Antigua Dive Ops????

[NightRaven77]

Hey all....

I am going to Antigua and staying at the Jolly Beach Resort July 16-23.....

I have not heard the greatest of reviews of the diving there but I figured I test out the water to see whats happening down below anyway....There is a dive op onsite called JollyDive....

Does anyone have any other Ops out there that should be considered before I book with these guys....I have about 150 dives under my belt.....so if there is another op that could take me a bit deeper and past the tourist dive sites would be great....

I wouldnt mind doing a night dive to boot....

Well fellow divers....what do you all got for me??

NightRaven77

 

[boulderjohn]

Hey all....

I am going to Antigua and staying at the Jolly Beach Resort July 16-23.....

I have not heard the greatest of reviews of the diving there but I figured I test out the water to see whats happening down below anyway....There is a dive op onsite called JollyDive....

Does anyone have any other Ops out there that should be considered before I book with these guys....I have about 150 dives under my belt.....so if there is another op that could take me a bit deeper and past the tourist dive sites would be great....

I wouldnt mind doing a night dive to boot....

Well fellow divers....what do you all got for me??

NightRaven77

Wow! No replies in all these days! Apparently not many people go there. I was really interested in this for nostalia reasons. My wife and I honeymooned in Antigua nearly a third of a century ago, and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. It was our first time in the tropics, our first snorkeling, and we of course were thrilled. We have occasionally talked about returning.

I have noticed that you never see Antigua mentioned in dive magazines, and I am afraid I am getting a clue as to why.

 

[NightRaven77]

Wow! No replies in all these days! Apparently not many people go there. I was really interested in this for nostalia reasons. My wife and I honeymooned in Antigua nearly a third of a century ago, and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. It was our first time in the tropics, our first snorkeling, and we of course were thrilled. We have occasionally talked about returning.

I have noticed that you never see Antigua mentioned in dive magazines, and I am afraid I am getting a clue as to why.

Bummer.....

Gosh...I would of thought that someone would of tested the waters off the coast of Antigua by now????

I would of thought that since it is close to some of the other dive locations that it might be in some good shape....I surely hope so....

NightRaven77

 

[BurBunny]

Okay, I've been hesitant to reply, but since no one else is...

I've not had good experiences with diving in Antigua. First time I was there, the dive op cancelled the dives without telling me, leaving me to wait an hour for them. That was Deano with Deep Bay. Came recommended to me, so not sure what happened, but it wasn't good.

Second time back, I went with Jolly Dive. Interesting experience. They were very concerned with my tank straps being exactly even, no loose end. However, the owner was guilty of some of the worst gauge danglies I've experienced in quite awhile. That bothers me but I think it stuck with me because of the poor quality of the diving (had nothing else to focus on). Maybe it was because it had been rainy and therefore the water was silty (and surgy with a lot of sand kicked up), but I've never had 2 dives before where I was watching my gauges to determine when it wouldn't be too horrible to go up. Both myself and my dive buddy (an experienced diver but one I'd not met before) were sipping air, but we went up with the air hogs because there just wasn't anything in the area we wanted to further investigate. Have NEVER had that happen on a dive before. I'm typically first in, last out, kicking and screaming and taking shots during my safety stop. Not there. Very little reef color, fewer fish, though invertibrates were somewhat accommodating. There were lots of flamingo tongues in accessible locations for pictures.

If I were staying at Jolly Dive (and I would - looked like a nice resort), I'd dive with them again, but be VERY picky about the conditions. I'd never go out of my way again to dive Antigua. It was better than quarry or reservoir diving, but among the worst I've experienced in the Caribbean.

I hope my experiences were an aberration, and I hate writing reviews like this, but since no one else posted, felt I needed to here However, it's a gorgeous island, one I positively adore. I just won't be diving there again.

-Amber

 

[MaraGirl]

Jolly Dive typicaly dives Cades Reef - which is okay as the previous poster stated.
It is fair to say that the south-east coast (English Harbour) has the better diving as unlike the rest of Antigua - it does not sit on a sandy shelf - no reefs - mini walls, etc.

In English Harbour - you have 2 choices of dive ops. AntiguaScuba Center - www.antiguascuba.com - or Aquanuat Divers - email: aquanaut@candw.ag. AntiguaScuba has a page describing some of the sites.

DeepBay Divers is no longer open. The other dive ops in Antigua are 1) Dive Antigua - www.diveantigua.com - they mostly dive the same sites as Jolly Divers and 2) Ultramarine - www.ultramarinescuba.com - they dive English Harbour too but are located at the St. James Club in Mamora Bay.

Hope that helps.