going to ambergris cay

[justadyver]

I am going to ambergris cay in May. group of 4. We are all experienced divers ( all + 500 dives-all 20+ years). who should we dive with? would prefer very small group.

thanks for any feedback.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

I was in San Pedro a couple years back and dove with Amigos del Mar. I was very happy with the service and the DMs. The boats were in excellent shape; fast with outboard twins. We were permitted to dive our own profiles, buddy pairs, as long as we displayed adequate abilities (1000+ dives...not a problem). There are lots of options in the area, more than 10, so hopefully you get some more posts with different experiences.

 

[jc60625]

I was there in '05 and we dove with Bottom Time for local diving and then they partnered with Amigos Del Mar for the offshore stuff (atolls, etc). i thought both shops were great, the BT crew had small boats and small groups for the local dives.

 

[peterbj7]

The dive centre most likely to let you do your own thing is IMO Island Divers. The owner Rudy Duran was the DM at Bottom Time that most people went there for.

I would have thought Amigos is perhaps the least likely.

 

[Pimdiver]

My husband and myself have been two years in a row and had absolutely wonderful experiences with Chuck and Robbies. Small boats...small groups...dive your profile. PM for more info if interested.

Mitzi

 

[ROMO DIVER]

My wife and I were there in 2003 for our honeymoon and stayed/dived at Ramon's Village. We loved it and mostly had the boat to ourselves for the reef dives. Ramon's is owned by a couple in Laurel, MS and I like supporting them as well. As for the crew, all DM's and Captians were great and would hold your hand or let you go on your own as you wanted. Highly recommend unless someone else who has been there more recently can say otherwise.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

The dive centre most likely to let you do your own thing is IMO Island Divers. The owner Rudy Duran was the DM at Bottom Time that most people went there for.

I would have thought Amigos is perhaps the least likely.

It could be because we had our own group (our local club - SWODA) and we had a DM with several experienced divers. The more experienced divers were in one boat and the newbs in another. We were pretty well left to do what we wanted. Maybe this isn't indicative of their normal practices. Their DM was in the water with us but paid little attention to us - just the way we liked it.

 

[Caxy Diver]

4 dive centers come to mind for small groups. Island Divers, Ecologic divers,Chuck and robbies and Ramons. all are located south. If you are north I would also consider adding White sands dive center to the list. All are top notch companies with some of the finest divemasters anywhere.
It is difficult to let you 4 do what ever you want as there are others that might be on the boat/dive with different experience level. Most diving here is done as a drift diving. The boats will tie up to the mooring bouy and then release after all the divers are in the water and follow your bubbles.
You need to request to have you own divemaster if you want to be alone. Be prepared to pay a little extra for that service. Most shops will try to accommodate your request during that period of time.