark sand spotted with rocks or coral, sometimes rock formations with channels in between give divers the option to do a drift dive. You'll need a shortly for protection mostly, jelly fish tentacles are abundant in the water. I've seen some rented equipment and it looked pretty good for a resort diveshop. Once you're in the boat your gear is assembled and ready for you. I went with Resort Divers (www.resortdivers-cr.com) across the bay from us; the personnel is very friendly and they know how to make you enjoy the day. I arranged everything trough email days before arriving in Costa Rica. Once we've got to the hotel, I've called Resort Divers and the next morning they picked me up, I paid for the package deal and that was it. Every morning at 8:15 the boat was waiting for me at the beach to go diving. There are few pinnacles in the water, rock formation corridors, monkey heads so you'll not have the chance to go twice in the same place. About two hours by boat from the Gulf of Papagayo you can find Catalina Island and Bat Island -popular places for diving where you can spot giant mantas, sharks of all types (bull, tiger sharks, and sometimes whale shark), Moorish idols, nudibranchs.
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Scuba Review Index
The main purpose of our trip to Cayo Coco (in addition to relaxing) was to do some scuba diving. We have taken the NAUI open water course, but could not schedule our open water dive and so we are not certified divers. We decided to try to rectify this, and so we took the ACUC “scuba diver” course that takes two days to complete versus four days for the open water course. This was primarily for reasons of time and weather conditions (see my earlier diatribe about why it’s nice to get to see a rep on the first day of your vacation). It cost $180CUC each for this course and it included a written test as well as two dives. In fact, we managed to get three dives out of this because my partner developed a sinus condition and was unable to dive on our second outing. The first dive, at Las Coloradas, was about 12 meters and would have been spectacular, but the visibility was poor due to the previous two days of windy conditions. We did see sandfishes though. On the second dive at about 18 meters I had the great pleasure of seeing a green moray eel up close, as well as a king mackerel, a queen angelfish, French and gray angelfish, many large stoplight and rainbow parrot fish of both genders, a whole school of bluestriped grunts, black and Nassau groupers, squirrelfish, porkfish, rock beautys, butterflyfish as well as the typical wrasses, sergeant majors, yellow tail and Cubera snappers. On the third dive (about 15 meters) we also saw hogfish, a few rock hinds, royal grammas, dusky and yellow tail damselfish, blue chromis, and a school of blue tangs along with a small wreck that we explored. Overall the coral was in good condition and we didn’t see any debris or obvious signs of abuse.
The dive shop is located at the Tryp hotel and they arranged and paid for our round trip cabs on all the days we were diving. The dive shop was very professional and seemed to have just received new gear. They had brand new shorty wetsuits, BC’s and regulators. The only problem I observed with gear was that the wetsuits seemed to all be for men, and the two women we dived with were both quite petite and the wetsuits didn’t fit them at all in the shoulders; they were freezing the whole time. Also, if you are like me, and a bit arthritic, you will have trouble getting on and off the dive boat. Be prepared that there is no ladder, which isn’t such a big problem at shore, but getting back onto the boat after diving involves much yanking on the part of the boat crew! Dives seemed to cost $40CUC including gear and transportation, but the rates went down if you did repeated dives, stayed at the Tryp or had full gear. Two dives in the same day were $70CUC.
The only other excursion we took was to Pilar beach and Media Luna Island for snorkeling. The bus was meant to pick us up around 8:30am and brought us back around 4-4:30pm. It cost $49CUC each and included transportation to Cayo Guillermo, time on the beach, a speedboat ride to Media Luna, a short snorkeling excursion (20 minutes or so) and then a lobster lunch, followed by a return boat ride and more time at Playa Pilar. There was little instruction from the guide prior to entering the water and there were way too many people on the reef at once, most of whom didn’t have a clue that they were standing on delicate living structures. The island itself requires water shoes because of the thistles underfoot and many people cut themselves at the rough entry to the water, so be careful! There was also no ladder to get on and off the speedboat and people bigger and more arthritic than I am had a pretty tough time getting on and off the boat. You also have to be able to carry your gear above your head so it doesn’t get wet. The beach at Pilar was beautiful and I would have happily spent a day there just hanging out.
As a scuba diver, I love this resort. The dive shop is on site, and I leave my gear there all week, a clean wash tank, drying racks and a secure lock up for the evening awaiting the next day's excursion. Their rental equipment is Mares and the air tanks are newer models. The airfill is housed in its own building. There are so many wonderful dive sites within minutes boat trip. The dive masters and instructors are well trained and professional and at a cost of $30 CUC for a dive, with multiple dive packages at reduced rates a good deal. They do offer a free intro to scuba in the pool so you can try out and also a monitored shallow dive in the ocean!
To those that are interested. There is an area to the west of the Sol resort, just past the naturists beach area, in front of where the last palapa is located (the police post). This is about a five minute walk from the beach restaurant.
Paralleling the shoreline in the water, varying from about 10 to 20 feet from shore is a series of very large rocks that run a couple of hundred feet along the shore. I am interested in identifying fish and over the two week period that I was there, I saw at least 45 to 50 species of fish species. (am still working on identifying a few of the similar looking ones). There is a very large barracuda that patrols the area most of the day. I got up close and personal with him on a daily basis. He is very curious and will approach you closely if your quiet but if you approach him he will slip back into the shadows. he is always in the vicinity. He scared the c--p out of many people who were not expecting to see something that big. Do not wear jewelry, rings or anything that will cause a reflection with the sun in the water. Barracudas mistake the flash of light for fish and may strike by mistake, otherwise they appear harmless.
I saw in large numbers, Palomitas, Chub, several types of Snappers, Jacks, Porgies, Grunts, Surgeonfish, etc. It was quite a surprise to see the diversity of species, as very little has been said about the snorkeling here on travel web sites. It was a big surprise to everyone who took the opportunity to snorkel here. People were quite amazed. Also saw Flounder, Sergeant Majors, Tomtates, Damselfish, Night Sergeants, Parrotfish and on and on. I spent several hours everyday at this location.
Further west of this area are many more areas with snorkeling opportunities. There is a sandy point that juts out from the beach where you can enter the water and also see several types of butterfly fish as well as barracudas and other types of fish. It is shallow to start and the ground is mostly comprised of volcanic rock, so it is very sharp on the feet. Not to mention the sea urchins with their spikes protruding out of every crack.
Walk down to the end of the beach to the west are more opportunities, but much further out from shore.
I wouldn't make this a destination based on the snorkeling alone, BUT, it was a very pleasant surprise considering that I didn't have high expectations for anything this close to shore. Very close!
Barracuda Dive Club from Varadero beach
Blue Diving - Melia Cayo Coco
Brisas Sierra Mar - Santiago de Cuba
Cayo Largo - Sol Club
Cameleon Villas Jibacoa - Snorkelling
Camaguey Region, Santa Lucia - Shark's Friend
Coco Diving - Club Tryp Cayo Coco
Melia Cayo Santa Maria
Sol Cayo Santa Maria - Snorkelling
SuperClubs Breezes Jibacoa
Trinidad Del Mar
Villa Oasis - Cayo Coco
March 2008 Villa Oasis - Cayo Coco Theresa and Brad
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February 2008 Brisas Sierra Mar - Santiago de Cuba
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May 2007Sol Cayo Santa Maria - Snorkelling Vern
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| Cameleon Villas Jibacoa - Snorkelling | Vern |
For good reason, Jibacoa has a reputation as fantastic place for snorkelling. This is because, in the front of the two resorts are a wide stretch of coral reefs that start relatively close to shore. there are shallow areas, and some dramatic drop offs, with walls of corals. Lots and lots of diversity to be found here, in relation to species of fish, coral, plant and other types of flora and fauna. The following is a partial list of what I observed over the two weeks I was there: Yellow Stingrays, Goldentail Moray Eels, Sharksuckers, Glassy Sweepers, Highhats,Yellow Goatfish, Balloonfish, Porcupine Fish, Trumpetfish, Spotted Scorpionfish, Peacock Flounder, Redlip Blenny, Glasseye Snapper, Blackbar Soldierfish, Squirrelfish, Blueheads, Puddingwife, Spanish Hogfish, Yellowtail Parrotfish, Stoplight parrotfish. Rock Hind, Blue Chromis, Yellowtail Damselfish, Sergeant Majors, Dusky Damselfish, Yellowtail Snapper, Schoolmaster, Lane Snapper, Porkfish, Sailors Choice, Chub, Flagfin Mojarra, Barracuda, Ballyhoos, all types of butterfly fish, and on and on and on. Probably the best sighting for myself on this trip was an Octopus within my first hour in the water. I was able to look at for quite a while. Never saw it again afterwards. The snorkelling directly in front of Cameleon is as good as that of Breezes. Two good reference points are the orange markers that are tied up off shore to indicate where the reefs are for the diving boat when it enters and leaves shore. Swim out a bit to the left of the first orange (red) balloon in the water. There are drop offs of about twenty feet at that point. Go out further to the second balloon and swim to the right. the water is much deeper, and the underwater landscape is very dramatic. The reefs have long drop-offs, its hard to estimate, but possibly 40 to 60 feet deep. Bring your own snorkelling equipment. The resort has very little equipment, and for the most part is in poor condition. There are alot of fish that disguise them selves extremely well against the backdrop of sand, rocK, and coral. The more relaxed you are the more this becomes apparent. many fish hide in holes, crevices and under ledges. If you just float a few feet away and are calm, they start emerging, especailly the moray eels.
We had quite a few afternoons when the red flags went up due to Portuguese man of war bring blown onto shore. So I would advise that when you see that the water is calm, do not hesitate, and get in the water, the sea can change within a few hours. And great opportunities will be lost. Out of 14 days only about seven days in total were suitable for snorkelling. There was a rather strong storm that lasted almost two days, huge downpours and strong winds. The variety of corals and other aquatic life is equally diverse as the fish. On a sunny day the reefs sparkle underneath the water. Such an incredible variety of colors, shapes, and movement.
| Cameleon Villas Jibacoa - Snorkelling | Brenda ~ Canada |
Not much can be said. Most of the avid snorkellers we talked to, including ourselves, thought it was one of the best places they'd been. There is a large amount of seagrass before you hit the main coral areas, but the seagrass is not to be overlooked. Schools of parrotfish and surgeonfish frequented there. Also spotted was a barracuda, trumpetfish, ballyhoos and more, over the seagrass. Close to the shore is a small strip of rock/coral that was often overlooked by snorkellers but which contained many, many fish. Spotted there were juveniles of many varieties, a hairy blenny, an octopus (2 feet from shore!), and several baby scorpionfish. Further out, in the coral shallows, many many fish could be spotted. Some of the snorkellers poo-pooed this area, preferring to hit only the wall, but actually the biggest variety of fish was in the shallows. We saw another octopus here, 3 moray eels, scorpiofish, cowfish, tangs, surgeonfish, snapper and many many more. The wall WAS spectacular. The eastern edge of the wall is marked by the red buoy. If you want to see the wall the first time, the easiest is to snorkel out from the lobby bar and around the buoy. The wall will head straight out to sea for a bit and then it will curve left. Eventually, after several nooks and crannies, you will follow a channel (wall on both sides) into a bowl formation. There are several exits from the drop off in or near the bowl, that will take you back into the shallows. In the deeper wall area, we saw french angel fish, puffers, scorpionfish, barracuda, schools of tang, and some of the neatest coral formations we'd seen to this point. At low tide, entry to the deeper channel from the shallows can be tricky at the east end (always doable, but please be careful not to break any coral trying).
You can also snorkel in front of Breezes. I wasn't as familiar with the wall layout over there, but we investigated one day and saw a few bigger fish over there. People that snorkelled it more than we did, thought it was better over there, while we thought it was better in front of Cameleon. Meaning that the two areas were likely very comparable.
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| Melia Cayo Santa Maria | Daniel ~ Canada |
My girlfriend and I are both certified divers, we were not there for diving and that is a good thing as the diving is disorganized to say the least. Turns out we could only go diving on every other day because the dive master was doing the introductory class in the pool the rest of the time. We got one pleasant double dive on Tuesday and our Thursday dive was winded out. The cost was 55 convertible pesos per person, not cheap but OK. The boat was very nice and comfortable. The sites were as expected in this area…excellent. Also we had to take a short bus ride to get to the marina. If you still want to dive there bring your own regs at least, the rentals that others in the boat were using were pretty scary.
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| Trinidad del Mar | Deep Diver ~ Canada |
This is where our trip fell off the tracks. We go south because we want to dive. Diving is not cheap but is a luxury we can afford by denying ourselves other perks in life that many do not do without. I was told by a friend that the diving was excellent on the south coast and there would be less wind at Trinidad than on the North Coast. He got one part correct…there was less wind.
Firstly…the dive shop is not affiliated with the Brisas Resort nor is it affiliated with the Ancon resort. It is a separate facility located on the beach in front of the Ancon Resort about a quarter mile to the left of Brisas, if one is facing the ocean at Brisas. The building consists of a compressor room, a make believe office, and a gear room. Ample storage for personal gear and the room would be locked at night. There is a large rinse tank in front and a ten food board walk to the soft sand beach. The boat dock is gone, it was destroyed in one of the hurricanes.
The day after we arrived we walked down to the dive shop to check the set-up and see what the rates would be. We talked with a fellow. Perhaps he was the manager but he was not too interested in us being there. I explained that we wanted to do about 10-15 dives each and he became very interested..
A bit of background is required here. I am retired and have long past the 30ish age as has my wife of 41 years. I dove as a youngster but took another course about 8 years ago and convinced my wife to do so as well. She loves the water and is a natural in, and below the water. We have all our own gear and pride ourselves in maintaining it in excellent condition. At our age I think it is fair to say that one should not expect us to put on a 50lb steel tank,(no aluminum tanks), trek through the soft sand, wade into the surge and climb into a boat. I made it abundantly clear that I expected the staff to get my wife’s gear into and out of the boat. I also advised that I would certainly make it worth their while for their assistance. They were more than agreeable to help. It was agreed upon that we would commence diving the next day…two dives each morning, one deep and one shallow. They confirmed that it would be a large boat, a 29 foot fiberglass fishing trawler that they use for diving…sounded good.
As we left the shop I noticed there was no water in the rinse tank. I went back in and asked if they would have fresh water the next day, I was told that they had no fresh water for a week now, apparently a dispute with the hotel and the dive shop. It was suggested we walk up to the ANCON resort and use their outdoor shower near their pool until we got caught and then we would have to take our gear a quarter mile back to the Brisas, rinse it in our room and then bring it back the next day. I cancelled all our diving.
A day or so later the Brisas PR fellow saw me in the lobby of the hotel and asked why we were not out diving as I had previously told him we would probably be diving everyday. I explained my position and he nodded wisely. About 3 days later he tracked me down by the pool and advised me that the dive shop now had fresh water. An hour later we got a call from a Dive Master that they had fresh water. That afternoon we hauled our gear in the 30C degree heat down to the dive shop in preparation for the next day. Two of the staff were sitting in the doorway and it appeared they were very inconvenienced that they had to move so we could get in the gear room. No offer to “help the lady” with her gear was made. I checked the long concrete rinse tank..it had 4 inches of water in it. At the end of the rinse tank were two large plastic containers of fresh water that would probably hold two BCDs max per container. They were full of fresh water. I thought that we may as well give it a try the next day.
The next day we put the gear together and no one moved a muscle to take my wife’s gear down to the boat. To make a long story short …..of the 12 dives we did, I hauled all the tanks to and from the boat with the exception of 3 tanks which were done by the boat Captain. The DMs were extremely poor, never even introduced themselves and never even conversed with the divers. One young DM got on the dive boat, cranked up the radio to max output and air guitared or air drummed all the while he was on the boat. At the dive site he just fell into the water swam to the anchor line, waited until all the divers were in and went down. Underwater the DMs’ seemed to care less about the divers. I saw the DM turn around once in our first two dives and just give an OK sign, No one asked for air quantity and on the second dive we had beginner divers who ran through their air quickly. All dives started out as 35 min max until I said we would not be coming up with 1500-2000 lbs of air so they could bloody well wait until we had at least a 45-55 minute dive in.
After 3 days of this “diving” the rinse tanks had not been recharged with fresh water, were dirty and each had about 10 lbs of sand in the bottom. This was on a Friday afternoon and I said I would be back Monday to dive again but if there was no fresh water we would cancel. Fresh water arrived Monday morning, just prior to us putting on our gear..
While my comments may appear to be of a whining nature rest assured that I have enough dives under my belt to know good service from a poorly run organization . It seemed that it was inconvenient for the staff to have divers to contend with and their interest certainly reflected a liaise- faire attitude
All in all, this was the worst service I have ever encountered in Cuba and probably the worst service I have had anywhere. This was the first dive trip that I have ever been on where we walked away without so much as a tip to any of the staff and believe me I tip really well for good service. Sad to say but my comments to the manager, as we progressed through the dives seem to fall on deaf ears. A lot of promises but nothing ever happened and I was not alone with my feelings. A few experienced divers who did dive with us felt the same way. We managed, but we were pretty much on our own.
What were the dives like ????? They were not that bad, there was a bit of life underwater but nothing compared to Cozumel, Caymans, Roatan etc. The viz was about 50 feet and if the tide was going out it was down to 30 feet. I have never encountered so many thermo clines as we did one day when the tide was ebbing. We did one dive where we bottomed out at 116 feet and went through tunnel that ended on the edge of a wall with nothing below you but a black abyss, apparently 300 meters to the bottom, so said the boat Captain…was an interesting dive.
Summary…
The service, in my opinion, was poor. Was this an isolated incident? I hope so. Would you recommend diving there? It would be OK as long as you feel comfortable being pretty much on your own. The undersea life is probably acceptable if one has not done a lot of diving and the ocean is pretty calm on that side of the island. The cost for a single dive, (one tank), was 30.00CUC or about $39.00CDN . The price goes down a bit if you do more dives but you must commit to the number you want to do at the onset, You can not do two dives and then decide to do two more and expect to get a 4 tank rate…you have to go back to the two tank rate. You must pay before diving. No refunds other than for no boat, poor weather etc. You get sick or don’t want to complete your dives…you loose. No credit cards, cash only.
If you have any further questions feel free to email me at kidi@sympatico.ca
| Camaguey Region, Santa Lucia - Shark's Friend | Kim ~ New Brunswick |
I visited Santa Lucia specifically with the intent to dive on the world's 2nd longest barrier reef (right after Australia). I expected great dives and was not disappointed. However, my camera chose not to work on a couple of the dives and high winds and hangovers cancelled approximately half of my scheduled dives. Photos are few, but the memories will live on. You can see photos at http://caracoluw.notlong.com
The dives are deeper than I expected - anywhere from 75 to 120 feet in average depth. The one dive shop in the area (Shark's Friends) offers 2 1-tank dives each day and will make a day trip (3 dives + lunch) ocassionally (not when I was diving). They have good looking rental gear and steel tanks in 12, 15 and 18L sizes (80, 100 and 120 cu. ft.) with both DIN and yoke valves. The divemasters are very professional - they saved more than one idiot diver while I was there. Cost is about $30 per dive, but the price goes down as you do more dives.
This area is well known for the bull shark population. However, what is not well known is that the bull sharks are seasonal!! They disappear each year around the start of January and won't be back until mid-May. So I didn't get to play with them at all!!
| Camaguey Region, Santa Lucia - Shark's Friend | Naomi & Fiachri ~ Dublin, Ireland |
We had an amazing scuba diving trip in Santa Lucia in Cuba - 1st week of November. We stayed at the Hotel Gran Club Santa Lucia - a very nice hotel on the beach. The dive centre, Shark's Friend, is right next to the hotel beach. It was badly damaged by hurricane Katrina but they had almost finished re-building it when we were there. We were a group of 7 experienced divers and we had the same guide, Lasaro, each day. Each morning, we'd have a quick briefing and then everyone kitted up, as the boat was too small to move around in. It held about 10 people and there was enough room for 2 tanks each. We had to carry our own tanks to and from the boat - approx 50m from the dive centre and lift them into the boat. There is no pier there, so you wade out to the boat and climb in using the ladder at the side. We did 12 dives in total over 5 days. We did 3 dives on two days, so we came back and picked up more tanks and off-loaded the first tank after the first dive. So, when you have a little too much sunburn on your shoulders and you have to put your BCD and the tank on your shoulders and walk the 50m - it feels like a long distance ! Most of the other divers wore a 3mm suit or a shortie, but my friend and I wore 5mm suits - we get quite cold, even though the water temperature was always 29C. ! Most of us didn't bring much equipment as our package included rental of gear - this kept the suitcases a bit lighter too. The equipment mostly worked fine - there were a few problems with air leaking out of the first stage, but not much. I think they have a few O Ring problems. Their tanks are very difficult to open ! They are very stiff. Lasaro was always able to do it for us though ! We'd like to have done a night dive, but there was a problem with the bus, and I don't think the authorities allow boats to be on the water after dark !
The captain would head off from the beach for about 10-15 mins and suddenly stop in the middle of nowhere and in we'd get. I was amazed at the captain's accuracy. Only once did he leave us in the wrong spot and we had to swim for 8 mins in the big blue until we suddenly saw the outline of a massive wreck ! We'd usually drop down to about 25m and there was always something to see or explore! This area boasts the second largest coral reef in the world, and they are truly amazing to see. There is a lot of soft coral and there are a lot of ship wrecks - There are also a lot of swim throughs, canyons, caves .. not too deep though ! We also saw quite a few huge lobsters and crabs that would take a week to eat! Each dive lasted approximately 45 mins. In between dives we'd always head to Coco Beach, a deserted spot with just an open sided seating area with a bar, and cold drinks, where we would have a snack - they organised a lunch for us one of the days, but on the other days we brought our own food and just bought drinks from them. We would relax there while we off-loaded the residual nitrogen before the next dive. The beach there has the whitest sand and the water was just delightful to relax in.. aqua-marine colour. If you go there.. bring some sandwiches with you from breakfast, and one for the captain and the dive instructor was always appreciated !
While every dive was great....the most interesting ones were the two shark dives we did ! These are not just any sharks .. they are BULL SHARKS, extremely dangerous ! This is apparently one of the only places in the world where they feed them in the wild - right out of the hand of the dive instructor ! The only protection he has is a harpoon. No chainmail suit, no gloves, nothing ! The dive site is called Shark's Point. There's a channel a few minutes from Coco Beach that's about 300m wide and the tide changes at about 1pm each day. Up to then there are very strong currents, so the dive has to be done at exactly a specific moment. We dropped down to about 15m, passed by Magdalena, a massive moray that they sometimes feed, and then at about 25m, as planned, we all lay on a sandy area about 5-6 higher than the area where the sharks would come to, while Lasaro placed himself about 5m from us. He gently shook the thing that he uses to catch our attention when we stray ... and the next thing there were 7 huge sharks coming for a feed !! It was amazing ...!! He hand fed them the fish he had just killed, and gave their fins a stroke as they went by !! We watched in amazement at all of this for about 20 mins, and then all of a sudden Lasaro shot the harpoon out into the sand, and was prodding the sharks gently as they came by him - to keep them back. I found out later that the sharks had gone into a feeding frenzy !! Lasaro stopped feeding them then, and we left ! We were exhilarated when we came up .. it was an amazing dive .. probably the best I had ever done .. until we went back for more punishment two days later ! We found out in the meantime that one of the sharks had almost taken the arm off a diver last year when he went down and was feeding them and trying to video the whole thing at the same time ! (A local guy).
If you want to do some great diving, and have the thrill of a lifetime on the shark feeding dive, I highly recommend Shark's Friend dive centre on the beach there next to Hotel Gran Club Santa Lucia. They even have a DVD of the "show" for sale, so you can relive the moment over and over ! (Filmed on a previous dive)
| SuperClubs Breezes Jibacoa | Ross |
I went on five dives while there. One free dive is included and subsequent dives are CUC25 per dive if you have your own equipment. The rental equipment available looked pretty decent. The o-rings in a few of the tanks were rather worn and had slow leaks, not enough to affect bottom time by more than a minute. The water temp was quite warm, 82F each day I was there. There are typically two dives per day (closed Sundays, no night dives), the first dive at about 20m and the second about 15m. The dive masters are excellent, lots of experience and do everything by the book. We had a 5m safety stop on each dive of about 3-5minutes. They have a small 20’ boat at the resort and don’t overbook it, a maximum of eight divers plus DM and safety diver. The coral reef isn’t a wall like Cozumel, but it is almost as pretty and I think there are even more species of fish. We also saw quite a few morays, yellow stingrays, lobsters, and one very large crab. I would go back to this resort just for the snorkelling and diving.
| SuperClubs Breezes Jibacoa | fishfanatic 123 ~ Quebec |
Snorkelling: This is the reason why I booked this resort. It has a well deserved reputation for easy access to coral reefs from the shore. I always bring my own snorkel, mask, flippers and life vest. The main area in front of the Beach grill is quite shallow (3 to 4 feet deep) A few hundred feet from shore the depth drops and there is a very large circle surrounded by corals, the depth dropping at some places to about 40 or 50 feet . I identified a minimum of 50 different species of fish and countless others that I didn't see well or long enough. The best technique when snorkelling is to relax and just float, the fish will be less nervous and many interesting species will come out from underneath the ledges and rocks for brief appearances. There are also some species that camouflage themselves very well, such as the Peacock flounder and Scorpion Fish. If your just thrashing about, you'll miss them for sure. There is bit of a current that seems to pull you west, especially on yellow flag days. I spoke with another avid snorkeller who had seen a small octopus in the grassy area near shore. I was extremely jealous of her. Anyways what can I say, The corals are beautiful, the underwater landscape changes all the time while you're moving about. Lots to explore. I was in heaven and spent many, many hours in the water on the days that were not red flagged. On a bitter note, There were too many people actually walking through the small corals, kicking them off the sea floor with their feet. I could see this while I was under the water. Not only is this bad for the eco system, it is also dangerous for the person walking out there. They could step on some very sharp rocks, sea urchins, cone shells and Scorpion fish, all guaranteed to bite, sting or cut you in some way. I also would recommend to not feed the fish, some are becoming a bit aggressive, especially the Chubs. The tour reps should be explaining how fragile the reef is, as part of the orientation for the tourists. An amazing experience. Some of the more interesting species for me, were Rock Hinds, Porcupine Fish, Spotted Scorpion Fish, two types of eels, Puddinwife.
If you are someone who likes to snorkel, it is strongly advised that you bring your own equipment. The aqua center was constantly running out of equipment. You could make reservations, but when people went for the equipment, it hadn't come back yet or was handed out. Also you can only reserve the equipment for short periods of time. The best time to snorkel seemed to be in the morning, the water appeared calmer than in the afternoon and early in the morning certain species were not as shy.
| SuperClubs Breezes Jibacoa | Bart & Caroline - Edmonton, Canada |
Probably the main reason for picking SBJ was the reports on the excellent snorkeling in front of the resort. Our last holiday at the Casa del Mar (Bayahibe, Dom. Rep.) had fantastic snorkeling right from the beach and I doubted if SBJ could match that. It did and it even surpassed it in the variety of ecosystems and a more dramatic reef structure if you don't fear venturing out some 150 meters from shore. But even close to shore there is reasonable snorkeling with about a dozen fish species including small barracuda. The best place is on the left end of the beach in front of buildings 1 and 2 where a rocky ridge runs parallel to and just 5 meters off shore in hip deep water. You will see many wrasse, some butterflyfish and grunts. If you look under ledges in the rocks you can find many more odd fellows, baby angelfish, drums, snapper, tangs, flamefish, and I even spotted a scorpionfish (poisonous!). Beyond this ridge, as well as on the right end of the beach, there is a mix of sea grass and sandy patches. This area has a different collection of inhabitants but in general has less diversity. Beyond the sea grass to the left of the beach bar area lies a limestone plateau with corals, sea fans and sponges growing on top of it. You can spot this from the beach by its olive color (the sea grass is darker) and extends out all the way until where the waves break (~150m). Here you will again find different fish including goldentail and purplemouth moray eels. The plateau remains at only about 1m depth so its quite save. If you want to stand up, watch were you place your feet so you don't damage any corals or sponges. Some of the coral is fire coral so it is also in your best interest not to touch anything. The most exciting part is at the edge of the plateau where deep cracks and holes start to appear, after which the floor drops away leaving you hovering over a vertical wall bordering a sand plateau at 6-8m depth. Caves and crevasses in the wall give abundant shelter for fish and you will see many types that you would also find on the scuba dives. Squirrelfish, big porcupinefish, French angels, many grunts, and glasseye snapper are some of the eye catchers. The final area to explore is at the far right of the beach where the shore turns into limestone rock. Along this shoreline you'll find a very shallow area full of coral debris. The landscape isn't attractive and it is so shallow that you have to watch out not to bump into the bottom with its many urchins. The attractions here are blennies, funny small fish that hop between the rocks, and night sergeants which are the largest damsel fishes. Some of the fish you find here you won't find anywhere else in this area. In total I spotted 104 species right in front of the resort, just to give you an idea of the biodiversity of this shore reef.
SBJ also has its own dive operation. In the past, diving was part of the all-inclusive. Now you get one free dive per week and can pay for extra dives. If you bring your own equipment (except tanks and weight) and book a package of 5 or more dives then you pay only US$21 per dive which is the best price we have ever seen. It is about $5 per dive more without your own equipment. Wetsuits were in short supply so if you have one it's worth bringing. They have one boat and normally make two dives, a deep dive starting at 8:30 and a shallow dive at 10:30. The boat returns to the resort for the second dive and since all sites are close by that is no problem. When done for the day you can rinse your equipment in a fresh water tank and store it in a locked and covered area. They accept up to 10 divers per trip but by then the boat is uncomfortably full. On the deep dives we never had more than 6 divers and if you avoid the shallow dives for novices, see below, then they weren't too full either. They don't operate on Sundays and on three days during our stay it was too windy to go out in the boat or even to swim or snorkel. There are no night dives per Cuban regulations (you are only 90 miles from the US).
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, the shallow dive will have a lot of first-time divers who took the pool class. We did two of those but tried to avoid them most of the time. An earlier review commented on the poorly organized pool class. We can't comment as we didn't take it, but the pre-dive briefing on the boat for the pool-class divers was very well done. We have also seen them decline a diver to take a deep dive due to lack of experience. Finally, at the end of one dive the dive master spent time removing a plastic bag stuck inside the reef. They care about the divers as well as the reef. Kudos!
On most dives, and specially those with novices, there are two dive masters, one to lead the way at the front and one (the safety diver) on the back to keep a constant eye on all divers. We never had problems with tanks not being full. In fact our tanks were typically slightly over-filled to 3200 psi. All dives were announced as 40-45 minutes maximum bottom time but in reality we got 50 to 68 minutes on all dives, including 54 minutes on a 117 foot dive. Pretty good. Since they knew we were efficient air users we almost always ended up having a private 5 minutes with the dive master after the safety diver had guided the others that ran out of air earlier to the surface. They were very good at making the most out of every dive for us. On the whole the dive operation is a bit more basic than what we have experienced elsewhere but it was safe, convenient, and at a very good price.
The dive sites come in two varieties. Shallow dives maxing out at around 60 foot and deep multi-level dives bottoming out in the 100 to 120 foot range. Both have their attractions. Since we like to search for small fish and take pictures we often find the shallower dives more rewarding. In this case, the deep dives actually had our preference. The reefs are higher, with sand-bottomed canyons between rock/coral walls, which made for an impressive landscape. These sites (the trenches, white rock, and catalinetas) were also ideal for multi-level diving allowing you to experience the deeper parts and still get a nice long dive. There are many corals, gorgonians and especially a good variety of sponges. Fish life is dominated by smaller fish as the big groupers etc have all been caught for food. We had the same experience in Bayahibe (Dom. Rep.). Among the larger fish there is an abundance of chub, several snappers including big mutton, dog and schoolmaster snapper, and porkfish (catalinetas means porkfish). I only saw one large grouper, but there are some red hinds and the smaller graysby and coney groupers are abundant (again mimicking Bayahibe). The greatest variety is in the smaller fish. If you are after the “big game” you may be disappointed but all the other people we dove with were pleased.
I take underwater surveys for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF; http://www.reef.org/) to help catalog marine diversity in the Caribbean. In total I counted some 140 different kinds of fish (including snorkeling) which is a record for me and the greatest diversity of any dive site in Cuba in the current REEF data base. Although the big fish may have been caught, the fact that SBJ is the only dive operation in the area means that there is little damage to the reefs and it is never crowded.
Our thanks to Adolfo, Arturo, and May for giving us 9 memorable dives to look back on and all SBJ staff for their hospitality and care.
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| Cayo Largo - Sol Club Cayo Largo | Deep Diver |
Cayo Largo is an island that runs basically in an west to east direction. The marina is on the western end and if one leaves the marina, the first facility one sees would be the airport. The first resort after the airport is SOL CLUB, next would be PELICANO and then EDEN and last would be BARCELO. I mention only these resorts as these are the most popular and the DIVE bus only stopped at these resorts.
EVERYDAY of the week, the DIVE BUS stops at the SOL CLUB at 8:30am and from there proceeds to each of the other resorts and I would estimate that it is at the BARCELO at about 8:45am. The bus then reverses course and goes directly to the marina. Normally the bus is at the DIVE SHOP/Marina just before 9:00am.
One must check in at the small office and produce their "C" card in order to purchase unrestricted diving privileges. One can then decide what kind of a dive package to purchase. The cost to do a single dive is 35.00Pesos, (equivalent to 35.00USD) and may only be paid in PESOS, or you may use a recognized credit card but one that is NOT affiliated with a US bank. The rate drops the more dives you do. For example a package of 8 dives drops the rate to 25.00Pesos a tank. Caution....once you sign for, and pay for a package, you may not add dives in an effort to do more dives at a lesser rate. Example ------. You pay for 8 dives and decide to do one more. You will have paid for the 8 dive package and then will have to pay for a one dive package (the rate goes back up to 35.00 for that one additional dive) so make sure you know how many dives you are going to do. Renting gear is an additional cost. If you have your own gear, there is lockable storage available. So lets say you buy an 8 dive package......you will get 8 little tickets and one is collected for each dive you are going to do on that boat trip, by an employee on the boat prior to leaving the harbor.....don't lose the tickets.
There were two dive boats when we were there. There is a large boat, (slow) that carries about 15-20 divers with adequate room. There is also a small boat, (faster), that would carry about 10 divers max. There are times when a boat will break down so be prepared to be flexible if you have to switch boats. Normally the boat goes out for ONE dive, (30 meters) in the morning and gets back to the dock at about 11:30am. The bus then takes everyone back to their hotels, one gets lunch and the bus re-picks the divers up at 2:00pm and back to the marina for a shallow dive, (15meters). If all goes well it can take you almost a full day to do two dives...or so it would seem.
There was enough of us that wanted to do a double tank dive in the morning so we convinced the man in charge, (CARLOS) to allow us to do a deep and shallow dive on one boat trip. This allowed us to get back to the resorts by about 1:30pm and not waste an entire day doing two dives. Is this option available to everyone??? It is entirely up to the staff...ask if you want to do a double tank dive and see if they will accommodate you.
Normally the boat takes about 20-30 minutes to get to the inner side of the main reef and then everyone gears up. Once all the gear is on, the boat goes outside the reef for the deep dive. It can be a bit rough if the wind is out of the east or the south...be prepared. The shallow dive is normally done inside the reef unless the wind is from the north then it is done just outside the reef in the protection of the reef.
The diving was great. On one dive, in a space of 15 minutes we encountered 7 Eagle Rays that flew past us at about 10 feet. The largest Ray had a span of about 8 feet. We were at a depth of 106 feet. Then we saw a 4 foot sea turtle, within about 8 feet. Shortly after that we saw two sharks, one a 10 foot nurse shark at 85 feet and the other was a 10 foot reef shark at 65 feet. Our group of 5 divers including the DM were the only ones to see all of that within 15 minutes and it was great to have a camera and get all the shots.
The staff are very good and the DMs very knowledgeable. We enjoyed our time with all of them and appreciated that after the diving, we merely rinsed our gear, hung it up to dry, and the staff put it away later and locked it up. If you have any questions about the diving at Cayo Largo feel free to email me at kidi@sympatico.ca.
Cuba:
This was my second dive excursion with the Barracuda Dive Club from Varadero beach.
On this excursion to the Bay of Pigs we travelled in 2 coaches (approx 60 people) almost straight south across Cuba from Varadero. Literally from the Atlantic Ocean Coast to the Caribbean Ocean Coast.
As I mentioned before divers had the option to snorkel instead of dive and only one young lad from England chose to snorkel while the rest of us did our second dive.
Several dive masters had gone out to search a bit of the nearby coast line to see if he could be spotted. After an hours searching a dark lightning storm was approaching from the south and we had to take cover. The busses were loaded up and we were driven a couple of kms to the restaurant where we were to eat our after dive meal.
After we had finished our meals about an hour and a half later, the second coach returned and we loaded up. The senior dive master came on our coach and informed us that there had been no luck finding the young man and that the dive masters would continue to search while the rest of us returned to Varadero to rinse out our gear and return to our hotels.
Later that night at my hotel when the dive photographer came to bring me my photos. We asked about the snorkeller. He told us that they had found the young man dead, not to far from the dive site in 3 meters of water.
As near as they could figure something had happened to his leg either a cramp or a twist and he panicked and drown.
This whole incident raised some serious questions in my mind.
Now a young man who had been left unattended to snorkel had drown, most likely due to panic.
Here starteth my rant.
I believe whole heartedly that non-certified divers should be fully trained and do their open water exams in a controlled environment only.
I know this practise is rampant in the Caribbean because most dive operators are more concerned with bucks then they are with your safety.
It is my opinion that Barracuda was negligent in letting this young man snorkel alone. This dollars first attitude came back to bite them in the ass. However the young man signed a waiver and that will no doubt absolve Barracuda from any legal action. But they were also negligent in the fact that they allowed a lot of non-certified people to dive in a potentially dangerous situation. Having inexperienced divers learn about buoyancy control over a 3000 ft wall is not my idea of a controlled environment.
Diving is fun, it's a total blast and for those who are trained it is relatively safe. But it can also be dangerous and deadly. Just read the papers for proof.
December 2004Barracuda Dive Club from Varadero beach Bunky
Varadero:
Club Barracuda: http://www.acuc.es/varadero.htm
Dive Excursion: Bay of Pigs:
Wall and wreck dive: from shore
Water Temp 30 degrees C
Sunny and Hot
2 tank dive with break in-between.
My first excursion was a 2 tank Wreck Dive (Caribe and Neptuno).
Both were shallow dives at 8 and 10 meters respectively. A good introduction dive for newly certified divers. Water temp was 30 degrees Celsius. No wet suit required.
Saw and played with a huge but friendly Moray eel. They were both good dives with no problems.
We were at the Bay of Pigs doing a 2 tank combo wall/wreck dive. Divers had the option of diving both dives or snorkelling for one. Every one chose to dive the first dive.
We went off from shore about 200 meter out then submerged. This dive we went to the wall and then left looking at marine life and coral formations. Absolutely beautiful.
We saw squid, barracudas and other assorted marine life too many to name or remember. Our Max depth on that dive was around 25 meters and we did a slow assent following the bottom back to shore. 25 minutes or so of bottom time later we surfaced at shore to rest and prepare for dive number 2. What a fantastic dive.
The second dive was out again and submerge but this time we went to the right. The wall was even more spectacular in this direction eventually we came to a coral arch that led us though to a flat sandy area where a wrecked tugboat. Max depth was about 27 meters.
After about 30 minutes we headed on our slow assent back to shore. Another awesome dive.
But
There was one problem. Everyone had undressed and stowed our gear on the busses however the young snorkeller had not yet returned. His girlfriend was becoming quite concerned. It seems that he had gone out to snorkel alone and there was no one to buddy up with him.
Several of the dive masters had stayed to continue the search and all but one returned to the dive site on one of the coaches to search while we ate our meal.
The storm had finally made land fall and it came down hard for about 20 minutes. Tropical storms can be very intense but usually end quickly.
Before the dive started and when we were still at the Barracuda Dive Club waiting for our gear. I was talking to a young man on holiday with his parents. He had just turned 21 and this was his first dive. EVER.
I asked him where he was certified, he looked at me strangely and asked me what certified was.
It seems he had only taken the introductory lesson in the pool at his hotel given by a Barracuda teacher and then was invited on this dive.
Several others overhearing our conversation echoed his statement, repeating the same story.
They started asking me questions about what to do on the dive. After several minutes there were about 20 people crowded around listening and asking questions. None of whom were certified divers.
There is a reason that divers need to be certified.
The training you get in your classes prepares you to handle emergencies. It teaches you how to deal in a coolheaded manner with distress and not to panic.
In the water, panic kills. Training will save your life.
A non-certified diver has no business doing a 27 meter wall dive in the Bay of Pigs or indeed anywhere in any ocean at any time.
It endangers their life. And it endangers my life, along with everyone else in the dive group.
It is pure and simply stupidity, neglect and endangerment on the part of dive clubs that allow this practise,
Most certified divers should know this and hope their buddy is someone they can trust their lives with and visa/versa.
But non-certified divers have no protection from these unscrupulous operators.
Snorkelling is no different and should always be done with a buddy or with someone watching you closely from shore.
Wanna dive? Get certified.
Wanna snorkel? Get a friend.
Sermon over, church dismissed.
See you down there.
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| Coco Diving - Club Tryp Cayo Coco | Deepdiver |
Our primary reason for going to any resort is to dive and in this case we were not disappointed. The weather in Cuba during January-February is winter in Cuba, as well as Canada, so be prepared for a few rough days on the sea as the winds can be pretty brisk from the N, NE and NW. Where to dive???? The two companies we knew of were BLUE DIVING and COCO DIVING. A friend of ours arrived at Cayo Coco a few days ahead of us and set up our diving with COCO DIVE who operates out of the TRYP resort. This necessitated a drive from our resort to the TRYP and a return drive back to our resort. It was not a problem for us and the folks at COCO DIVE picked us up each day and took us back when diving was completed. We had nothing to do with BLUE DIVE but did see their little pick-up vehicle at our resort a couple of days. I believe BLUE DIVE is the company that ACVacations use if you book dives through ACVacations.
The rates at both clubs are the same but I’m not sure how flexible BLUE DIVE is with regard to “negotiating” a package of dives. We found the folks at COCO DIVE to be most accommodating in every respect. We have all our own gear so renting was not required but we did note that their rental gear was in excellent shape. Dive packages can be paid for using Credit Cards as long as they are not drawn on an American bank.
Their boat is about a 24-26 foot open boat with twin 70hp Yamahas, which would hold no more than 8 divers. The boat arrives in front of the shop each morning and divers wade out to the boat and put their gear and body in the boat, there is no dock. They did have a portable boarding ladder for us old folks and it was not in very good shape but was certainly better than attempting to throw a leg over the gunwale and slip into the boat. The boat came back to the beach area after every dive, as the dive sites were not more than 10 minutes away. The first dive was normally 30 meters and the second dive would be 13-15 meters. There was an afternoon dive but we normally just did two tanks each day and were finished by 1:00pm each day. Back at the hotel by 2:00pm and had 45 minutes left to get lunch.
The dive sites were very interesting, some better than others, and there is no point in wasting space here elaborating on any of the sites. A word of caution…as I mentioned it can get pretty rough with a North wind so be prepared for a rough ride out if it is windy and you plan to dive. We had waves coming over the bow on numerous occasions and wore our masks to stop the water from stinging ones eyes. Considering the wind I feel that, as a couple of old folks, we did pretty well.
Dive Masters of note were PABLO, HECTOR, and RAMON. We did one session with RAMON and he said he wanted to dive with us so except for one day we did all our dives with him. A most excellent individual who went out of his way to ensure we had a good time. It should be also noted that the boat Captain was a very helpful individual who also gave 100 % on each trip. It was most gratifying to work with these types of folks. Rather than bore non-divers it would suffice to say that I managed to get some excellent pictures of sea life and there were a couple of interesting underwater meetings.
For our return flight to Canada we were seated beside a young man that had been at the El Senator for the 14 days while we were all in Cayo Coco. It was interesting to note that he went to the BLUE DIVE shop on 8 separate days to go diving and all diving was cancelled so of the 8 days he had set aside for diving he did not accomplish one dive, he says, due to the fact that BLUE DIVE would not go out in the wind. I cannot verify this statement but if it is true then I guess we did well getting 25 dives in during our 14-day stay. Should you have any questions about our experience, please feel free to email… kidi@sympatico.ca
| Blue Diving - Melia Cayo Coco | Dean ~ UK |
Things must really have changed a lot since the review that this dive centre received in 2005 and we are compelled to put the record straight.
My wife and I booked our honeymoon at the Melia, Cayo Coco knowing that Cuba boasts the second largest coral reef in the world but with very little information about the diving facilities on offer. I have been ‘holiday diving’ several times since completing my Padi course in Hurghada in 1999 and the wife has had a couple of ‘try’ dives over the last three years.
Within three days at the hotel we’d pretty much decided that this was going to be a diving holiday!
We found Blue Diving to be very safe compared to everywhere else that I’ve been (including Egypt) and really good value for money at around £25 per dive, including all of the equipment (although this was a bit cheaper for honeymooners). My wife spent two days doing the ‘Easy Diver’ course at a cost of just £85 which included four qualifying dives. The instructors were excellent at their jobs as well as very entertaining.
We also went on a day trip, organised by Blue Diving, to Trinidad after being told that there would be no diving at the resort for a couple of days because of the weather conditions. It was a long trip to Trinidad, but easily worth it for the diving alone not to mention a great lunch in an amazing setting and a really good tour of Trinidad. The dives were off the side of an 80M sheer coral wall with a visibility of 40M – and we were the only divers there that day. It was indescribable.
Blue Diving had three scheduled dives a day catering for different types of dive (deeper in the morning) and they were quite busy because divers came from other hotels in Cayo Coco every day saying that Blue Diving was better than the facilities at their resort. In case you haven’t guessed yet, we thoroughly recommend Blue Diving and hope to go back again soon.
| Blue Diving - Melia Cayo Coco | Chrissy ~ UK |
We were on Cayo Coco in Oct/Nov 2005.
Enquiries were made from the UK regarding diving and we were given a price of $252 for a dive package. We went to the dive centre and was told the 10 dive package would be $310 (around GBP £17) with all our own kit, we queried this but 'the boss' wouldn't like it if the staff stuck to the original price given.
The staff were very friendly and we were told we had to pay in advance - which we have never been asked to do in numerous countries, settlement at the end of the diving usually suffices. We were hoping to do 10+ dives throughout the duration of our holiday. We were given the terms and conditions which indicated that if we couldn't dive due to bad weather or ill health we would be penalised. The weather had settled down and we were both fit so thought it would not be a problem. We did our first two dives - the visibility was quite poor but it was good to get back into the water again especially at 28 degrees. We had booked to do a couple of trips - Speedboats (this is a must) and an overnight trip to Havana and visit to the Tropicana. So we wouldn't be diving for the next two days. We found out that had we been available to dive we wouldn't have due to problems the arose.
On the next morning we were due to dive we had a telephone call from the dive centre advising there would be no diving as the boat was 'broken'! They would be in touch later that day to let us know if we would be diving tomorrow - later we were told the boat was not fixed as the part hadn't turned up, maybe the next day and it went on.... To cut a long story short we didn't do anymore diving during our stay as the boat was not repaired. On our last day we had to go back to the dive centre to sort out the payment. We were then charged for two dives each which worked out at GBP £23!!
Through no fault of our own we were charged a price that was not agreed. We both feel as though we have been cheated.
I wouldn't recommend the diving in Cayo Coco - we were offered a trip to Trinidad on the day we were leaving but this would have cost us an extra GBP £50 in transport costs and we would have ended up with a case of the bends.
Hopefully this review will prepare other divers who visit the dive centre - whatever price you agree you may end up paying much more !!
It maybe worth going to Mexico or the Dominican Republic if you are looking for good diving.
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Ocean Encounters - Breezes
Sunset Waters
SuperClubs Breezes
| SuperClubs Breezes | Tim & Tracey ~ Canada |
We stayed at Superclubs Breezes from Dec 3rd till the 10th. This is our third time back at this resort. We just love it there. Its a good home base to do all the shore diving that Curacao has to offer, not to mention its the only all-inclusive there.
We did 17 dives in all. 3 night dives. We rented a 4 wheel drive vehicle from Micheals and drove to each of the sites. One of my favorite dive sites is Porto Marie. It costs $3 to get in each, but you get a pop while doing your surface interval. They have a dive shop where you can rent tanks, a fresh water dunk tank, a bathroom, shower, and a place to get food and drinks. It is a nature preserve so the money goes to help keep this place pristine. They even have what they call reef balls. They are cement domes with holes in them for juvenile fish to grow in safety before they head out on the reef. It's part of the snorkeling thing there. The swim to the reef was interesting as you can watch all the baby fish.
Now, the diving. Just to hit the highlights, we saw a VERY BIG spotted eagle ray, 4 loggerhead turtles, 3 octopus, porcupine fish, trumpet fish, triggers, parrots, spotted drums, juvenile drums, juvenile angles, queen angels, french angels, green morays, spotted morays, gold morays, etc... Too many to name... and the coral,,,,, and the sponges.... WOW !!
One last thing, if you want to do Mushroom Forest, and don't want to pay the outrageous amounts the dive operators are charging, and you are adventurous, go to Santa Cruz and look for the water taxi. Dive boat wanted 120US each , we paid "Captain Goodlife" 15US each. He dropped us off at the buoy, told us to meet him at the other buoy in 1 hour. When we surfaced, he was there. I now know why they call Mushroom Forest the signature dive spot of Curacao. All I can say was that it was remarkable. We saw hundreds and hundreds offish balling as jacks were hunting them ,, very cool..
I have been to Bonaire, Cozumel, Turks and Caicos, even Costa Rica, but I have to say that I am more impressed with the diving at Curacao than I was at the other places. But then again, that is just my opinion :o)..
Any questions, feel free to email me at shark_bait_98@yahoo.com
Good Diving.
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| Sunset Waters | Brenda - Canada |
We were at Sunset Waters in April 2005 and were treated to the best snorkeling we had experienced. My travel mates had snorkeled all over the Caribbean and we had also been to Bali and Mayan Riviera and nothing compared to the snorkeling we had at Sunset Waters. The first few days, the water was a tad rough with winds, so we stuck to the lagoon. Plenty of underwater life in the lagoon itself. Barracuda, scorpionfish, parrot fish, tangs, blennies, puffers, lots more and even a moray. Once the seas had calmed and we could venture out of the lagoon, the snorkeling was amazing. There is a marked snorkel trail - recommended, but if the seas are choppy, you must be a strong swimmer because the trail is in deeper water (15-35 ft before the drop off) and may be disconcerting to a greenhorn. There are large elkhorn coral heads, fire coral, brain coral, feather and fan coral. The airplane wreck sits straight out and slightly west of the lagoon opening. Though the wreck itself is not impressive - just a few tube sponges - we witnessed a large bait ball of fish out there one day, reminding us of a lava lamp. The breakwaters are populated with lots of life and a few corals. One must be patient and snorkel quietly and you will see fish popping out from between the rocks. Just east of the lagoon is a very large elkhorn coral head populated with hundreds of fish. The coral head is only a few feet from shore and we saw morays, puffers and many more there. The snorkeling is good all the way down the beach if you have the stamina to swim that far. Heading west out of the lagoon mouth, the snorkeling is good as well. We didn't venture across the bay mouth - apparently the snorkeling over there is good as well - but with some wind and jet ski traffic, we preferred staying around the lagoon area. List of critters we saw? Goldentail moray, chain moray (about 12-15 morays in total), sharptail eel, smooth trunkfish, scorpionfish, fireworms, flamingo tongues, reef squid, scrawled cowfish, honeycomb cowfish, peacock flounders, all sorts of parrotfish, blue tang, hairy blenny, barracuda, gar, black jack, balloonfish, porcupine fish, yellowtail snapper, damselfish, sergeant major, graysby, soapfish, bluehead and yellowhead wrasse, nudibranchs, crabs, squirrelfish, sand diver, trumpetfish, octopus, lobster, glassy sweepers, sharpnose puffer, orangespotted filefish, goatfish, and tons more that we weren't able to identify. We spent most of our day on the beach and I spent probably close to 5 hours (in 1-3 jaunts) out snorkeling each day, seeing something new each day. Water entry can be a bit tricky as the edge of the water was lined with coral rocks. Because of that, and because of the numerous fireworms and scorpionfish in the lagoon, and many potholes dug by fish, aqua shoes are recommended. Once in the water, there is a large sandy area in the lagoon to swim in.
The resort has a dive shop that takes dives out 2X a day as well as leading shore dives for beginners. Shore dives are free for guests and many divers when we were there chose to shore dive at night. Entry for dives was through the beach and lagoon.
Another bonus when we were there was that the whale sharks were feeding. Though we didn't actually see a whale shark breech we saw several (6-7) tuna boils right off the beach and we did see the white belly of one whale shark churning in the water. Staff also reported that a pod of dolphis headed through each morning, but to be truthful, we didn't see them while we were there.
For those not staying at Sunset Waters, you can still use the beach and snorkel and dive off the beach for a small fee.
On an Island tour we stopped at Groot Knip and snorkeled for a short time there, but nothing like the snorkeling at Sunset Waters. We felt absolutely no need to go anywhere else to snorkel.
I have a few pictures of the snorkeling, but quality is not the greatest since I just used a dispo underwater camera. To view them, please feel free to visit: http://community.webshots.com/album/345217862MNzEzD
If you have any questions regarding the snorkeling or regarding Sunset
Waters Resort, please feel free to contact me...bmpink@shaw.ca
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| Ocean Encounters - Breezes | Tracy - Ontario |
Best I've done, other than west coast of Australia. (Though I'm told that Cozumel is even better) Ocean Encounters staff are great, they remember your name after your first dive. Family run, I was invited to a BBQ at the end of the week down at Lions Dive hotel (their main shop - be sure to check it out). Daily guided shore dives at 2:30pm, good for me since I was alone, and spent my dives taking pictures, not paying attention to where I was headed! Divemasters pointed out lots of stuff for me, and there's LOTS to see right in front of the resort, like a big school of cuddlefish/squid. Car Pile is a must see, with a crane at 100'.
Unfortunately, I was stung by some almost microscopic things once or twice, right near the breakwall.
I did 2 boat dive days. One to Klein Curacao, an uninhabited island (but lots of lizards). It was $100US for 2 dives, plus $25 for gear (with my own mask), and it left at 6:30am -which meant signing out the gear the night before and lugging it all the way to my room. A 2 hour ride on the tourist boat The Mermaid - a bit of a clunker - lots of people were ill over the sides! Diving was done out of a Zodiac. This is the place to see turtles - but I only saw a small one. HUGE green moray followed the group. Walk over to the lighthouse and shipwreck - good photo ops. Great lunch included - but they made WAY too much food!!! Also did Mushroom Forest/Watamula ($85+ equip). Super!! Amazing endless coral formations. Saw lobster, eels, baracuda, and a 'lizardfish'? Bus broke down on the way, the new driver made up lost time with breakneck speeds! Went on another companies boat, really nice. The 'camera rinse bucket' ended up being used for masks :( Refreshments included, but was good to have the extra that I'd brought.
Oc. Enc. are the 'cadillac' of dive ops on the island, a bit pricy, but worth it!
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Dominican Republic Diving Reviews
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Scuba Review Index I went to El Salvador in November 2006. I stayed at the Royal Decameron. I contacted Alvaro Pazos via email prior to going.
He was great, he came and picked me up at the resort in the a.m. and drove me to his dive shop and to Lake Illapongo were I did my PADI open water certificate. It was great and the price was right.
I can only compare the diving to San Andres Island, the only other place I went. Lake Illapongo was not as nice, not much fish/wildlife to see, pretty grey and not a lot of visibility. Again though this is in comparison to San Andres Island which was amazing water.
Alvaro was great, very knowledgeable and helpful. I would reccommend him.
Royal Decameron - Alvaro Pazos
January 2007Royal Decameron - Alvaro Pazos Patrick
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La Source
| La Source | San Jose, California |
CJ and Adriane and the rest of the staff are great. Very safe, skilled and fun. They go above and beyond to get you good dives. Many times I thought to myself "man, they are working hard to make sure we have a good dive." That is great thing. Dive boat is ok but rumor has it they are getting a big new dive boat. If so, it will make La Source a 10 in my book. The scuba diving was so good, it's hard to know where to start. Drift diving, deep, reef diving, wreck diving (multiple wrecks, not just Bianca) -- it is all there. The only thing missing was a night dive. Saw many many nurse sharks. Turtles, baracuda, lobster, crabs, shrimp, eels, and schools and schools of fish are all in abundance. This place is NOT over fished and the coral is healthy. One very big note: If you are not PADI advanced, they will not let you go on any of the deep/advanced dives (and you don't want to miss these). They will try to sell you the advanced for 250.00 US. You can get around this by having a log book that proves you are an advanced diver. Else, you will be stuck getting a cert if you want to do the dives. They will not negotiate on this. Probably a bit of safety and of salesmanship. I can't blame them. Bring your log book.
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