Diving at Beaches Negril Questions

[jmark18]

I dove Sandals Negril in the early 90's and it was terrible. I can't imagine it could be any better now. Try the sailing. Much more fun

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Based on the above comment and my experience I would say make sure it isn’t anyone’s ‘first-ish’ experience. May kill diving for them...

sorry to be a bummer. But do the Jamaican good stuff. Pool/beach/golf/ganja/
Leave the diving for diving places

 

[divezonescuba]

I did Beaches Negril a few years ago. There are actually two resorts separated a small distance apart. Both resorts use the same dive operation. The diving was much better than I thought it would be, but not great. However, one of my top ten rec dives was the barge dive at 80 feet. The night dive on the Cessna plane is also good.

one day, I asked the guy in charge where we were going to go the next day. His response was something to the effect that if he had to think about that, it would be too much like working.

They start late, so there is only one dive in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning dive was usually good, the afternoon dive was usually pretty lame and was mostly discover scuba resort dives. They only take one tank per person on the boat and change out during lunch. We usually sat on the boat eating pizza from the snack bar.

My most vivid memory of that trip was of a overweighted discover scuba diver running across the sand in his fins In slow motion, not unlike the runner in the chariots of fire movie.

The dive operation is a bit peculiar due to heavy corporate influence. You cannot do the deeper morning dive the day you register at the dive shop. You are lucky to do the lame afternoon dive, the day you register, so they can assess your skill level. Sometimes you cannot dive at all until the day after you register. So what you want to do is to run down to the dive shack and register as soon as you arrive. You then may be able to get in on the afternoon check out dive the next day. The only divers not required to do the checkout dive are instructors in teaching status.

We only went there because of a family reunion.

 

[azstinger11]

We did Couples Swept Away 5(ish) years ago. I was underwhelmed by the reefs particularly now that I've seen more of the Caribbean.

 

[CanadaDan]

My only other bit of advice for visiting Jamaica is NEVER eat the whole brownie ;

I dove beaches Montego bay last year. It was the single worst diving experience of my lifetime. Reef was completely barren/dead anything that was alive the divemasters chased and tried to pick up. It’s was abysmal.

I've found that dive leaders from Ocho round to Negril will do that. It's what they've been taught to do for years I guess. I will have a quick conversation with them before the first dive to ask them to point them out to me but to eave the critters alone. I use the excuse of me trying to photograph them in place so I don't end up sounding too preachy.

The reefs near Negril are in much better shape. More conservation efforts from the local dive operators combined with less cruise ship traffic than Montego or Ocho possibly.

 

[Mike Klieb]

I dove beaches Montego bay last year. It was the single worst diving experience of my lifetime. Reef was completely barren/dead anything that was alive the divemasters chased and tried to pick up. It’s was abysmal.

Yeah I see a lot of Youtube videos where the DM's are handling the wildlife and horrible divers.

 

[Mike Klieb]

My only other bit of advice for visiting Jamaica is NEVER eat the whole brownie ;
The reefs near Negril are in much better shape. More conservation efforts from the local dive operators combined with less cruise ship traffic than Montego or Ocho possibly.

Yeah I have been seeing that the reefs look fairly healthy. I am aware that its not Cozumel but I am pretty sure it will be better diving than the muddy lakes and dead quarries I have been diving in Texas.

 

[rhwestfall]

Yeah I have been seeing that the reefs look fairly healthy. I am aware that its not Cozumel but I am pretty sure it will be better diving than the muddy lakes and dead quarries I have been diving in Texas.

only slightly....

While my experience is somewhat jaded as the wind/waves were insane due to a storm that was quite unusual, and diving was cancelled the whole week, letting us get one dive on the house reef the last morning of our stay and limited by no-fly times, the house reef at Samsara - Negril was somewhat algae ridden, and little to no fish larger than the size of a cell phone. We were lucky enough to have two spotted eagle rays rip through, and sitting on shore one morning I watched a dolphin jump its way across the reef.

Watching numerous fishing boats just off shore on the edge of the reef certainly explains the lack of aquatic life.

Having dove other places (Bahamas, Bonaire, Key Largo, and Curacao), "underwhelmed" is to me the appropriate thought.

Negril is supposed to have the best diving on Jamaica, and I have friends that said Ocho Rios was just awful... none of it is worth going there specifically for diving.

YMMV

 

[rhwestfall]

I will say, however, the roadside stands (curried goat, meat pockets, jerked chicken, etc.) was some of the best "bar food" I've had....

 

[Mike Klieb]

only slightly....

While my experience is somewhat jaded as the wind/waves were insane due to a storm that was quite unusual, and diving was cancelled the whole week, letting us get one dive on the house reef the last morning of our stay and limited by no-fly times, the house reef at Samsara - Negril was somewhat algae ridden, and little to no fish larger than the size of a cell phone. We were lucky enough to have two spotted eagle rays rip through, and sitting on shore one morning I watched a dolphin jump its way across the reef.

Watching numerous fishing boats just off shore on the edge of the reef certainly explains the lack of aquatic life.

Having dove other places (Bahamas, Bonaire, Key Largo, and Curacao), "underwhelmed" is to me the appropriate thought.

Negril is supposed to have the best diving on Jamaica, and I have friends that said Ocho Rios was just awful... none of it is worth going there specifically for diving.

YMMV

My expectations are set not too high and this is more of a family trip with some diving than a diving trip I saw the possibility of getting in some dives while making my non diving wife happy with a good vacation. I am sure that compared to Cozumel I will be "underwhelmed" also..