San Andreas / Providencia recommendations

[ScubaSamScubaStevesFather]

Hello,

Have a trip coming up in a few weeks to San Andreas and am interested in doing a 4 dive per day package for the week, however most of the places I’ve found only do two boat dives in the morning. Can anyone recommend any dive shops either on San Andreas or the smaller island providencia?

Huge huge preference if the scuba shop is part of a private-ish hotel with a beach.

 

[Jafo19D]

Hello,

Have a trip coming up in a few weeks to San Andreas and am interested in doing a 4 dive per day package for the week, however most of the places I’ve found only do two boat dives in the morning. Can anyone recommend any dive shops either on San Andreas or the smaller island providencia?

Huge huge preference if the scuba shop is part of a private-ish hotel with a beach.

For San Andrés I recommend Scuba San Andrés. They have 4 rooms if you want to stay there. No beach though. The owner’s name is Moisés and his number is +57 (311) 257-5511. I dive in San Andrés quite a bit and they are the operator I always dive with. I did a night dive with them where I was the only customer and I’ve seen them offer the same to other solo divers or couples. Their rooms are very comfortable and one’s lucky with the internet (the island is notorious for bad internet).

In Providencia I have always dived with Sonny’s but last time I was a bit disappointed. One good thing about Sonny’s is that he doesn’t feed the sharks and there really is no need to because you will see them on just about every dive without baiting. One hotel I loved and that had a beach was Miss Mary but it was destroyed in the hurricane. When I was there in January it looked like they were just about finished with rebuilding the place. The front is probably still destroyed but they have cool horse races along that beach and in the mornings you’ll see people taking the horses into the water to wash them off.

 

[Jafo19D]

For San Andrés I recommend Scuba San Andrés. They have 4 rooms if you want to stay there. No beach though. The owner’s name is Moisés and his number is +57 (311) 257-5511. I dive in San Andrés quite a bit and they are the operator I always dive with. I did a night dive with them where I was the only customer and I’ve seen them offer the same to other solo divers or couples. Their rooms are very comfortable and one’s lucky with the internet (the island is notorious for bad internet).

In Providencia I have always dived with Sonny’s but last time I was a bit disappointed. One good thing about Sonny’s is that he doesn’t feed the sharks and there really is no need to because you will see them on just about every dive without baiting. One hotel I loved and that had a beach was Miss Mary but it was destroyed in the hurricane. When I was there in January it looked like they were just about finished with rebuilding the place. The front is probably still destroyed but they have cool horse races along that beach and in the mornings you’ll see people taking the horses into the water to wash them off.

I forgot to add that Moisés is pretty accommodating and he might be able to fit you in for 4 dives/day

 

[ilovecolours]

For San Andrés I recommend Scuba San Andrés. They have 4 rooms if you want to stay there. No beach though. The owner’s name is Moisés and his number is +57 (311) 257-5511. I dive in San Andrés quite a bit and they are the operator I always dive with. I did a night dive with them where I was the only customer and I’ve seen them offer the same to other solo divers or couples. Their rooms are very comfortable and one’s lucky with the internet (the island is notorious for bad internet).

In Providencia I have always dived with Sonny’s but last time I was a bit disappointed. One good thing about Sonny’s is that he doesn’t feed the sharks and there really is no need to because you will see them on just about every dive without baiting. One hotel I loved and that had a beach was Miss Mary but it was destroyed in the hurricane. When I was there in January it looked like they were just about finished with rebuilding the place. The front is probably still destroyed but they have cool horse races along that beach and in the mornings you’ll see people taking the horses into the water to wash them off.

I did my AOW with Sonny's in 2019 and found them to be professional, but maybe things have changed since then. As part of the course, I did my first night. I was very nervous about diving at night and not seeing anything, but it wasn't that dark, probably because it wasn't a deep dive and the moon might have been fairly full. If people want to try a not so dark dive as a first night dive, then Providencia could be for you and Sonny's may be a good option.

 

[ScubaSamScubaStevesFather]

Follow up:

I went to San Andreas, then immediately booked a flight to Providencia; the poor diving logistics plus ****** beach experience was a huge turn off. Really glad I did that, however…

Stay the **** away from Sirius dive shop. Made a huge mistake going there. There is a dive shop called Anda Di Wata that I did once I realized how bad Sirius was, so I went there halfway through and it was probably the best boutique dive op in my 20+ years of Caribbean diving.

 

[Jafo19D]

Follow up:

I went to San Andreas, then immediately booked a flight to Providencia; the poor diving logistics plus ****** beach experience was a huge turn off. Really glad I did that, however…

Stay the **** away from Sirius dive shop. Made a huge mistake going there. There is a dive shop called Anda Di Wata that I did once I realized how bad Sirius was, so I went there halfway through and it was probably the best boutique dive op in my 20+ years of Caribbean diving.

I heard Anda Di Wata (oh now I understand the name lol) was good. What did you like about them and how much did they charge ?

 

[ScubaSamScubaStevesFather]

I heard Anda Di Wata (oh now I understand the name lol) was good. What did you like about them and how much did they charge ?

Easiest answer is to read their google reviews. I think they literally have a solid 5/5 with over 100 reviews, which I’ve never seen

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I heard Anda Di Wata (oh now I understand the name lol) was good. What did you like about them and how much did they charge ?

Halbert and Sandra are just naturally beautiful and positive people. they care about the ocean and their community. they have gone out of their way to promote local people to DM and boat captains. Halbert grew up on Providencia. Sandra's love of the ocean and its critters is palpable.

I will forever be drawn back to Providencia.

 

[Bellen14]

Halbert and Sandra are just naturally beautiful and positive people. they care about the ocean and their community. they have gone out of their way to promote local people to DM and boat captains. Halbert grew up on Providencia. Sandra's love of the ocean and its critters is palpable.

I will forever be drawn back to Providencia.

What is the condition of the reefs there? How is it faring compared to the rest of the Caribbean, is there much coral bleaching and algae?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

What is the condition of the reefs there? How is it faring compared to the rest of the Caribbean, is there much coral bleaching and algae?

I haven't been in a couple of years (going back this Christmas, though) but when I was there and according to my friends who live there, there was very little bleaching and the fishies were healthy and abundant. There are always black and white tip reef sharks cruising around which is always a good sign.

Let me know what your plans are (how you prefer to stay, what kind of dive op you like, classes, food, etc.) and I will do my best to give you some insights.

It is one of my favorite places on earth and I am happy to share it.... to a point, of course. I would weep if it ever turned into another Isla Mujeres.