Diving Guam?

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joewr

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Location
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Hello all you guys who have dived Guam!

We are heading to Micronesia next March and will stop in Guam for several days. We will be at the Royal Orchid Hotel (near the A/P) and wanted to dive with a shop that was nearby. Any recommendations?

Does anybody know anything about the Guam Tropical Dive Station?

Thanks,

Joe
 
You might want to look at MDA, not that there is anything wrong with GTDS, MDA will give you more choices. You can find them at http://www.mdaguam.com. I've been diving with MDA for over 10 years, but either shop will give you good service. Where else are you headed, maybe I can give you some info. If you have any questions about Guam or the diving here, feel free to drop me a line.
Dive Safe,
Rooster
 
Hey, Rooster,

Thanks for the quick reply! I got an e-mail from MDA that scared me a little: they said their boat handled 20-30 divers! Egad, I sure do not want that. But they did have one boat, Reef Dreams, that took 9 divers. That is the one I would pick.

No reponse yet from GTDS.

We are heading for Palua, Yap and Guam. Barbara and I are going with two diving buddies, Dave and Bill. However, Dave and Bill are "only" doing Palau and Yap. We already have our dive shops and hotels arranged for Yap and Palau. Dave is not fond of live-aboards, so we are doing a land-based trip.

I would appreciate any suggestions regarding dive sites on Guam, Yap and Palua. What should we be sure not to miss? We will be there next March--want to have dinner together? I see you like Ford trucks: I have two--1999 Ranger and a 1939 Pickup(yep, 1939).

Joewr
 
Joewr,
What is your itinerary? The way you have it listed is somewhat anti-climatic. Though "I" can have a great time diving in a mud hole, most people tend to be a little disappointed in Yap, and especially Guam, after diving Palau. Not that Yap or Guam is a mud hole compared to Palau, they are just different. Who are you diving with in Yap and Palau, and where are you staying. As far as the boats go here, don't be too put off by the size of the MDA boats (GTDS's boat is about the same size). The diving here is a little different than what you'll find in Yap and Palau. The tour ops are geared toward the Japanese and tend to be cattle operations. MDA and GTDS tend to cater more towards "local" divers. You can do a 2-tank trip for $40. If you're sure you want to do the smaller boats, MDA has their smaller Reef Dreams. A few friends and I have taken this boat out a couple of times to get to some of the more remote locations and it's a nice set up. The thing with the Reef Dreams is that it doesn't go out on a daily schedule so you may have to "charter" it. Depending on what day you are here, I might be able to fill a couple of spots on it to bring your cost down. If your interested in doing some shore diving, I'm almost always getting wet on the weekends, and can almost always be talked into a late afternoon (I get of work at 3:30), or a night dive during the week. Well my wife is after me to get my stuff ready to go diving, so I'll talk at ya later.
Rooster
 
Rooster,

We start out at Palau with the NECO Marine Dive Shop; then onto Yap with Yap Divers; then onto Guam. We are diving Guam last because we need to lay over there at least one night before heading to Hawaii. Barbara and I decided to extend our stay and dive Guam for 3 days. We have only "hoteled" there in transit, but we have heard some good things about it. We know that it will not be Palau (or Yap), but we love diving and wanted to give it a try.

I need to get going myself now, but I will let you know the schedule next time. Can I e-mail you so we do not take up others' time with our "personal" stuff?

Joewr
 
Feel free to e-mail me at rooster1@netpci.com

Rooster
 
Who the HELL are you????

Are you a Master Instructor with us??? (MDA) Somehow, I think I should know that name.

Next time you are in the shop...come up to Wholesale and say hi! (This is going to drive me INSANE!)

By the way Joewr...welcome to "da Rock"!
 
Scubabunny,

Thanks for the welcome! We will be there in March and are looking forward to seeing more that the inside of the Royal Orchid Hotel!

Joewr
 
You will LOVE Guam! Definitely a big change from Northern California! Of course, Palau will ruin you for diving ANYWHERE..at least for a while..or so I'm told. Haven'be been there yet. Yap was awesome though! Dove with Yap Divers, and they were great!

Oh, I figured out who Rooster is, and take his word as gospel on ANYTHING dealing with the underwater world. He is a very respected and dedicated instructor at our shop (MDA) and has dove on Guam long enough to know every site in the book, and some that aren't!

I would suggest to rent a car while you are on Guam. At the Royal Orchid hotel, you will be in the "hub" of the tourist section so there will be plenty to do..but you really should drive around the island one day and see how beautiful it is. Hint: taxi fares are OUTRAGEOUS here..think they prey upon the Japanese tourists here. Kinda sad.

If you don't get a car, MDA does do hotel pickups for morning 2 tank dives. And, like Rooster said, don't let our boats scare you. If you want more info on dive packages, you can email our Travel department at <islands@mdaguam.com>. Cindy (our one person travel agency) can help you with alot of the details.

Make sure you come into the shop and say hi while you are here!

 
Was in Palau in March. Hotel wise, if you want to be on the beach there is only one real choice and that is the Palau Pacific Hotel. We stayed at a more rustic place on a hillside, The Carolines Resort. It is 7 little independent units. No sharing of walls. Little balcony overlooking the island and the ocean. For diving is Sam's Dive Tours. They are just tremendous. I was in a car accident on my arrival in Palau and they helped me more than I ever anticipated.
 

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