First time in Bermuda

[triguy1026]

Heading to Bermuda in June for first time. Staying at Fairmont Southhampton. What is best dive shop nearby? Do dive shops offer Nitrox? What 2-3 wreck dive sites would you recommend? What water temp can I expect in early June? Snorkel site recommendations? Beaches?

Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

[Davediver]

It has been a few years but I used Dive Bermuda at the Southhampton. At that time the afternoon dives were very shallow as they were running a resort course. Try the morning dives. I also recollect that if the wind is blowing and the tide is in, they can not load the boat from the dock and we had to wade/swim to the boat. This is not an issue if you know up front and can stash your reg bag, wallet, and towel in a dry bag.

[spectrum]

As of 2006 Nitrox was not an option on the island. I don't know if that has changed.

[nice_mike]

Southampton Princess (SP) has a dive shop located at their beach. However, I would definitely go to Triangle Diving instead which is located at Grotto Bay. The owner, Graham Maddocks is a great guy and truly passionate about diving and offering his customers the best experience possible. Many of the other operators are more interested in taking your money and filling the boat to capacity. Trust me I have worked for most of them as an instructor!!

Nitrox is not really used that much in Bermuda although Triangle can provide it if you want. No real need for it to be honest. Other than triangle the only other dive company that I would recommend is Fantasy diving which is located at the 9 beaches resort.

Water temp will be about 75 degrees. Shorty weather!

Best beaches for snorkeling are Church bay (near to SP) and Tobacco bay in St. Georges Parish.

Good wrecks for East End (Triangle) are Palladium where you can swim under the hull, Cristobal Colon and many more.
West end (Fantasy divers) would be Marie Celeste, Constellation (made famous in the movie The Deep written by Peter Benchley)

Good beaches for sunning on are Elbow Beach and Horeshoe bay (Close to SP)...

Enjoy your trip and if you see Graham tell him that Nice Mike sends his regards..

Cheers

[tkaelin]

We dove Bermuda first time August 2009. We dove Blue Water divers two days. We picked them bc they were closest. The first day I thought the Capt. was less than impressive. Different crew the second day and they were great. I have heard good things about Triangle Divers. I have not heard anything bad about Dive Bermuda, the op at the your resort. Based upon location alone I think you would dive the op at your resort unless you learn of a good reason not to. We were told nitrox was unavailable and probably not necessary based upon likely profiles. We dove the Hermes which was nice and the M. Celestia which we loved, not so much of the wreck, which is scattered and not much left other than the paddle wheel which by itself was pretty neat, we liked the reef structure and terrain and found some nice swim throughs/tunnels. SW Breakers was our shallow dive which has a nice swim thru. As far as water temps check out Blue Waters website and they have a link to a table of average water temps by month. We had good lunches at the Swizzle in, avoiding the prime time of noon and crowds. and had at a great dinner at the Reefs, both nearby. Check out the bus and ferry routes and schedules, a great way to get around the island.