Jamaica ... Has it gotten better ???

[Tuckster]

Wife & I would really love to visit a Hedonism but the diving is priority 1 for us both. Not willing to trade off diving for the beautiful beaches however, I've seen a few posts where some folks were impressed with the diving. We were in Curacao in Jan. (low vis) but loved it & I'm sure Jamaica has a tough time comparing under but I've heard it's fantastic topside.
Any comments suggestions are welcome especially those that have been there recently.

Thanks

 

[Jamdiver]

Hey Tuckster,
Question when were you last here and where did you dive?
You're sure to get some advice from members who've travelled here recently and which hotels to patronise.
I'd suggest hotels in Montego Bay or better yet Negril.
Coral cover is fairly healthy in those areas, don't expect though to see huge fish! You'll see a large diversity of fish though.
Check out my post for more info.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=94128&highlight=Jamaica

 

[del_mo]

Jam...I read your Jamaica dive highlights and didn't see anything about Runaway Bay. Is that because there isn't much up there?

 

[Tuckster]

Never been to Jamaica & I'm totally confused. Sounds like some folks like it & others don't. I'm concerned someone that dove it 5 -10 years ago may be giving Jamaica a bad name when its really pretty good diving. I know it won't be a Cozumel but I do plan to dive daily probably out of Hedo II.

Thanks for the reply

 

[Jamdiver]

Jam...I read your Jamaica dive highlights and didn't see anything about Runaway Bay. Is that because there isn't much up there?

No, no they're plenty of sites up there, I just haven't dived there yet personally.
Runaway Bay is just a stone's throw from Discovery Bay from which a local university has a lab and decades of research on Coral Reef's have been done.

Anyway I found a local dive op with some rather interesting descriptions of sites in the area. Read at your peril, some of the information about shore diving to me seems erroneous. I've done plenty of shore dives from a site a few kilometers west of there.
http://www.jamaqua.com/Diving.html

FDR runaway bay has nitrox and runs nitrox courses too I think.

 

[SDNetGeek]

Wife & I would really love to visit a Hedonism but the diving is priority 1 for us both. Not willing to trade off diving for the beautiful beaches however, I've seen a few posts where some folks were impressed with the diving. We were in Curacao in Jan. (low vis) but loved it & I'm sure Jamaica has a tough time comparing under but I've heard it's fantastic topside.
Any comments suggestions are welcome especially those that have been there recently.

Thanks

Old info here but another data point: my wife and I were at Sandal's Ocho Rios in Sept '97 and were underwhelmed with the dive sites. Vis was <50ft, coral was pretty sparse but there were a good number of fish. OK, but not great.

Topside, Jamaica is a blast! *Really* nice folks, lots to do, just genuinely a good time. I hope someone with newer info on the NE coast will reply too...

 

[DiveMaster176493]

hedo at negril would be the choice. couples negril if you want some clothes both have fantastic large diveboat,s excellent 6 star rating prime beach locations.
vis is closer to 90 ft plus lots of reef fish and nursesharks, stingrays, rockfish etc.. see my gallery taken april.

only thing better then the diving are the sunsets they are spectacular,,,,,:bravo:

 

[Jamdiver]

Very very nice pics DiveMaster, the closeup shot of the nurse shark brings back memories of a dive I did .
BTW, is the pebbles shot (http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/20582/cat/500/page/4 )
from a dive site called Spanish Anchor in Montego Bay?

 

[DeepBlueResort]

Sorry

I have to Disagree I have dived all around the Caribbean and Jamaica was one of the worse.

 

[bgi]

Been to Jamaica (Kingston working). I didn't see the "tourist" spots. My 3-word review: "armpit of the carribean". Didn't dive. Couldn't get out of there fast enough. Did bring home some coffee. That was a plus. If I had a nickel for every Jamiacan that stood in front of me smoking weed asking me to take him to a bar and buy him a beer... Sheesh, did I really look that stupid? (checking mirror)