Bahamas Trip

[sigourneya]

My friends and I are planning a quick getaway to the Bahamas for two of our friends' birthdays at the ned of Aug/early Sept. Some of us are divers, others are not, but we are all strong swimmers and would like to do a scuba/snorkle trip. Any suggestions, as well as nice cheap places to stay on Grand Bahamas. The last time I went I stayed at the Altantis, which I know is out of our price range. Thanks!

 

[G'Diddy]

My friends and I are planning a quick getaway to the Bahamas for two of our friends' birthdays at the ned of Aug/early Sept. Some of us are divers, others are not, but we are all strong swimmers and would like to do a scuba/snorkle trip. Any suggestions, as well as nice cheap places to stay on Grand Bahamas. The last time I went I stayed at the Altantis, which I know is out of our price range. Thanks!

When the wife & I go we like to stay at Port Lucaya Resort and I always dive with UNEXSO. The resort is older, but it's clean & well maintained, & the people are great. We feel very much at home there. If you opt for a marina view room the scenery outside your balcony is wonderful (lots million dollar yachts). It's also walking distance from UNEXSO. UNEXSO's boats are set up so that even with 12 - 15 divers there's plenty of room. They are by no means cattle boats. In fact, one dat last week there were only 3 divers on oour boat. The staff is great and very knowledgeable. If you don't feel like schelpping your gear back & forth from the resort, UNEXSO has lockers they let you use for free and they provide the lock. There's also a "snak bar" there that has a full menu and is open for breakfast, as well as a pool. Our routine last week was my wife would walk over with me in the morning, order us breakfast while I checked in for that day's dives, then we'd eat, I'd go diving, she'd hang by the pool for a while, then got do whatever, and be back to meet me coming off the boat with an ice cold beer. Then after I rinsed and put my gear away, we'd hang by and use the pool for awhile then go have lunch and just chill the rest of the day. Obviously, we had a great relaxing week. When I dive with UNEXSO, I feel like I'm diving with friends. Thy're a big dive op with a small dive op feel.


Disclaimers:

1 - I've only dove with UNEXSO in Freeport so I can't compare them to other Freeport dive ops. However, I've never felt the need to try any others.

2 - We've stayed at Flamingo Bay in Taino Beach and at Island Palm downtown in addition to Port Lucaya Resort. We much prefer Port Lucaya to any of the others.

Try The Official Web Site of Port Lucaya Resort and Yacht Club in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island - Bahamas and UNEXSO: Dolphin & Diving Activities… and more! for more info.

Hope this helps

 

[sigourneya]

Thanks so much! My friends and I travel as much as possible and need to save money, so thanks!

 

[vdive]

Hi, I was thinking of doing a dive trip as well in the Bahamas. Do you know anything about the weather in August/Sept? I heard that there could be very rough conditions in the sea during the late summer/early fall.

 

[OceanObsessed]

Hi, I was thinking of doing a dive trip as well in the Bahamas. Do you know anything about the weather in August/Sept? I heard that there could be very rough conditions in the sea during the late summer/early fall.

There could be very rough conditions any time during the year. August & September are normally very good provided there is no tropical depression coming. I would say that January, February, March & April are typically the worst months with more consistent higher winds but you can still get many good diving days during those months too. If you are traveling by boat then you need a larger time window so many people plan their boat trips outside of hurricane season. Perhaps this is what you heard. We used to take 3-4 week boat trips over there yearly and we would always go in May which is right before hurricane season.

 

[osprey]

I don't where you are coming from, but Discovery Cruise line has some great packages from Ft Lauderdale at Viva Fortuna.

 

[anomac]

I am doing a trip to Atlantis in October this year and wanted to know what people thought of their Dive OPeration. Should I use them or is there an external nearby that might be better. Thanks in advance.

Ano

 

[herbdb]

Fly into Marsh Harbor from Miami or Ft Lauderdale then a short ferry ride to Hope Town.

http://www.ilovehopetown.com/The_Ultimate_Guide_To_Hope_Town.html

Beautiful public beaches with a nice close in reef for snorkeling. Something for everyone. Dive operators do trips from the harbor. My favorite place in the Bahamas. Nothing like the places with high rise chain hotels.

 

[CODMAN]

I just came back from Hopetown and the town is really nice, and the people great. I just did a few dives with rented tanks, but the reefs left a bit to be desired, despite me seing a few new critters. Although I'm sure if I had gone with a dive operator I would have seen better areas; it just didn't fit into the schedule...

Still a very nice place for boating!

Fly into Marsh Harbor from Miami or Ft Lauderdale then a short ferry ride to Hope Town.

I Love Hopetown - Your Ultimate Guide to Hopetown, Abaco, where to stay, restaurants, real estate, local news, getting here

Beautiful public beaches with a nice close in reef for snorkeling. Something for everyone. Dive operators do trips from the harbor. My favorite place in the Bahamas. Nothing like the places with high rise chain hotels.

 

[herbdb]

It is great boating. We took our sailboat down and spent the winter of 07/08 in the Abacos. It's where I learned to dive. The diving in Fowl Cay Reserve is outstanding.