Which Scuba Destinations Do You Consider Rather Dangerous?

[drrich2]

Hi:

The idea for this thread came when BowlOfPetunias posted in another and described a PNG trip. I'd heard PNG mentioned often in the scuba hobby in glowing terms as a wondrous far away exotic dive destination, one of the true greats in scuba diving. I'd never heard the topside was scary. Here's the post I'm talking about:

The other things that need to be considered of course are security and safety. PNG was an eye opener for me. Armed security guards patrolling the airport. Our hotel was 100M from the airport but sent a van to pick us up because it wasn't safe to walk it. The chain link fences topped with barbed wire around most places and all but the poorest homes (homes is an exaggeration).

Research research research folks. I never felt unsafe because we were going somewhere I knew a friend had been before. We were dealing with a top level resort catering in particular to American dive tourism. They had security covering us everywhere. Sad reality is you just don't want to strike out on your own in some of those third world countries. Check how many tourists are kidnapped and held for ransom in some of those places.

We went into a pizza place under our Hotel in Port Moresby and when we came out a fellow coming towards us stopped to say HI. Two security guards moved in to our sides to ask if he was bothering us. We had some untouched pizza which we gave to the security guards as we left. Likely the only meal they got that day the wages were so bad!

At Tawalli resort the staff was excellent, the service great but it took two days to be able to get anything in from town. There was a generator failure one evening. I opened the door to our cabin to get the shoes I left outside and immediately a security guard was there to reassure me... "You safe.. you go inside... you safe" Really is a different world out there. It was 5 years ago so I don't know if is better worse or the same.

I believe dive trip reports often focus on the positive, and maybe omit some of the negative. After all, they're generally written by people who chose to go to the destination in question, and did so over other options.

The Question: Worldwide, what dive destinations (if any) do you consider dangerous above & beyond the major destinations we're used to?

My main focus is topside danger (e.g.: violent crime, drug cartels, terrorist organizations, etc...), but if you want to throw in high disease risk (e.g.: malaria), dangerous dive conditions (e.g.: current), etc..., that's okay, too. And if people are apt to offer you drugs there, or there are otherwise blatant displays of crime, that's worth mentioning. If you need a litmus test, how about this...if a family with a couple of kids were planning a dive trip, should it concern them? If so, it's fair game.

I want to be fair. For example, while mainland Honduras has an awful reputation, the Bay Islands (Roatan and Honduras) are offshore and a different matter, and Cozumel seems free of much of what scares people about parts of Mexico. Belize City has a 'rough' reputation, but outside of there not so much & from what I'm told the best diving is off the mainland, so probably not a big problem for most.

Richard.

 

[Scubagolf]

Belize City. Taxi from airport to hotel at the pier. Liveaboards or resort boat to Turneffe Island Resort. We were told by the management at TIR to not to even think about walking around Belize City on our own.

 

[lionfish-eater]

I think diving in Bonaire can be dangerous because of the lack of any support for emergencies when shore diving. Not being able to leave a phone in the truck means no communication. No oxygen immediately available. If it is just you and a buddy you have no help if one person has trouble.

 

[Doc]

An interesting premise for a thread.

....I'd never heard the topside was scary....

It all depends on what people decide to write. What impressed them. I do "how to travel lectures" at retail SCUBA shows, the attendees are mostly interested in my tips and suggestions on security (which is maybe but 10% of my speil)

Real, in depth, yet goofy-as-hell threads develop at TwitAdvisor over similarly phrased OPs.

Most of them mention a specific destination and then query: Did you feel safe?

These quickly devolve into a few distinct categories:

1) It is more dangerous (per some cited statistic) in Columbus, Ohio
2) You are more likely to be hit by a bus in Anchorage than ________.
3) Stay in the tourist areas, be smart
4) The State Department warnings about the zombies has me worried.

and of course, the obvious ultra individualized answer...

"We drove a car/went there/drank like pigs/got off the cruise ship....
and absolutely nothing happened. You'll be safe, we were."

I'm thinking it's still safe to fly into Sharm on a Russian Charter Aircraft.

Did you feel safe? I'll guess that you did, as you did make it through to London on your flight.

Will I feel safe? (FIIK)

Remember well the DEMA/PADI sponsored surveys from the 1970's which guided the industry away from featuring the "safety and fun" aspect of diving- instead to the "Unknown and kinda-scary" feature of the sport. These powerhouses of diving spent huge money to find out that divers want to be threatened with some potential life-ending challenge. Kind of like the difference between the Winter and Summer Olympics. People watch the Winter Olympics because of one difference: In any number of sport disciplines, a Winter Olympian could get killed. Including Curling, I guess. High hurdles? Not so much.

"We" love to be scared.

 

[gkrane]

I will reserve judgement on the Sharm and Sinai region until we find out what went on. I have a trip to the area scheduled for next summer and will be monitoring the situation closely. Air France and Lufthansa are evidently concerned. If I were bumped up to a deadline where I would forfeit my deposit soon I would cancel immediately, but that's just me.

 

[Kharon]

I think diving in Bonaire can be dangerous because of the lack of any support for emergencies when shore diving. Not being able to leave a phone in the truck means no communication. No oxygen immediately available. If it is just you and a buddy you have no help if one person has trouble.

You can easily put a cell in an Otterbox and take it on the dive safely. I've had mine to 130 feet and not a drop inside.

 

[DeputyDan]

Just because you don't see them does not mean that many "resorts' do not have heavy security.

Take Coco view for example.

 

[gkrane]

I think diving in Bonaire can be dangerous because of the lack of any support for emergencies when shore diving. Not being able to leave a phone in the truck means no communication. No oxygen immediately available. If it is just you and a buddy you have no help if one person has trouble.

Driving down the freeway can be dangerous. I have always felt safe at Bonaire when diving. If there is anything that causes concern like current just thumb the dive and go somewhere else up or down the road. If you still feel it's dangerous maybe you might want to stay and dive a bit closer to home like FL. I don't leave my phone in my vehicle at home let alone ANY foreign destination. I consider this just common sense for today's times. The petty crime rate is Bonaire is present but way overblown, and I haven't heard of any injury there as a result of crime, cartel, or terrorist activity.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I will reserve judgement on the Sharm and Sinai region until we find out what went on. I have a trip to the area scheduled for next summer and will be monitoring the situation closely. Air France and Lufthansa are evidently concerned. If I were bumped up to a deadline where I would forfeit my deposit soon I would cancel immediately, but that's just me.

Once incident out of thousands of tourist visits each month. Sure, if this incident was due to malicious action, that is troubling and cause for reconsidering plans for the immediate future. However, keep in mind that Sharm is still humming with tourists right now, and nobody is dying left and right. Planeloads will arrive and depart today (though rerouted, it seems), as they did yesterday, and will do tomorrow, and I would be willing to bet we do not hear of any of them falling prey to terrorism.

More generally, do we tend to forget, as we sit here behind our computers, how many people are out there diving every single day of the year in every one of these destinations we're concerned with?

 

[gkrane]

Once incident out of thousands of tourist visits each month. Sure, if this incident was due to malicious action, that is troubling and cause for reconsidering plans for the immediate future. However, keep in mind that Sharm is still humming with tourists right now, and nobody is dying left and right. Planeloads will arrive and depart today (though rerouted, it seems), as they did yesterday, and will do tomorrow, and I would be willing to bet we do not hear of any of them falling prey to terrorism.

More generally, do we tend to forget, as we sit here behind our computers, how many people are out there diving every single day of the year in every one of these destinations we're concerned with?

Which is why I will reserve judgement for the details. The latest news report I have read says Egypt is backing off the mechanical failure statement and the Metrojet Deputy General says the crash could only have been caused by mechanical impact. I realize these are Egyptian and Russian sources but I will stay tuned. I travel with my wife and kids so extra precaution in necessary on my part, and have personally been knocked down a few pegs on the reality ladder before while adopting a "It can't happen to me mentality." Too many great places to spend that dive money to go somewhere that poses a personal sense of increased risk.