Barbados Diving

[aweinste]

Long time troller/lurker (~7 years, when I first got my gear recs), first time poster. I posted this on Tripadvisor as well, but had such a great time felt obligated to post here.

Myself and 4 friends just got done doing 3 days of diving with Andrew and Mikey - Eco Dive Barbados. All the dives were fantastic. They took us to The Stav which was great. Andrew is an expert diver and a great guide. Mikey helps turns over your gear which is great. The dive who is right on the dock making things easy. The dive sites were about 5-15 minute boat ride away. If you are planning on doing great no hassel diving in Barbados, than Eco Dive Barbados is a must. Will need to book early, because the boat is intended for small groups ~6.

Anyone on this forum knows cattle scuba boats stink, and this is about as far as you can get from it. PM if you have further questions.

-Adam

 

[Hawkwood]

Andrew and Mikey are a real treat to be sure. Glad you enjoyed it!

I trust Andrew got some great photos of you? That seems to be his "trademark".

 

[drrich2]

All the dives were fantastic.

Interesting. I've never dove Barbados; been there twice briefly on cruise ship stops. The ocean around Barbados has color so rich I've seen none better with perhaps one exception; St. Martin. Yet when I've noticed Barbados diving mentioned on this forum, as a destination to be considered amongst others (e.g.: cruise diver hitting 4 or 5 islands, will dive 1 or 2, should this be 1?), it was my understanding that fish life was reportedly small and maybe sparse (? due to overfishing?). Then again, a forum search turns up some posts praising Barbados diving, and someone cited decent fish life. I wonder why Barbados doesn't seem to have a stronger presence on the forum as a dive destination?

Can you tell us a bit about the fish life you saw?

Have you dove anywhere else in the Caribbean you can compare it to?

I ask because in the future, people researching Barbados diving may pull up this thread in searches, and the answers could be useful to them.

Glad you had a good time.

Richard.

 

[Hawkwood]

A smattering of stuff from Barbados:



Caribbean diving?

St Lucia; Cozumel; Little Cayman Island; Cayman Brac; Bonaire; Belize; Roatan; Turks & Caicos; Bermuda (not really Caribbean, but close enough); Cancun & Playa Del Carman (including some cenotes); Barbados; Antigua; Carriacou.

 

[Bucko911]

Barbados is one of my fav's. I actually did my Rescue Course there least year. I think it is enormously underrated. Fabulous reefs, lots of sealife (biggest turtles I've ever seen), and a great wreck (Stavronikita)

 

[Hawkwood]

... and a great wreck (Stavronikita)

That's where the octopus was hiding.

Yup, highly underrated. Can get a bit windy at times though.

 

[RICHinNC]

Living in NC I really wouldnt waste time with the Stav.

The reason is....it is pretty deep and the depth time is low and currents can really be wailing down there. I know all that because I have dove the Stav and did find it a waste of time..... CONSIDERING....all the wrecks we have here in NC.

I would recommend...for better depth time.....the PAMIR and other locations. Still saving for my next trip.

 

[Dive-aholic]

We just booked a week in Barbados through our timeshare. The trip is still several months away so we're just in the beginning stage of planning. What wrecks are recommended around Barbados? We're only planning a couple days of diving so we want to see the better ones. We prefer natural wrecks (if there is such a thing) versus ones put there as artificial reefs. Part of wreck diving is the history in it. Small operation is good but I'd rather not have them touch my gear. I'm a bit anal that way. Is Eco Dive good with that? I just want to go and dive. I don't mind staying with the DM as long as we go to good sites. I want to be able to do my dive though and even do some wreck penetration if the wreck is suitable for that. So that means I don't need a DM to babysit.

 

[Jeeptrick]

Barbados photos Barbados underwater - a set on Flickr

 

[drrich2]

So where do you guys stay when diving Barbados?

I did a quick little look online, and the hotel rates I saw were, uh, 'more' than I'm using to seeing in Bonaire and Cozumel. Seems to me the stereotypical 7 day Caribbean dive vacation, aiming for at least 2 dives/day (preferably 3 or 4, some of which could be shore dives if available), eating out (but not high end) once or twice per day, would run some money.

Could that be why Barbados doesn't seem as high on the radar as some other places?

Granted, Grand Cayman has a rep. for high price, and is also well-known for scuba diving...

Richard.

P.S.: One of the nice things about Bonaire and Cozumel is the option for 'turn key' vacations, like Buddy Dive Resort of Aldora Villas, where you can get a lodging and diving (& with Buddy, onsite truck rental) in one package price, leaving you to get food (but Buddy has breakfast buffet). Does Barbados have any such 'one stop shopping?'

P.S. #2: Did see some packages at Maduro.com and Caradona.com where the prices for 10 dive 7 day trips didn't look that bad.