Trip Report - Nassau, Bahamas November 23-28, 2005

[LindaBluedolphin]

Bahamas Diving Operators

Remember, one doesn't have to settle for a cattle boat. There are many individual boat guide owners that dive who can tailor a specific itinerary.

While I don't disagree with you much depends on where you go. In the case of Nassau there are only 2 viable operators. I checked out both, talked to both prior to booking, both were very similar. The 3rd major player there closed earlier this year, all the smaller ones I found traces of were either bad url's or dead email addys.

The same could be said for many places, I love diving West Palm Beach and Myrtle Beach but the dive shops all book with the same cattle boat operators (who I won't dive with for reasons beyond them being cattle boats), so I have taken to going alone vs. the heard, which is not my first choice, but at least I can dive with operators I think cut muster. I guess it depends on what you are willing to do. I seldom dive with the biggest and most well known, bigger does not mean better.

 

[WOODMAN]

The same could be said for many places, I love diving West Palm Beach and Myrtle Beach but the dive shops all book with the same cattle boat operators (who I won't dive with for reasons beyond them being cattle boats), so I have taken to going alone vs. the heard, which is not my first choice, but at least I can dive with operators I think cut muster. I guess it depends on what you are willing to do. I seldom dive with the biggest and most well known, bigger does not mean better.

I guess that this is why we have gone to liveaboards when visiting the Bahamas. The Cat Ppalau out of Nassau was a blast, and they never tried to micromanage your dives. The other operators we have used were not based in Nassau, but that is where Blackbeard is basing all of their vessels now, and I hear there are one or two others. Visiting the island itself was not that important to us, as we came for the diving.