Best global locations for rebreather diving

[JackZwykle]

What a great idea, was wondering about those myself.

From personal experience I can add:

Europe - Greece, Kos Island (Silent Explorers). Fantastic service. Full service (tank rental, trimix, etc)
Gozo (next to Malta) - will have more info when we finish the trip, but very famous and sure needs to be on the list. Full service - as above.
Lanzarote (at least two centres, we have very good experience with LanzaroteDiveCentre in Puerto del Carmen - full service, as above)

Central America - Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo (Golden Arrow). Full Service.

Thank you for starting the thread!

 

[Heat Miser]

I'm going to Truk/Chuuk in April, not with Dirty Dozen. I'll be on the Odyssey for 2 weeks, diving with my CCR. Am I missing out on something?

I think you are right with regards to Bikini the itinerary is the same whether booked with Dirty Dozen or direct with Master's Livaboard and did it directly last year (though it was booked via Dive Adventures (Australia) for a local dive shop here called Perth Scuba.

On the Bikini trip I met the Skipper of the Odyssey (Chuuk) having a holiday, she's a very good photographer named Brandi Mueller, anyway she recommended getting in touch with them well in advance for Helium/Sorb and that they tailor their dive schedule to who's on board (i.e. Tech (couple of deep deco dives) vs Rec (multiple shallow NDL dives)).

Sorry just read your next post, where your going with someone who has been 3 times before ... have fun on Odyssey

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

As for the Malin head comment,

Technically you can dive it from England or Scotland also,(yes it has been done) but I did put “around the UK” as in close proximity to. and seen as it is literally across the border at letterkenny by less than an hour I thought we wouldn’t split hairs….

 

[Wibble]

As for the Malin head comment,

Technically you can dive it from England or Scotland also,(yes it has been done) but I did put “around the UK” as in close proximity to. and seen as it is literally across the border at letterkenny by less than an hour I thought we wouldn’t split hairs….

Could have said "British Isles", the generic term for the UK and Ireland.

Malin Head is also diveable from Northern Ireland too. Alas there's no dive boats out of Londonderry. The two dive boats out of Downings, Donegal, Ireland are well set up for diving in that excellent diving playground.

 

[SavageSeaCow]

Could have said "British Isles", the generic term for the UK and Ireland.

Malin Head is also diveable from Northern Ireland too. Alas there's no dive boats out of Londonderry. The two dive boats out of Downings, Donegal, Ireland are well set up for diving in that excellent diving playground.

Which charters do you use there? Started looking and it seems awesome!

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

Could have said "British Isles", the generic term for the UK and Ireland.

Malin Head is also diveable from Northern Ireland too. Alas there's no dive boats out of Londonderry. The two dive boats out of Downings, Donegal, Ireland are well set up for diving in that excellent diving

I’m not sure why you bother correcting my exacting geography or correct English. I’m just trying to be helpful.

 

[sea_ledford]

Could have said "British Isles", the generic term for the UK and Ireland.

 

[Wibble]

Which charters do you use there? Started looking and it seems awesome!

The two dive boats currently running out of Downings for Malin Head are:

• RosGuill — they have great accommodation and a really useful storage/gas room for kit fettling
• Laura Dean — no accommodation but supply gas. There’s plenty of accommodation available in Downings but you must book well in advance

The diving season is short around Malin and there’s a risk that some days will be blown out. As a result places go well in advance. Often the boats are fully chartered for the week. Bookings are mostly for a week, Sunday through Friday.
Downings is rather remote but very pretty with a very craggy coastline.

You will need to arrange for cylinders and Sofnolime in advance if flying in to Ireland.

Malin diving is best if you’re MOD2 experienced, e.g. around 60m/200ft (actually down to 70m/230ft for the classics — Justicia, HMS Audacious, Empire Heritage, etc.). There’s some shallower wrecks (e.g. Laurentic which is fairly flattened now) and many in the MOD3 range. OC really isn’t practical due to the cost and shortage of helium.

Typical dive times are 2h to 3h. Steaming times are 2h+ each way. A lazy shot with trapeze is used, so you’ll need a bright strobe and tag. A scooter is really good for diving in Malin.

 

[stuartv]

I think you are right with regards to Bikini the itinerary is the same whether booked with Dirty Dozen or direct with Master's Livaboard and did it directly last year (though it was booked via Dive Adventures (Australia) for a local dive shop here called Perth Scuba.

On the Bikini trip I met the Skipper of the Odyssey (Chuuk) having a holiday, she's a very good photographer named Brandi Mueller, anyway she recommended getting in touch with them well in advance for Helium/Sorb and that they tailor their dive schedule to who's on board (i.e. Tech (couple of deep deco dives) vs Rec (multiple shallow NDL dives)).

Sorry just read your next post, where your going with someone who has been 3 times before ... have fun on Odyssey

I know Brandi. She is awesome. I don’t think she’ll be in Chuuk when I’m there, though.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I saw someone asking about Malapascua earlier in the thread.

Evolution there can do O2, Helium to 200+ bar, have sofnolime, about every size tank you might need. Not sure about DPV rental.