CTBrianD
New
BARBADOS DIVE REPORT
MAY 2005
I just got back from a short vacation (long weekend) in Barbados and had such a great time diving that I thought I would pass on what I can about the trip. I want to give 'kudos' to our dive operator, Dive Barbados, so please read this entire review.
As background, I'm a newbie and now have 14 dives in my log book. I was certified in December in Key Largo and went back there in March for 4 more dives. My trip to Barbados was my third diving trip and my first set of dives outside Key Largo. The purpose of the Barbados trip was to get some more time in the water, and my dive buddy and I dove 3 days -- each 2 tank dives. This was a great trip and I'm still replaying all the mental tapes over and over in my mind. If all dive trips are a nice as this, I'll be doing this as often as possible (and I'll be bankrupt soon).
We dove with Dive Barbados, a small dive shop just north of Holetown. We found them on the PADI Dive Center Directory. I say 'small', but this is only compared to the operators I've dove with in Key Largo -- I'm guessing Dive Barbados is on par with other local operators. The boat could carry 6 divers but we only had 2 or 3 on each day. This made the whole experience very personal and enjoyable. John Moore is the dive master, and he clearly has a passion for diving and, more importantly, diving in Barbados. John explained the topology of the reef system, the geology of the island, and how all this comes together from a dive standpoint. He's also involved with the local turtle protection/nesting program, and works with the local authorities to maintain the dive locations. John is assisted by David, who helped with gear and drove the boat. David was also friendly and warm, and spoke with the local Bajan accent. I'm not familiar with the other dive operators in Barbados, but I'll return to Dive Barbados on my next trip -- based on having such a positive experience on this trip.
We booked our trip through American Airlines and stayed The Savannah, one of the hotels in the American travel program. The Savannah is located on the South Coast of the island and Dive Barbados is located on the island's West Coast. There is a large reef system running parallel to the West Coast and most of the dive operators are located here. The West Coast also seemed to be a little more up-scale (the Sandy Lane resort is located here and it is one of the top resorts in the world).
On our first dive day, we were picked up at the hotel by John's wife and business partner, Mary. Mary handles most of the business operations and was very friendly and helpful. We had to go through Bridgetown to get from the South Coast to the West Coast, and after the first day we rented a car to make this trip easier. I recommend renting a car if you stay on the South Coast. If you're staying on the West Coast you can probably use the local buses to get where you need to go.
We dove 3 days and each day we started with a dive on the outer reef at about 80'. The second dive each day was in shallower water, along an inner reef system. The first dive site we visited was Whitegates. Having only done shallow dives in Key Largo (30' - 40'), this was the deepest I had been. The reef was incredible the coral and sponges seemed much more diverse than Key Largo, although the fish were not as plentiful. The colors on the reef were especially striking. We saw a couple of spotted morays and a Hawksbill on this first dive, and there were a couple large schools of Creole Wrasse. John pointed out things as we went along, including a large Spotted Drum and a large Burrfish. A couple of times we ran into fresh water mixing with the salt water. This created some interesting refractions and temperature differentiations in the water.
Our second dive as in Merlin Bay. The coral here was not as condensed and there were sandy areas intersperse between the coral. This reminded me more of Key Largo.
On our second day our first dive as at Haymans Reef. There was a strong current running that day and we ended up drift-diving for most of the dive. This was a new experience for me and I enjoyed watching the sights pass by without having to expend much effort swimming. Because of the current, our descent and ascent (including safety stop) were done without a line to hang on. This was also a new experience for me. A Hawksbill swam by during our safety stop.
Our second dive was at the Pamir, a wreck in about 60' of water. This was my first wreck dive and it was great. We spent time touring the outside of the boat and then did some swim-throughs of the interior. Exploring the interior was a bit creepy at first -- I later joked with my dive buddy that I kept expecting Shelly Winters to pop out at any moment. If you dive in Barbados you should not miss the Pamir. The area surrounding the wreck was a sandy bottom and there were a lot of Garden Eels. They were fun to watch as they popped in and out of the sand. We also saw some interesting shrimp. There were quite a few fish here, including a school of Creole Wrasse and an aggressive school of Sergeant Majors.
On our last day we started at The Boom, again at about 80'. There was very little current. The reef was great here, with drop-offs on either side. We were joined for part of our dive by a school of Atlantic Spadefish. We also saw a Barracuda -- relatively small compared to what I've seen snorkeling in other places. Our second dive was at Reed's Bay at about 40'. We got in the water in a very shallow, sandy area. John was hoping we'd find some Seahorses, but they were not around. We did see another turtle here, eating some sea grass. We then made our way to the reef, in a little deeper water. This reef had patches of sandy bottom and John pointed out a Sea Biscuit and some interesting sea slugs hanging off the coral. We also found a large crab -- it seemed to be about a foot wide across his body.
My dive buddy and I dove with full wet suits (3/2) and were very comfortable. On the first and second days we were joined by another diver from London who dove without a wet suit. I was glad I had mine, but I guess it was not a necessity. While at the Pamir I noticed some of the other divers there did not have wet suits either.
All-in-all this was a great trip with lots of new diving experiences for me -- deeper dives, descent/ascent without a line, drift-diving, and wreck diving. John and Mary were both wonderful and made our diving experience in Barbados very positive. They even gave us some good restaurant recommendations -- like the Surfside in Holetown, their local hangout. Its a beachfront bar that also served burgers and some Indian food (yum!). I'm hoping to be able to go back and will use Dive Barbados again. Mary suggested coming back to complete the Advanced Open Water course. That sounds like fun.
If youre interested in planning a trip to Barbados, I recommend you contact John and Mary at Dive Barbados. They can also recommend accommodations that are close by. Our trip was too short, but we were able to squeeze some great diving into a short amount of time.
MAY 2005
I just got back from a short vacation (long weekend) in Barbados and had such a great time diving that I thought I would pass on what I can about the trip. I want to give 'kudos' to our dive operator, Dive Barbados, so please read this entire review.
As background, I'm a newbie and now have 14 dives in my log book. I was certified in December in Key Largo and went back there in March for 4 more dives. My trip to Barbados was my third diving trip and my first set of dives outside Key Largo. The purpose of the Barbados trip was to get some more time in the water, and my dive buddy and I dove 3 days -- each 2 tank dives. This was a great trip and I'm still replaying all the mental tapes over and over in my mind. If all dive trips are a nice as this, I'll be doing this as often as possible (and I'll be bankrupt soon).
We dove with Dive Barbados, a small dive shop just north of Holetown. We found them on the PADI Dive Center Directory. I say 'small', but this is only compared to the operators I've dove with in Key Largo -- I'm guessing Dive Barbados is on par with other local operators. The boat could carry 6 divers but we only had 2 or 3 on each day. This made the whole experience very personal and enjoyable. John Moore is the dive master, and he clearly has a passion for diving and, more importantly, diving in Barbados. John explained the topology of the reef system, the geology of the island, and how all this comes together from a dive standpoint. He's also involved with the local turtle protection/nesting program, and works with the local authorities to maintain the dive locations. John is assisted by David, who helped with gear and drove the boat. David was also friendly and warm, and spoke with the local Bajan accent. I'm not familiar with the other dive operators in Barbados, but I'll return to Dive Barbados on my next trip -- based on having such a positive experience on this trip.
We booked our trip through American Airlines and stayed The Savannah, one of the hotels in the American travel program. The Savannah is located on the South Coast of the island and Dive Barbados is located on the island's West Coast. There is a large reef system running parallel to the West Coast and most of the dive operators are located here. The West Coast also seemed to be a little more up-scale (the Sandy Lane resort is located here and it is one of the top resorts in the world).
On our first dive day, we were picked up at the hotel by John's wife and business partner, Mary. Mary handles most of the business operations and was very friendly and helpful. We had to go through Bridgetown to get from the South Coast to the West Coast, and after the first day we rented a car to make this trip easier. I recommend renting a car if you stay on the South Coast. If you're staying on the West Coast you can probably use the local buses to get where you need to go.
We dove 3 days and each day we started with a dive on the outer reef at about 80'. The second dive each day was in shallower water, along an inner reef system. The first dive site we visited was Whitegates. Having only done shallow dives in Key Largo (30' - 40'), this was the deepest I had been. The reef was incredible the coral and sponges seemed much more diverse than Key Largo, although the fish were not as plentiful. The colors on the reef were especially striking. We saw a couple of spotted morays and a Hawksbill on this first dive, and there were a couple large schools of Creole Wrasse. John pointed out things as we went along, including a large Spotted Drum and a large Burrfish. A couple of times we ran into fresh water mixing with the salt water. This created some interesting refractions and temperature differentiations in the water.
Our second dive as in Merlin Bay. The coral here was not as condensed and there were sandy areas intersperse between the coral. This reminded me more of Key Largo.
On our second day our first dive as at Haymans Reef. There was a strong current running that day and we ended up drift-diving for most of the dive. This was a new experience for me and I enjoyed watching the sights pass by without having to expend much effort swimming. Because of the current, our descent and ascent (including safety stop) were done without a line to hang on. This was also a new experience for me. A Hawksbill swam by during our safety stop.
Our second dive was at the Pamir, a wreck in about 60' of water. This was my first wreck dive and it was great. We spent time touring the outside of the boat and then did some swim-throughs of the interior. Exploring the interior was a bit creepy at first -- I later joked with my dive buddy that I kept expecting Shelly Winters to pop out at any moment. If you dive in Barbados you should not miss the Pamir. The area surrounding the wreck was a sandy bottom and there were a lot of Garden Eels. They were fun to watch as they popped in and out of the sand. We also saw some interesting shrimp. There were quite a few fish here, including a school of Creole Wrasse and an aggressive school of Sergeant Majors.
On our last day we started at The Boom, again at about 80'. There was very little current. The reef was great here, with drop-offs on either side. We were joined for part of our dive by a school of Atlantic Spadefish. We also saw a Barracuda -- relatively small compared to what I've seen snorkeling in other places. Our second dive was at Reed's Bay at about 40'. We got in the water in a very shallow, sandy area. John was hoping we'd find some Seahorses, but they were not around. We did see another turtle here, eating some sea grass. We then made our way to the reef, in a little deeper water. This reef had patches of sandy bottom and John pointed out a Sea Biscuit and some interesting sea slugs hanging off the coral. We also found a large crab -- it seemed to be about a foot wide across his body.
My dive buddy and I dove with full wet suits (3/2) and were very comfortable. On the first and second days we were joined by another diver from London who dove without a wet suit. I was glad I had mine, but I guess it was not a necessity. While at the Pamir I noticed some of the other divers there did not have wet suits either.
All-in-all this was a great trip with lots of new diving experiences for me -- deeper dives, descent/ascent without a line, drift-diving, and wreck diving. John and Mary were both wonderful and made our diving experience in Barbados very positive. They even gave us some good restaurant recommendations -- like the Surfside in Holetown, their local hangout. Its a beachfront bar that also served burgers and some Indian food (yum!). I'm hoping to be able to go back and will use Dive Barbados again. Mary suggested coming back to complete the Advanced Open Water course. That sounds like fun.
If youre interested in planning a trip to Barbados, I recommend you contact John and Mary at Dive Barbados. They can also recommend accommodations that are close by. Our trip was too short, but we were able to squeeze some great diving into a short amount of time.
