Diving in Saipan?

[tnk120184]

Has any dove in Saipan? If so, any recommendations?

[billfish]

Yeah, I dove there in December of 2001. I loved it. Great vis. Lots to see. A lot of shore dives. There's a great dive site called The Grotto. I also dove the Tinian Grotto(on Tinian island, next to Saipan) which was nice, too. But I didn't get to dive all of the sites that I wanted because a mean old typhoon blew in. Whaddya wanna know?

-Billfish

[tnk120184]

Thanks Bill. Just trying to find more info on diving around Guam. We are stationed on Guam and are trying to decide where to go for vacation. Looking at either Saipan (wife likes the idea of a health spa at the hotels there), Truk, or Yap. Just trying to get ideas from different folks.

[Rooster]

tnk120184 once bubbled...
Thanks Bill. Just trying to find more info on diving around Guam. We are stationed on Guam and are trying to decide where to go for vacation. Looking at either Saipan (wife likes the idea of a health spa at the hotels there), Truk, or Yap. Just trying to get ideas from different folks.

tnk120184
Where on Guam are you, up north or down south? I also live on Guam. I'm retired AF, currently working for the Post Office. My wife works at the middle school on Andersen. Been diving out here since 1990. I'm an instructor though I'm not currently teaching. My wife and I have been to, and led trips to, several of the Islands around here. We currently have some friends who live on Saipan, so we have been there several times the past couple of years. Since Truk is my favorite, we have been there 8 times. We have also taken several dive trips to Yap, Palau, Rota and Hawaii. Every Island out here is different, and so is the diving. It's hard to say which is the best. Each has it's own special flavor. That's one of the reasons that my wife and I choose to live out here. Saipan is a neat place. They cater to the Japanese tourist like Guam, but they do a much better job. Their parks, streets, and tourist attractions are a lot cleaner than Guam's. You'll see very little graffiti or trash. It is a little expensive. Some times you can get a package deal to the PIC there. Nice hotel, we have stayed there a few times before our friends moved there. When we dive there, we use Stingray divers. If you have any questions about Saipan, Yap, Rota, Truk, Palau, or Guam, drop me a line. If I had to choose just one, of course I'd go to Truk.

[beserker_77]

Any recommended dive shop over there

billfish once bubbled...
Yeah, I dove there in December of 2001. I loved it. Great vis. Lots to see. A lot of shore dives. There's a great dive site called The Grotto. I also dove the Tinian Grotto(on Tinian island, next to Saipan) which was nice, too. But I didn't get to dive all of the sites that I wanted because a mean old typhoon blew in. Whaddya wanna know?

-Billfish

[billfish]

on Saipan when I was there. I used Abracadabra which I found to be pretty unorganized. Lots of waiting around, uncertaintly as to which DMs would be with which customers, etc, or even if such and such a customer was coming today. They made us show up bright and early at the dive shop, but it seemed to take forever to get going. The daily logistics of running a dive operation seemed to be quite a daunting challenge to them. However I've heard that, not surprisingly, the ownership has changed. I know nothing about the new guy. Maybe someone else can help out here. The other English speaking dive shop is called Stringray(I think) and is run by a guy named Rick Northern. Their reputation was more business-like, better organized, but less personal. I didn't dive with them. This is just what I heard.

Hope this helps.

Billfish

[sunfish]

When I was there this past November, 90% of the divers I ran into were Japanese. I dived with a shop called Aqua Del Rey. I use the word "shop" in a very loose way. It's a one-man operation (he charters boats as needed). He only books as many as he can handle, so it's all extremely efficient. I heard his English, which was more than reasonably good, but I'm not sure if he caters to English speaking customers.

We did Grotto, Laulau Beach, Objan Beach, Ice Cream and Dimple while we were there. The morning we dived Ice Cream, we were the first ones in the water that day, and encountered a total of 52 eagle rays (they just kept coming and coming and coming! During our entire stay, vis was at 20 to 25 meters. I was never cold in my 5 mm wetsuit.

[roakey]

If you go to/have gone to Saipan tell me what it's like. I lived there 73-75. Summer of 74 the first compressor showed up on the island and we dove our brains out on the island (using the standard at the time you-can't-get-bent-on-one-tank dive tables )

Wonderful place! We used to freedive out the left tunnel of the Grotto to open ocean.

Roak

[debcov]

I live and dive in Saipan. The diving here is mostly shore diving, altho there are quite a lot of boat dives available. Grotto is recommended for turtles, esp at night and early a.m. (as they sleep in the Grotto), barracuda, occasional shark and lots of tropical fish. Vis is about 70 ft when the sun is out...great for pix. There are about 4 different dives available there. Great dive except the end, where you have to carry your tank up 100+ steps. Despite the steps...its highly recommended. Rated #2 dive spot by SkinDiver Magazine.

I personally like Obyan...also good vis. Eagle Ray City is great when the current is out as the rays love current. Bring your camera and a Palau dive hook. It is a boat dive usually combined with the Chen Seng Marau, a wreck dive which has lots of snappers and other fish. Both of these dives are shallow, abt 30 feet. there is a white tip that lives on the wreck.

Lau Lau, another shore dive has decent vis at times...altho the run-off frm the Lau Lau Bay golf course has messed up the vis. There are about 4 diff dives there. At the Pipe, vis can get up to 60-70 feet....nice plate coral there. In the Japanese cut, vis can be 15 feet on a bad day, but gets better once you get out further.

Wing Beach is a fav of mine...shore or boat, but only open a short period out of the year - Apr, May time. George, the large moray eel lives there, there are a couple of clown triggers, as well as a fire scallop. Other boat dives include Ice Cream and Dimple, as well as Naftan Point and Bonzai. Again, some sites are only open certain times of the year. The island of Tinian is a short boat ride away with good sites as well - Grotto, Fleming (wall dive) Dump Cove, leftover WWII stuff. The island of Rota requires a plane trip but vis is excellent there. Can see the wrecks from the top which are 100 feet down. Big thyphoon hit in Jan and the cement dock, as well as lots of Rota was hit bad...so not sure how the diving is there now, as I have not dove there since the thyphoon.

I dive in a shorty dive skin with a rash guard underneath during the "winter". Do get cold by the time I approach 40-50 minutes..but not much more is needed..esp if you come from Puget Sound or other cold water places.
Hope this helps.

[Saipanman]

I live and dive exclusively with Abracadabra and have to agree with the above poster that, last year the shop was somewhat disorgainzed due to the restaffing that occurred due to the change in ownership.

I recommend Abracadabra or Stingray (some divemasters work for both operations) if you're looking for no-hassle diving on Saipan.