Vanuatu Aug 2005

[KiltGirl]

Hi there, I am flying home from Thailand via Aussie, to Vanuatu and am spending about 4 days in Santo and the 6 nights on the Silent one. Can anyone recommend places to stay and who to dive with in Santo? And has anyone dived with SilentWorld?
Thanks in advance
KiltGirl

 

[Azza]

Hi there, I am flying home from Thailand via Aussie, to Vanuatu and am spending about 4 days in Santo and the 6 nights on the Silent one. Can anyone recommend places to stay and who to dive with in Santo? And has anyone dived with SilentWorld?
Thanks in advance
KiltGirl

Hi Kiltgirl

Santo is an awesome place although a little thrid world. I would recommend staying at the Deco Stop and diving with aquamarine. Barry at aquamarine is a great dive guide and knows the Coolidge inside and out.

 

[Wreckdiv]

Well here's an alternate opinion. I always stay at the Hotel Santo. The Deco Stop is up the hill from town. That gives the Deco Stop "sunset picture points". Both hotels have nice pools, good in-house restaurants, and great staff and management who like the dive crowd. So they are equal from all those points. But the Santo is right in town for shopping, picking up small items daily, and going to other restaurants easily. Deco is away from town. But, remember "in-town" by Vanuatu standards doesn't mean the same thing it does in Oz or the States regarding traffic, noise, etc. We usually do a dinner or two up at the Deco, and then prefer to stay at the Santo for the convenience the rest of the time. So that should be enough info for you to decide what is important to you and make a choice.

But diving - use Allan Power, period, end of discussion!! No one has as much experience diving the wreck as he does and the two operations are not even comparable in my mind.

 

[Azza]

But diving - use Allan Power, period, end of discussion!! No one has as much experience diving the wreck as he does and the two operations are not even comparable in my mind.

I am interested in why you say this? I dove with Aquamarine and had no problems with them and found Barry very knowledgable on both technical diving and the wreck itself.
On the other hand i have heard some scary stories about the other operation.
Have you personal experience of the two operations and can you explain why you would take Powers over Aquamarine?

 

[joanna]

Wreckdiv is right, it's not an exciting town by any standard - in fact people have frequently described it as a cemetry with the lights left on! which isn't very kind. however it also has it's beautiful spots.

not necessarily for diving, but may I recommend a visit to Champagne beach? Just check that it's not on a day when the cruise ship disgorges 2000 tourists onto its beach... There's also a nice quiet reef with lots of colour a few km out, but you'd probably need a canoe to get to it However, my experience is limited to snorkelling it.

this is only my 2nd post so hope i dont get busted for talking 'non-dive'. heheh

joanna

ps. does anyone know if Bokissa Island resort is still operating? they did a lot of diving out there.

 

[Wreckdiv]

Regarding dive operators, I would say they both run safe and efficient operations. The basis for my statement to use Allan, period, is that NO ONE on the island has as much experience or knows as much about the Coolidge. And that's why you go there - for the Coolidge!! So if you are into wrecks and want an operator who knows your destination inside and out and has nearly 40 years of experience on the Collidge, go with Allan.

Joanna - even divers have to have their "non-dive" day before flights, so you won't get busted...

Champagne Beach is a nice visit on a non-diving non-cruiseship day. For the more adventurous there is a guide that is running some interesting hikes to cave and waterfalls on the island. On our last two visits we used our final non-diving day for a boat ride over to Bokissa and spent the day there. The nearly perfect pink-white sand and turquoise blue water will make this one of the most beautiful places you will ever go. They will do a day package where you can hang out in their pool, snorkel, kayak, sail, or hike. There is a poolside bar which is a feature we really liked!! And if you are not from Oz and can collect shells - well, it's a shell collectors paradise. The lunch has always been excellent as well. Here's their website www.bokissa.vu

The owner of the Hotel Santo (Mary Jane) called over there and set up the trip for us, so I'm sure if you choose the Deco Stop they could do the same for you. If you chose a smaller hotel who won't accomodate that request, then either of the dive operations could set it up for you as well.

 

[pmforster]

I stayed at the Hotel Santo and dived with Allan Powers. I enjoyed both. Allan has created a small coral garden at the deco stop area when you come up from the Coolidge, which gives you lots of nice things to look at while you hang around. It's a nice touch after an awesome dive.

Best wishes

Peter Forster