New Diver Punta Cana

[Rahab]

I'm going down to Punta Cana for Thanksgiving week to an all inclusive. The trip is really for my parents 65th anniversary however I thought my wife and myself would get some diving in also.

In addition my eleven year old daughter just finished her certification class and wants to do her open water dives there instead of the Northeast, and who could blame her. I have dived Punta Cana before and to be honest the diving is just OK, spectacular it's not but I can live with it.

Here's the rub,, i want this to be a great first experience for her however I have some concerns. The resort we are staying at has an onsite PADI shop (Scubaquatics) which being right there on the beach is very convenient however when I looked on TripAdvisor it had mixed reviews, some good, some not so good. For me and the wife we can overlook some things but for my daughter a first time, well I want it to be special and not a turnoff.

Has anyone had any experience with Scubaquatics or can recommend another dive operation in the area that does pickups,has dived Punta Cana recently and can give some advice or share experiences, dive sites etc?

Thanks in advance for any advice....R

 

[dfx]

My only experience with Scubaquatic was a request for some info about their Riviera Maya location a couple of years ago. Never got a reply from them.

The diving in Punta Cana, Bavaro and generally the north/east side of the DR is so-so. It's not awful and for a newbie probably still amazing, but it's not great either. If you can, take a trip to La Romana or Bayahibe and do your diving there.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

We stayed in Punta Cana and did some local dives right from the resort, they were so-so. Not much life and moderate visibility, but as mentioned above, it would probably still be exciting and fun for a beginner.

However, the shop also offered an all day excursion that was quite nice. It involved a bus ride to La Romana, and a boat trip to Isla Catalina. That one was worth the trouble. Two dives, nice reef structure, much more life, some snorkeling and lunch on shore at the island.

I believe Dressel was the in-house dive service where we stayed. They trained my wife OW and I'd say they are about average for a short resort course. As with any resort training, your daughter shouldn't do much other than guided tropical diving until she has follow-up OW dives with an instructor back home.

I think the convenience of in-resort training outweighs most complaints people have about these services. If you can sit in on her training and join her on the dives, all the better.

In your daughter's case, I would hope they'd customize her training based on her prior classwork, allow her "test out" of the classroom lectures by taking their written test, and just do a skills check-out in the pool followed by her 4 OW dives.

This is a subject that's near to me: my son was OW certified 2 years ago at age 10. One of his training dives was so cold and strenuous, he nearly quit. From then on, I promised myself I'd always be with him whenever he's under the water. It turned out well in the end: he finished his training (with me along for his last OW dives) and has now logged over 40 dives, including his first night dive a couple of weeks back.

No other diver knows your daughter better than you. I would insist on going along for the ride throughout her instruction. After her training is done, you will be her buddy and dive mentor until at least age 14. Ultimately it's you, and not her instructor, who is responsible for the type of diver she will become.

 

[Rahab]

Thanks SDSM,

It will most likly be ok, I mean they are a PADI shop and I suppose they must meet certain standards. The fact is although she will be doing her 4 open water dives to get her C card with a Dive Master I am experience enough to know all Dive Masters are not created equal and I will be hovering nearby. The thing that caught my attention was the reviews on TripAdvisor. Not sure how accurate they are but there were a couple of negative ones.

I have dived Punta Cana before not terrific. Everyone talks about taking the excursion over to the Caribb side for better diving? Can you tell me how long of a day that is?. Returning to Punta Cana about what time?

Thanks again for the reply....R

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

I have dived Punta Cana before not terrific. Everyone talks about taking the excursion over to the Caribb side for better diving? Can you tell me how long of a day that is?. Returning to Punta Cana about what time?

It's a very long day taking the bus ride and boat trip from La Romana. I recall getting on the bus at 6 or 7am and back just before the resort dining rooms closed for the night.

 

[Rahab]

Have to play it by ear since the main reason we are going is not diving and I don't want to cause too many waves.

 

[zeppelindiver]

The diving the DR is in 2 different oceans & they are radically different. On the east & north side of the island you will be diving in the Atlantic, on the south side you will be diving in the Caribbean. The Caribbean waters are clearer, calmer & warmer & the reefs in the Parc Nacional del Este are outstanding. The DR was one of the first countries to make its coral reefs protected areas & the diving there is superb and uncrowded, it seems not many divers know of it. It's also not all that convenient when you are staying in Punta Cana as the diving there is not good, you are on the Atlantic, & you'll need to take a shuttle bus or cab, the good news is that it used to be a 1 1/2 hour drive to get to Bayahibe or La Romana, but they have recently opened a new highway & now its 30-45 minutes! In the Caribbean you will be fine in a 3 mil wetsuit, we were there at the end of Nov, in the Atlantic its much colder with lots of seaweed.

The last time we were there a couple of years ago we dove with Scubafun out of Bayahibe on the Caribbean, it's a small village close to a larger town called La Romana. That area is considered by most to be the best diving in the DR, there are over 20 dive sites within a short boat ride, 3 wrecks, cave diving, sharks, manatees etc etc etc. The wall diving and reefs out at Catalina Island & Saona are stunning and the dive off Shark Point where the Atlantic Ocean & Caribbean Sea meet is an amazing experience, the line between the 2 bodies of water is sharply defined, both in the water & on the sea bed. They also do night dives with sharks that are very cool. There are a number of dive shops in Bayahibe & all of them will help with divers coming from Punta Cana. Scubafun is owned by a great guy from Arizona, I think his name is John but not sure on that, they gave great service, only 5 of us in the boat with 2 different DM's, both of them excellent. Their website www.scubafun.info has lots of great info about the area including a dive site map & descriptions of the sites. If you dive the Caribbean side you will have a great time, we think that the DR is one of the most underrated areas in the world to dive.

As far as your daughter's course is concerned, have you looked into an Open Water referral course? You local PADI shop should be able to sign off on all the theory & confined water sessions, then your daughter goes to the shop in Punta Cana, does a quick refresher to check out her skills and then goes right to the 4 open water dives. Super easy process, available through PADI shops, and all 4 of her dives will be with an Instructor, not a DM.

 

[Rahab]

She is doing a referral. I'm glad she will be with an instructor and not a DM. Yes the Caribbean side sounds allot better, perhaps we will book something there also. The onsite PADI shop sounds too easy. Either way I will be in the water with her.