BlondeMermaid
Guest
Today my husband and I went on a sightseeing-gaming-shopping trip to the Lehigh Valley. While we were there we decided to take a peep at this 'Dutch Springs' that so many people talk about here.
First thing we noticed, and couldn't believe, were the prices! $19 each just for us to walk around and see the place, without even diving (diving would have been almost twice as much)! While I do know that it costs more to take a boat dive, I can rationalize that dive boats are much more expensive to operate and there are far fewer divers on a boat then there were here. With that dent in the pocketbook we tried to make the best of it. I must say that our experience didn't get much better after that. Parking wasn't bad, and I expected to have a bit of trouble getting around with my walking cast so I wasn't let down. My next surprise was how crowded the place was! My word, not just with the divers, but the swimming area as well! I must admit that it did look fun, but the two crowds having to deal with each other can't be that easy to do!
My next surprise came when I noticed the rather shocking territorial behavior of the divers that were there. I actually witnessed a two dive buddies taking up three picnic benches for their gear, three of them! That seemed quite a bit much to me and my husband wondered how they would ever manage to dive on a boat with such a real estate requirement.
I must say that I did witness a general camaraderie among the divers there.
I also did get the impression that there are a great many shops/clubs that dive there on any given day, which is good to see, but the independent diver or divers are left a little too much to the wayside for my tastes.
There seemed to be plenty of entry points into the water, but it's shocking to see large groups of divers, most likely classes of some sort, doing their briefings/debriefings right on the entry ramps, totally blocking them from use by any other divers! Not very courteous if you ask me, let alone professional for an instructor. The staff on hand seemed to be rather well mannered, but they were lacking in pleasantry. I guess if I had to work on a Sunday I wouldn't be very happy either.
The only thing that didn't surprise me were the prices at the consession counter, abnormally high for what didn't seem very appetizing. I do have to complement the place for having nice and well-kept restroom facilities.
They do advertise camping on-site, which would be interesting.
As for the diving, I can only imagine that having that many people cycle through the water must have a negative effect on both the visibility and the aquatic life that one wishes to appreciate while diving. With all that in mind, I may be willing to consider testing the waters on a weekday, but for right now a weekend trip to Dutch Springs would appear to be more hassle than it is worth.
My husband is of the same opionins, but I think his desire to get in the water is starting to outweigh any discomfort he may have to deal with.
Could someone please tell me what the positive points of this place would be?
First thing we noticed, and couldn't believe, were the prices! $19 each just for us to walk around and see the place, without even diving (diving would have been almost twice as much)! While I do know that it costs more to take a boat dive, I can rationalize that dive boats are much more expensive to operate and there are far fewer divers on a boat then there were here. With that dent in the pocketbook we tried to make the best of it. I must say that our experience didn't get much better after that. Parking wasn't bad, and I expected to have a bit of trouble getting around with my walking cast so I wasn't let down. My next surprise was how crowded the place was! My word, not just with the divers, but the swimming area as well! I must admit that it did look fun, but the two crowds having to deal with each other can't be that easy to do!
My next surprise came when I noticed the rather shocking territorial behavior of the divers that were there. I actually witnessed a two dive buddies taking up three picnic benches for their gear, three of them! That seemed quite a bit much to me and my husband wondered how they would ever manage to dive on a boat with such a real estate requirement.
I must say that I did witness a general camaraderie among the divers there.
I also did get the impression that there are a great many shops/clubs that dive there on any given day, which is good to see, but the independent diver or divers are left a little too much to the wayside for my tastes.
There seemed to be plenty of entry points into the water, but it's shocking to see large groups of divers, most likely classes of some sort, doing their briefings/debriefings right on the entry ramps, totally blocking them from use by any other divers! Not very courteous if you ask me, let alone professional for an instructor. The staff on hand seemed to be rather well mannered, but they were lacking in pleasantry. I guess if I had to work on a Sunday I wouldn't be very happy either.
The only thing that didn't surprise me were the prices at the consession counter, abnormally high for what didn't seem very appetizing. I do have to complement the place for having nice and well-kept restroom facilities.
They do advertise camping on-site, which would be interesting.
As for the diving, I can only imagine that having that many people cycle through the water must have a negative effect on both the visibility and the aquatic life that one wishes to appreciate while diving. With all that in mind, I may be willing to consider testing the waters on a weekday, but for right now a weekend trip to Dutch Springs would appear to be more hassle than it is worth.
My husband is of the same opionins, but I think his desire to get in the water is starting to outweigh any discomfort he may have to deal with.
Could someone please tell me what the positive points of this place would be?