Espiritu Santo - Vanuatu

[NZ Don]

Hey folks,

I am in the process of organising my next dive trip, and I've settled on Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

Wreck diving appeals to me, and between the President Coolidge, Million Dollar Point and the USS Tucker, there seems to be plenty to get stuck into. A few reefs for good measure and I'm sure I can be thoroughly dived out and entertained for a week!

I've done the usual obligatory internet searching of operators and accommodation etc., but I'd really like to hear your experiences if you have been there at all.

I have a strong preference to boat diving rather than shore diving, mainly because I'm not as fit or as young as I once was, and I hate the idea of exerting too much energy immediately before a dive. That being said, it sees that most of the diving in Santo is done from shore, so maybe I'll just have to suck it up!

Looking at Trip Advisor, it is very difficult to separate one operator from the other, so again, I'd love to hear your experiences, good, bad or indifferent.

Anything else, such as accommodation, other activities etc., I'd sure like to know about also.

Thanks for your help

 

[Peter69_56]

I dived with Alan powers and found them good.

I would NOT dive with Aquamarine. I consider them dangerous at best. My wife refuses to have anything to do with them. I have spoken to people involved with them and they do not recommend them.

 

[thanksforallthefish]

I did the Coolidge way back in 92 with Alan Power. All dives were shore dives, gear up and about 20m walk to the water.
I would say they were easier than any boat dive i have done.

My wife wants to do the Coolidge and would more than likely do it by shore dives again, and no hesitation in using Alan Power.

I found Million dollar point a little disappointing and would not bother with that again, have not done the USS Tucker

 

[WetLens]

We were there in late October 2014 and dove with Alan Powers. Stayed at Deco Stop Lodge. DM from Powers stopped by Deco Stop to greet and meet, sign forms, check certification, etc. They picked us up along the road and drove to the two sites we dove - the Coolidge and Million Dollar Point - both shore dives. We had the same DM/guide with the two of us for the few dives we did and he did a great job. I happened to like Million Dollar Point and could have spent a few more dives exploring. That said, the main attraction is the Coolidge. Had an epic dive on the Coolidge - better than any dives I made in Truk, but Truk has the advantage of variety. Prepare for deep dives and only 2 dives per day - they would not hear about doing more. We wanted to squeeze in a night dive, but we would have had to forgo a day dive.

A few photos at: https://wetlens.smugmug.com/Underwater/Vanuatu-Oct-2014/

 

[globalbabe]

Two thumbs up for Alan Power from me too! Alan's team are extremely experienced and professional and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. I also liked Million Dollar Point - for me, it was as much a highlight as the Coolidge.

The only negative to diving in Vanuatu is that the weather can be very temperamental - it rained constantly when I was there for five days in September 2014 and led to a gradual deterioration in visibility each subsequent day of diving on the Coolidge. The last day it dropped right down to 3-5m during parts of the dive - not that much fun at 38m on a wreck. It also caused major flight cancellations for several days in a row in and out of Port Vila and Espiritu Santo, and I missed two of my connecting flights afterwards. If you do decide to come, make sure you allow for a decent buffer between flight connections (at minimum, overnight) and purchase travel insurance, in case the weather is playing up again.

 

[g2]

Hi NZDon!

I dove the Coolidge a few years with Alan Powers, and stayed at Deco Stop Lodge. I recommend Deco Stop. No matter who you dive with, I strongly suggest bringing your own gear, especially reliable regulators. Gear maintenance in Vanuatu is not always top notch; I had rental regs fail on me mid-dive.

Coolidge dives are all deep, sometimes very deep, and often have mandatory decompression stops. You can ask to arrange your dives so they aren't deco dives, there's enough to see without doing that. But... you should at least be comfortable with the procedures because you may end up in deco territory anyway.

g

 

[NZ Don]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Ok, so Deco Stop seems to be the place to stay, and I was coming to that conclusion also, so that's a box ticked.

It also appears that its unanimous that Alan Powers is the operator of choice, so again, I appreciate everyone sharing their experience.

One thing I am interested in, as a result of g2's post, is taking your own gear. I prefer taking my own gear everywhere, as I am most comfortable with it. However, from what I can see a din connection is standard in Vanuatu (please let me know if I have this wrong!), and my regs are yolk. I've never used an adapter before, although I know they are readily available. Can this be fitted/changed easily by myself of the dive operator or is this more a technician set up?

Cheers
Don

PS Wetlens - thanks for the link to your photos! Can't wait to get here myself!

 

[g2]

They gave me a yoke valve tank. Their web site says they use both K (presumably they mean yoke) and DIN valves, so I doubt you'll have a problem. You might contact them just to be sure.

An adapter, if needed, is easy to use.

 

[Peter69_56]

The difference between a DIN and yoke tank is that the DIN can be made into Yoke with a screw in insert. It looks like a plug with thread, thus when screwed in has a seat the same as a yoke valve. They can supply both. I think nearly all manufacturers are going for DIN with insert now as it covers all regs with one valve type.