Jamaica - who to dive with, and where?

[DiverDebbie]

Thanks again. Getting excited about warm, clear water now! ...5 weeks today
Finding web sites for diving in Jamaica is a bit sketchy, but I've sent out a few emails, including to SunDivers. So we'll see if we can arrange a trip to Negril. Otherwise I'm sure we'll enjoy just Montego Bay.

 

[Jamdiver]

Thought this would be useful, here's a link to my gallery showing underwater photos from Jamaica.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisgordon/sets/

 

[DiverDebbie]

Wow! Thanks for sharing Chris. Those are some great shots. I really enjoyed them all, topside and underwater

 

[LindaBluedolphin]

Debbie how was your trip, any thoughts you would like to share?

 

[DiverDebbie]

Debbie how was your trip, any thoughts you would like to share?

hi Linda. This is my first time back on SB since we returned from Jamaica. We had a fabulous trip We found Jamaica to be a great destination for a relaxing beach vacation in the sun. The weather was perfect - not too humid, with nice light breezes, lots of sunshine, and NO bugs. Our resort in MoBay was great - incredible view from our room, uncrowded, friendly staff and close to the Hip Strip. It wasn't a problem at all wandering off the resort. We found the Jamaicans to be very friendly, rather than aggressive, especially when compared to other destinations.
As for the diving, well, it was so down-played before we went that it turned out to be better than I expected. It certainly is fished, and we even saw local fishermen snorkeling for a living. It certainly wasn't as alive with live as other locations, and we didn't see any "big stuff" (the wale sharks or turtles the other guy was mentioning he saw but there was still lots to see (certainly more so than around here!). The water was 82 and the viz. was great. We even watched a ray hanging around in the resort lights close to shore one evening. The reef was right there so we did some snorkeling <gasp! say it isn't so!> from the beach too.
Since this was never intended as a dive trip, we opted to just dive through the resort for sheer convenience. The sites were mintues from shore, but the best part was the fact that no one else seemed to ever be diving. We dove New Year's morning and it was just the 2 of us with our guide plus the boat captain. 2 days later we dove again and there was one other guy along, but that's because he'd been buddied with beginners so we invited him along for a better dive. We dove a nice little wall. We also did a great night dive, again with just the 2 of us and our guide.
Oh... and my boyfriend proposed ...so we are considering going back to Jamaica... for our wedding and honeymoon

 

[LindaBluedolphin]

First of all WOW, best wishes to you on the pending marriage.

Thanks for the update, I am still trying to figure out where to make a timeshare request, but this certainly helps!

 

[Willar]

Congrats on the impending nuptials! Glad to hear you had a good time. Where did you stay? Who did you dive with? How were the divemansters?

 

[DiverDebbie]

Thanks We're both very excited

Since I have only done 1 trip to Jamaica, and didn't get to Negril this time, I am unfortunately not very qualified to give advice about your time share. I would check out not only tripadvisor, but also this site: http://www.debbiescaribbeanresortreviews.com/jamaica/jamrevind.html
Of course you always have to take everything with a grain of salt. I find some people seem to expect far too much and are never satisfied, while others, like myself, are closer to the other end of the spectrum

The resort we stayed at in Montego Bay was the Royal Decameron Montego Beach. It's a smaller resort, but we liked this about it. The food selection wasn't the best, but we were fine with it. The uncrowded beach with warm, clear water and little wave action, yummy drinks, friendly service, and amazing view from our huge balcony, made up for it. It's location right at the edge of the Hip Strip was a bonus too... no cabs to take. Plus it was incredibly cheap compared to some of the huge crowded resorts that don't even have rooms with views (unless you pay an arm and a leg)

Our guide for the dives was Vincent. I'm not sure what level he's at, but at least OWSI. He's certainly not a kid, and has years of experience. He did take a conch or 2, which he did give to a female co-worker for dinner. (Did I mention min. wage in Jamaica is $40 US/week?) Nice guy... and cautious, but if you proved to have some experience he'd take you to better sites. The boat was just a small, wood, glass bottom tour boat, and for dive 2 they had taken the ladder off!!! This was about as opposite as Maui dive shops nice big boats, but then again... in Jamaica we had private boat dives! That wouldn't happen in Maui!

 

[nhaone]

Willar: found you again
Diver Debbie: We are going in april to the RDM, what an omen. Would like more info on the dive op you used. Also, any suggestions. And congrats!

 

[chauncy19]

Did some diving in MoBay around 1985. Great visibility, interesting coral but not much fish life as I remember it. Did enjoy it. I did go to Negril in the 70's. Didn't dive then but enjoyed snorkeling there. Have fond memories of Jamaica and have interest in going back. If I did I&#8217;d probably be interested in going back to Negril and staying on the cliffs. The beach scene even back then was too intense for me. Interested in any info about Negril places to stay and who what and where of diving there. thanks for sharing your trip Debbie