I haven't found any reliable in-depth dive reports on Antigua, so let me offer information from my recent trip to Sandals Antigua. Since Scubaboard.com won't let me post this as one big post, I'll break it up into two. The first discusses general scuba info and general resort info for anyone considering staying at Sandals Antigua. Part 2 will discuss specific scuba experiences (http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1772941).
This applies to dives made from April 17, 2006 to April 20, 2006.
This was my first trip to a Caribbean destination, so take my review for what it's worth and not as a comparision to other Caribbean spots.
Thanks to MaraGirl for hooking me up with Carlo at Antigua Scuba Center in English Harbor.
-------------------------
Diving in General
My impression as a new Caribbean diver was that Antigua is a nice place for any diver to get wet and see some cool fish. On the side of the island where Sandals is located, most of the coral is brown or bleached out, which is the result of hurricane damage from the mid-1990s as I understand it. When we dove on the other side of the island outside of English harbor, everything seemed to be much healthier. The difference is that out of English harbor we dove boulder fields and large fissures that didn't have significant coral formation anyways, but I don't think coral on this side suffered any damage. On the Sandals side, you dive primarily coral formations, so the harm to the reef is striking. Some dives had very healthy fish populations, while others didn't.
Having not been to other islands in the area, I don't know how the comparison to Antigua is. I understand, however, that other islands are significantly better. My recommendation, therefore, is to focus on Sandals as the destination and the diving as an afterthough perhaps. In other words, go to Sandals Antigua for Sandals Antigua (it's a nice resort; more on that later), and get wet as an added bonus. I was very happy with the diving, but you would probably do better elsewhere. Check out the next post ("Trip Report: Sandals Antigua {pt 1)") for detailed dive reports.
The dive boat at Sandals was well maintained and very comfortable. All dives are guided through Sandals, but that wasn't much of a problem. Also, you generally don't know where you're going until you get underway on the boat. The staff was nice, and the loaner gear seemed adequate. We brought everything except tanks and weights, so I didn't use the gear first hand. Nevertheless, those who dove on it seemed not to have any problems. You might want to think about bringing mouthpiece sanitizer though; lots of mouths hit the regs. The resort uses octos and generally seems concerned about safety. They let certified divers have a little more freedom than uncertified (resort) divers, and safety stops are generally required for most dives (though not in very shallow places).
BIG (!!!!!!!!) RECOMMENDATION: one of the first things you should do when you arrive is to go to the watersports booth and sign up for every dive you want to do during the week. Spots go fast, but at least they let you book in advance. We missed diving our first full day there because we hadn't booked upon arrival. I would also recommend booking for a free snorkeling trip or two during the 24 hours before you depart. Since you can't dive before you fly (they won't let you, even if you want to), go enjoy the snorkeling. It wasn't world class, but it was fun.
Diving is done in two ways: 1) as two one-tank dives, or 2) as one two-tank trip. For the days where they do two single tank dives, you'll need to reserve for each trip out. For the double, you'll reserve just once for the trip out. We only did one two-tank session through Sandals, so I can't speak for every trip like this, but on ours they did provide sandwiches and sodas for the surface interval between dives. Water was always present on every dive via an Igloo cooler.
All in all, I would say that diving through Sandals Antigua is a pleasurable experience and anyone who isn't a dive snob should enjoy themselves. If nothing else, the water was warm (80+ on all but one dive), the viz was good, and it's free(!), so just swimming around is fun.
We saw plenty of cool fish, including sharks, giant puffers, countless colorful reef fish, large rays, lobsters, eels, and so on. People reported seeing turtles on dives as well, although I can't verify that. I don't think you can go wrong diving with Sandals Antigua, although you can probably do better.
On one day, we headed over to Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbor as mentioned and dove with the Antigua Scuba Center (http://www.antiguascuba.com/). There were a couple of cancellations, so it was only myself, my better half, and Carlo, the owner. Carlo was a really good guy, and all of their gear seemed top notch. Again, we dove on everything of our own except tanks and weights, so I can't vouch for their gear personally. Nevertheless, observing it visually and talking to Carlo about maintenance work, it seemed as though everything was in good shape. The boat was small but comfortable. Entry and exit was a breeze.
The diving here was spectacular. Unfortunately, we only made two dives here, so I can't speak for all spots on this side of the island, but I was really impressed by what I saw. The visibility was better than on the Sandals side, and the terrain was more striking. Everything was more plentiful and healthier. Perhaps the best part about diving the two spots we did is that they're less than 5 minutes outside of the harbor. Carlo got us underway and almost immediately said "well, we're here". It was nice.
I'm kind of new to diving (only about 30 dives made) and brand new to warm water diving, but I would say that the dives out of English Harbor will probably be some of the most powerful dive memories I'll ever have. I kind of had one of those movie moments wherein the hero cowboy rides up the hill and comes across a stunning valley and river below. Cue the orchestra and the morning birds, and everyone tears up in the theatre. That's how I felt diving the places we did here. Spectacular.
The one downside to diving this side of the island is that you have to make the drive from Sandals. If you've ever made a trip to a nation without American or Western European infrastructure, you know what road trips can be like. One moment we're dodging kids and stopped cars on the road, the next we're rounding the corner in a pretty valley and have to slam on the breaks because a herd of goats is in the road. Our cabbie was good and did a better job of the drive than the airport cabbies do, but you can't always escape the chaos. That said, I would wholeheartedly recommend making the trip. It's worth it. Cab fair was $30 US each way, so have cash available. Tip well enough, and the cabbie will come back to pick you up at a time you set. The diving was $80 US per person for a two-tank dive, which seemed fairly reasonable. Maybe a little high compared to what I'm used to here in SoCal, but worth the money IMO. Pay cash; it's easier.
------------------------
Resort Info
A few quick notes about the resort: First off, it's a nice, quiet resort. If you're looking for night life, this isn't the place. The resort does have entertainment, but no "real" night life to speak of in terms of good clubs or vibrant bars. The restaurants are nice, the food is good, and the free bars throughout the resort are excellent. There are three restaurants that you have to make reservations for, and they're the best food (except for the OK Corral, which has average western fair). You can only make reservations a day in advance--no sooner and no later--so make dinner reservations as soon as you can when you wake up, otherwise you'll be out of luck. If you miss these restaurants, the main restaurant has good food and excellent buffets, so you won't be too sorry if you miss the reservation restaurants.
Our room was clean and nice, though the construction on the far right side of the resort (looking from the ocean inland) will bother you if you're very near it. We were close enough to hear it on the right side, but not close enough to be bothered by it.
Some women were topless on the beach and at some of the more private pools, so if this sort of thing bothers you, this might not be the resort for you. On the other hand, if you're a woman who wants topless sunbathing, or will be travelling with a female who enjoys it, this might not be the place for you either. Toplessness is condoned, but not encouraged. The amount of it shouldn't bother anyone, but the scarcity of it might put you off if that's what you want to do as a female.
I wholeheartedly recommend this resort, although if you're looking for world class night life or diving, I'd look elsewhere. The price was decent, the food was good, the accomodations were nice, the diving was fair to good, and the A/C worked when we needed it to. All in all, a great place to spend a week. If you have any more questions, pm me; I'm happy to help.
Don't forget to check out part 2 for detailed dive reports (http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1772941).
This applies to dives made from April 17, 2006 to April 20, 2006.
This was my first trip to a Caribbean destination, so take my review for what it's worth and not as a comparision to other Caribbean spots.
Thanks to MaraGirl for hooking me up with Carlo at Antigua Scuba Center in English Harbor.
-------------------------
Diving in General
My impression as a new Caribbean diver was that Antigua is a nice place for any diver to get wet and see some cool fish. On the side of the island where Sandals is located, most of the coral is brown or bleached out, which is the result of hurricane damage from the mid-1990s as I understand it. When we dove on the other side of the island outside of English harbor, everything seemed to be much healthier. The difference is that out of English harbor we dove boulder fields and large fissures that didn't have significant coral formation anyways, but I don't think coral on this side suffered any damage. On the Sandals side, you dive primarily coral formations, so the harm to the reef is striking. Some dives had very healthy fish populations, while others didn't.
Having not been to other islands in the area, I don't know how the comparison to Antigua is. I understand, however, that other islands are significantly better. My recommendation, therefore, is to focus on Sandals as the destination and the diving as an afterthough perhaps. In other words, go to Sandals Antigua for Sandals Antigua (it's a nice resort; more on that later), and get wet as an added bonus. I was very happy with the diving, but you would probably do better elsewhere. Check out the next post ("Trip Report: Sandals Antigua {pt 1)") for detailed dive reports.
The dive boat at Sandals was well maintained and very comfortable. All dives are guided through Sandals, but that wasn't much of a problem. Also, you generally don't know where you're going until you get underway on the boat. The staff was nice, and the loaner gear seemed adequate. We brought everything except tanks and weights, so I didn't use the gear first hand. Nevertheless, those who dove on it seemed not to have any problems. You might want to think about bringing mouthpiece sanitizer though; lots of mouths hit the regs. The resort uses octos and generally seems concerned about safety. They let certified divers have a little more freedom than uncertified (resort) divers, and safety stops are generally required for most dives (though not in very shallow places).
BIG (!!!!!!!!) RECOMMENDATION: one of the first things you should do when you arrive is to go to the watersports booth and sign up for every dive you want to do during the week. Spots go fast, but at least they let you book in advance. We missed diving our first full day there because we hadn't booked upon arrival. I would also recommend booking for a free snorkeling trip or two during the 24 hours before you depart. Since you can't dive before you fly (they won't let you, even if you want to), go enjoy the snorkeling. It wasn't world class, but it was fun.
Diving is done in two ways: 1) as two one-tank dives, or 2) as one two-tank trip. For the days where they do two single tank dives, you'll need to reserve for each trip out. For the double, you'll reserve just once for the trip out. We only did one two-tank session through Sandals, so I can't speak for every trip like this, but on ours they did provide sandwiches and sodas for the surface interval between dives. Water was always present on every dive via an Igloo cooler.
All in all, I would say that diving through Sandals Antigua is a pleasurable experience and anyone who isn't a dive snob should enjoy themselves. If nothing else, the water was warm (80+ on all but one dive), the viz was good, and it's free(!), so just swimming around is fun.
We saw plenty of cool fish, including sharks, giant puffers, countless colorful reef fish, large rays, lobsters, eels, and so on. People reported seeing turtles on dives as well, although I can't verify that. I don't think you can go wrong diving with Sandals Antigua, although you can probably do better.On one day, we headed over to Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbor as mentioned and dove with the Antigua Scuba Center (http://www.antiguascuba.com/). There were a couple of cancellations, so it was only myself, my better half, and Carlo, the owner. Carlo was a really good guy, and all of their gear seemed top notch. Again, we dove on everything of our own except tanks and weights, so I can't vouch for their gear personally. Nevertheless, observing it visually and talking to Carlo about maintenance work, it seemed as though everything was in good shape. The boat was small but comfortable. Entry and exit was a breeze.
The diving here was spectacular. Unfortunately, we only made two dives here, so I can't speak for all spots on this side of the island, but I was really impressed by what I saw. The visibility was better than on the Sandals side, and the terrain was more striking. Everything was more plentiful and healthier. Perhaps the best part about diving the two spots we did is that they're less than 5 minutes outside of the harbor. Carlo got us underway and almost immediately said "well, we're here". It was nice.
I'm kind of new to diving (only about 30 dives made) and brand new to warm water diving, but I would say that the dives out of English Harbor will probably be some of the most powerful dive memories I'll ever have. I kind of had one of those movie moments wherein the hero cowboy rides up the hill and comes across a stunning valley and river below. Cue the orchestra and the morning birds, and everyone tears up in the theatre. That's how I felt diving the places we did here. Spectacular.
The one downside to diving this side of the island is that you have to make the drive from Sandals. If you've ever made a trip to a nation without American or Western European infrastructure, you know what road trips can be like. One moment we're dodging kids and stopped cars on the road, the next we're rounding the corner in a pretty valley and have to slam on the breaks because a herd of goats is in the road. Our cabbie was good and did a better job of the drive than the airport cabbies do, but you can't always escape the chaos. That said, I would wholeheartedly recommend making the trip. It's worth it. Cab fair was $30 US each way, so have cash available. Tip well enough, and the cabbie will come back to pick you up at a time you set. The diving was $80 US per person for a two-tank dive, which seemed fairly reasonable. Maybe a little high compared to what I'm used to here in SoCal, but worth the money IMO. Pay cash; it's easier.
------------------------
Resort Info
A few quick notes about the resort: First off, it's a nice, quiet resort. If you're looking for night life, this isn't the place. The resort does have entertainment, but no "real" night life to speak of in terms of good clubs or vibrant bars. The restaurants are nice, the food is good, and the free bars throughout the resort are excellent. There are three restaurants that you have to make reservations for, and they're the best food (except for the OK Corral, which has average western fair). You can only make reservations a day in advance--no sooner and no later--so make dinner reservations as soon as you can when you wake up, otherwise you'll be out of luck. If you miss these restaurants, the main restaurant has good food and excellent buffets, so you won't be too sorry if you miss the reservation restaurants.
Our room was clean and nice, though the construction on the far right side of the resort (looking from the ocean inland) will bother you if you're very near it. We were close enough to hear it on the right side, but not close enough to be bothered by it.
Some women were topless on the beach and at some of the more private pools, so if this sort of thing bothers you, this might not be the resort for you. On the other hand, if you're a woman who wants topless sunbathing, or will be travelling with a female who enjoys it, this might not be the place for you either. Toplessness is condoned, but not encouraged. The amount of it shouldn't bother anyone, but the scarcity of it might put you off if that's what you want to do as a female.
I wholeheartedly recommend this resort, although if you're looking for world class night life or diving, I'd look elsewhere. The price was decent, the food was good, the accomodations were nice, the diving was fair to good, and the A/C worked when we needed it to. All in all, a great place to spend a week. If you have any more questions, pm me; I'm happy to help.
Don't forget to check out part 2 for detailed dive reports (http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1772941).
