Going to Puerto Vallarta

[spt29970]

I would second the "Vallarta Adventures" as an operation to avoid. We dove with them about a year ago (DM: Sabastian Melani) and they were nothing but trouble. The first sign was he didn't want to take us to any divable site on the first day (the better sites were further away and require they burn more gas to get to them). We left some of our equipment with them (BCs and wetsuits) to clean and store, and it came back molested (my wife had two octo holders on her BC; they removed the "extra" one because they figured it didn't belong there; when asked, it was returned immediately). At the end of the trip, they ran our credit cards for more money than the prenegotiated price and it eventually took the concierge at the Four Seasons we were staying at to resolve the issue with the dive folks.

I was on this trip too, and would like to add a couple of extra points. We were promised that we could dive Nitrox, but somehow the tanks never materialized. We told Sabastian that we needed a camera rinse tank, which he promised to provide, but all he had on board were a couple of bottles of drinking water to pour over the buttons. On one occasion, he left our group of four unattended in the water for 20 minutes. I don't need a nanny, but if you are paying for a DM, he should be in the water with you for the entire dive. Another thing that pissed me off was on the last day, when we had a couple of Mantas come up to us at El Morro, our idiot dive master scared them away by trying to "ride them." I really don't want the DM showing off by harassing the wildlife!

Add to this the overcharging of the credit cards, and I can definitely say that Sabastian was the worst dive master I have ever dealt with.

 

[pvscuba]

sorry to hear you guys had bad experiences with your Puerto Vallarta dives.
there are several shops in town that focus on diving only and operate smaller, more personalized trips.
Please look us up next time you come to town. We'll have your rinse tank on board and will provide the nitrox if that is your request.
regards
Alex from PVScuba

 

[Div3r]

Well guys i just got back and it was an awesome trip. I didnt get to go diving per say only because there was too much to do and not enough time to do it. I did however get to do snuba with my fiance, its kind of like diving but your limited to 20FT. it was ok we went to las marietas with the Geronimo whale watching tour. For sure i will go back and will spend the whole trip diving. I will def go with Leslie and Nacho, for you guys i am really sorry i didnt have time to get to you guys. the problem was i was with a big group and we had stuff to do, oh and the tequila had a little to do with it. We stayed at the Royal Decameron and i would def suggest this resort. its in Bucerias and they have the best food and entertainment for the price. The staff was amazing and they kept the drinks coming. All inclusive is the way to go. thanks for all the input!!!!!

 

[pylut]

The first time I went diving in PY three weeks ago I dove with Chico's Dive shop located on the Malecon. They were OK and the DM was good. I was the only one diving, the rest of the folks snorkeled. We went to Los Arcos on a pontoon type boat, about a 30 minute trip. I just returned from five day trip to PV and had the opportunity to dive on Monday. This time I dove with Alex Vega of PVScuba who I met through this forum. The cab ride from the Malecon was only about $8 and took 15 minutes. I realized I've stayed at the Westin across the street last year about this time, nice place. Alex had a better selection of wetsuits and his equipment looked newer and taken care of. I used a 7mm and hood with the water temp at 70 degrees and was comfortable. (I'm a weenie) That day they were diving Los Arcos but Alex said there are number of areas we could do that I may not have seen. With seven divers, Alex, another instructor and the Captain the ride from the Marina to Los Arcos was only 30 minutes (two 175hp motors). I liked the time they took briefing us about the dive, history and location. Alex uses steel tanks so I adjusted my weight accordingly. The first dive went great and the visibility wasn't bad. We had lunch, snacks and drinks (provided) while waiting to start the second dive. Dive two went great. On the way back we spotted whales jumping the distances so we stopped to watch for a while. Back at the marina Alex helped rinse my equipment and take care of the other clients. After all the equipment was taken care of Alex gave me a tour of the hotel and showed us the pool he does training in. We're coming back down for another five days on the 30th and two of the other pilots need to finish up some training. We're looking forward to diving with PVScuba again.