Sandals Dunn's River Jamaica

[njneer630]

I'm planning a trip to Dunn's River Sandals in April 09 to get married. I was happy to see they included 2 dives a day. Then I read that dving in Jamaica....well...sux. Is it that bad? Is there any place on the island that is good to dive?

 

[tamirph]

We have never been on that side of the island--most of our Jamaica dives were in Negril with a few in Montego Bay. We have stayed at Couples Negril for five trips and loved the diving there (partly because we were certified there)...we have also logged dives in Kauai, Hawaii, Scuba Club in Cozumel, Sandals Bahamas and Sandals Montego Bay. You will not get the best diving in Jamaica and you definitely will not get the best dive operators with Sandals...that being said, a day diving anywhere is better than a day working

We went to Sandals Bahamas for our honeymoon with the added benefit of getting to dive also. That trip was *okay*...we were limited in our dives to the least experience on the boat. There was more than one dive we only went to 15-20 ft. because a non-certified staff member was on board. We went to Montego Bay for our anniversary and to dive. We were very disappointed and I even skipped a dive which I have never done before. Since you are going to get married, I think you will enjoy getting a dive in here and there.

We are not experienced scuba divers....only have a little over 100 dives in. I think Sandals is a great place to go for a beach vacation where you can dive. We are now going to stick with dive vacations that might have a beach available.

Have a great time and a wonderful wedding!

 

[Belmont]

That's where I did my first dives.
It was good enough to get hooked on diving.
You can look up on Sandal's web site the different
dive sites they have for each resort.
I know there is a wreck dive that can be done from
the Dunn's river location. There was an instructor there
nicknamed Yogi, a funny guy.

Congrats on your wedding, it's a nice place and the diving
doesn't suck.

 

[kooper's pop]

Hi; I've been there two times. There are a couple very nice dives; one on a wreck and one thru a series of coral that are almost like tunnels. When I've been there they have two daily trips out (one around 8 and one around 10), and each are single tank dives. You have to be a little pushy to get on both trips, as they tend to steer experienced divers away from the first boat and use it mostly for the folks they have trained in their pool class.) I don't think the diving is spectacular, but it was plenty enjoyable, and since it's included, I figured I was making $75 bucks per trip back from the cost of the reservation! Anyway, nothing about Dunn's River sucks, i'd go back there in a heartbeat. You just have to learn to relate to the Jamaican's a bit, as they can come off a bit brash sometimes. Mostly they are just being direct.

Have fun!

 

[Phishie]

I got married Sept 13th at Sandals Negril where I got my OW cert. I don't have any previous diving to compare it to but it was really cool. Some of the divers I made friends with said it was nice though and we had one trip with 7-12 dolphins that came to play with us. (Which is rare there according to the Instructor) Lots of pretty fish, warm/clear water (only 1 week after a hurricane too!) and very cool coral.

 

[Big Orange Diver]

I am going to be there in December of this year and I can give you a report when I get back.

 

[Scuba One]

I ran the scuba/watersports at that resort before it was a Sandals. It was called Eden II (which dates me). They had the same format, as it was all-inclusive, couples only, with diving included in the package.

A couple of the dives that I remember as standing out are "The Mountain" which is a coral head that jets up from the wall at 100 feet to get within 60 feet of the surface. Another is an old anchor that sticks out of the coral to make for a great photo op.

Since the wall up to the "Mountain" starts at around 100 feet, if you missed the mountain you would be making a dive deeper than we liked to make. They probably have these spots better marked by now.

Here is a listing of the diving regulations for all Sandals Resorts written by the Sandals diving staff.

• Certified diver who have dive within 6 months can go straight to a dive, once he or she clear medical and show proof of dive e.g. Logbook with stamp authenticating the dive/s & depth. Dive Computer
• All diver/s that have not dive in 7 months and up must do a pool assessment of 4 skills.
• Certified diver/s that has not dive up to 18 months must do a refresher at a minimal cost.
• All diver/s below Dive Master Level must do a shallow dive before they (diver) can go on any deep dive.
• All diver/s that complete the shallow dive satisfactory will be able to do both deep and shallow dives daily

Once the requirements are met all certified divers can dive twice (2) per day seven days per week if they (Diver) so desire.

Sucba One Travel - Negril Jamaica Underwater photos

 

[jorgie]

Hey been to Dunns Rivers falls Sandals very nice. Dove mostly out of Ocho Rios though and just enjoyed the diving period. I was also certified in Jamaica just not at Sandals. I have done quite a bit of diving around Montego Bay and also enjoyed that.

What can I say that hasn't been said already, its not the Truk Lagoon or a U boat off of NC, but its warm and its wet

 

[Scuba One]

Here are the regulations for diving at either Sandals or Beaches resorts which was copied directly from the Sandals Watersports Director.

The under mention are need to know information. It is straight forward, and also standard throughout Sandals/Beaches Resorts

Certified diver who have dive within 6 months can go straight to a dive, once he or she clear medical and show proof of dive e.g. Logbook with stamp authenticating the dive/s & depth. Dive Computer

All diver/s that have not dive in 7 months and up must do a pool assessment of 4 skills.

Certified diver/s that has not dive up to 18 months must do a refresher at a minimal cost.

All diver/s below Dive Master Level must do a shallow dive before they (diver) can go on any deep dive.

All diver/s that complete the shallow dive satisfactory will be able to do both deep and shallow dives daily

Once the requirements are met all certified divers can dive twice (2) per day seven days per week if they (Diver) so desire.

All participants certified or non-certified diver/s MUST fill out a medical questionnaire before he or she can participate in recreational diving. This information is in case a medical clearance from a doctor may be needed for any medical condition including medication being taken. See (Caribbean Luxury Vacations at Sandals Resorts) to view medical statement

Sucba One Travel - Negril Jamaica Underwater photos

Scuba One Travel - Runaway Bay Jamaica Underwater Photos

 

[Joefri]

I just got back from the Grand Lido Braco on Jan 2 it's about 30 min west of Dunn's river falls. The farther away from negril, montego bay and ocho rios the better the diving. Along the north coast is the better diving, mostly because the amount of tourists is reduced, meaning less people with resort courses with no bouancy control who kick the crap out of the reefs.

That being said we saw alot of nice coral but also A LOT of fish traps, meaning don't expect to see a lot of the bigger species of fish, you'll still see the odd sea turtle, rays etc. but anything that can be eaten is eaten.

If you are from North America you probably have not seen or grown accustomed to the level of poverty in Jamaica, everyone is trying to make a buck. The unemployment rate in Jamaica is around 50%, and the greatest trade is tourism with Bauxite a close second. With the latest down turn with the American economy over 650 people were laid off from the resorts along the north coast. So when you hear your bus drivers and taxi drivers giving you the sob story about mouths to feed it's most likely not just a line, they probably do need the money and are probably trying to work more than one job at the same time.