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Mike Klieb
Contributor
I will be on the look out for these as I do love me some good food.
Diving at Beaches Negril Questions
- Thread starter Mike Klieb
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mcohen1021
Contributor
I dove Sandals Negril. My .02 cents:
- They do not take OW divers deeper than 60’ regardless of experience. This forces you to take a AuW class. Good news is, it’s not much different cost wise than if you took it at home.
- They had locks/lockers for you to not have to haul your gear back to your room
- The boat was very comfortable and maybe it was just when we went, but we never had more than 4-5 people on that huge boat
- The crew was friendly, and knowledgeable, and the reefs were not dead, they were good. Lots of deep wall sites.
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Mike Klieb
Contributor
@mcohen1021 How long ago did you go there ?
I am good on that front I am SSI master diver with deep cert so I shouldn't have any issues with depth.
What are their sign up procedures? Does everyone have to take the check dive or is that only if your OW?
Are the lockers secure ? I know the wife doesn't like it when i hang scuba gear in the shower lol when we go somewhere. Is there a wash station for your gear ?
With all of the covid crap going on I wouldn't expect there to be a huge amount of people there but I am glad to hear about the reefs
mcohen1021
Contributor
It was May 2018...? I do not recall the signup procedures, but recall they only had 3-4 divers on the boat when we went. I just walked up and told em I wanted to go diving. Check out dive I also do not recall, but if we did it was from the boat and depth never matters to me. the lockers were good. there was a wash station i believe. cant speak to their reefs anymore. I am seeing dying (light blue) colored reef in Cozumel and no Roatan (last week).
wheeledgoat
Covid Vaccinated
My first scuba experience was at Sandals in Jamaica around 2005. My experience was great, though I am a glass-half-full kinda guy. Anyway, the only worthwhile contribution I can make is this: Despite Sandals' strict policy of no tipping, I palmed the divemaster $20 and it remains the best $20 I've ever spent. 
Negril is not a great place for diving. Montego Bay on the other hand has some great spots. Unfortunately they don’t take tourist to those locations anymore because of the dangers and liability. I have done numerous dives with a boat captain that I met over two decades ago.
He does some private dives and takes me to some wonderful drop off sites. We dive down to about 60ft and descend the wall. Fish and coral are abundant but you can forget about seeing lots of large fish or sharks, although I did see one hammer head on a dive. The drop off levels out at about 230ft.
He does some private dives and takes me to some wonderful drop off sites. We dive down to about 60ft and descend the wall. Fish and coral are abundant but you can forget about seeing lots of large fish or sharks, although I did see one hammer head on a dive. The drop off levels out at about 230ft.
mcohen1021
Contributor
Not a fair statement re: Negril. I have dived the north coast, excluding Montego, and it all pretty much sucked. With Negril, the reefs were alive (at least they were in 2015) and and the visibility was awesome. I would not go back to Negril for a dedicated scuba trip but if I did go back, Negril had the best scuba and the best beaches.
I have been on at least 30 dives in Negril and about 100 in Montego Bay and others in Kingston off the Keys. Negril is the worst of the Lot by far! As for the 7 miles of beaches in Negril I find the beaches to be great looking visually but the shallow water means you have to swim out like 1/2 a mile to get into neck deep water and the water is super warm and the sand is super fine like silt also the green tinge of the water from sewage is a major problem. Some people like that kind of fine sand, I am not a fan of it or the numerous sand flies that come out in Negril at Sunset. The best beach that I have found on the Island is Doctors Cave beach in Montego Bay, but because of popularity it is sometimes crowded. My last major dive was in 2018.
mcohen1021
Contributor
I have not dove Kingston, or Montego. But I have in Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios - not worth the effort unless you just want to get wet. Water is rough, not very clear and the coral formations you might have to dig in the sand for. lol
Now the keys, that might be a different story and I bet would be awesome.
As far as the beaches and depth, I don't do anything in the ocean anymore that would make me look like "shark bait" so, I might get in and out to quickly cool off, but that's about it. Especially in South Maui!
I did not encounter sand flies but it could have been the time of year. Florida's Orange Beach - omg, never again.
The Keys off Kingston are where you want to go if you want to see big fish and ship wrecks. The problem is that it's not a tourist town and the water out there is a bit dangerous. I have heard so many stories of close encounters with Bull Shark that I just don't feel comfortable unless the group is carrying spearguns. The last time I dove down there I saw one Bull Shark and that turned the dive from relaxing to one of constantly watching. BTW my fear of Bull Sharks is probably only surpassed by that of great whites.
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