Diving in Kenya

[amaliast]

hallo,
i m really confuse which diving center to choose afterall.
does anyone feel like it to tell me the pros and cons about the above divecenters? which one should i peak? does the dive sites differ?
amalia

i should answer my own question by now, since i am at the moment in kenya.
well, i am very dissapointed and i feel the need to inform other divers as well. ( serious one, who have dived places) i dont understand who says that diving in kenya is good. there is practically NOTHING TO SEE, the corals have NO colors( comparing to sharm) , there is very bad visibility, ( which the people here tell me it s not so bad) we get down with ropes, so as not to lose each other of the bad visibility. the dives DOES NOT worth the money, i would nt dive if it were for free.thakn god that the diving village has a wifi so i can kill my time, cause theres no plane back earlierfo me to catch.
also , i found my wallet open when i returned from the bottom, on the boat, which means that they cant control their crew...UNBELIVABLE...
FOR SERIOUS DIVERS, DONT GO TO KENYA(AT LEAST NOT IN SEPTEMBER)

 

[VictorP]

Which dive center did you use?

 

[tracydr]

I would contact Duggan Dive shop in San Antonio, tX. I went with them on a Pemba Island trip that was fantastic.

 

[bayswaterbabe]

I have just returned from a week in Nyali, north Mombasa. I dived with Buccaneer Diving and, like Mousy & B.Goodwill, I can thoroughly recommend them. I have dived in the Watamu and Diani Beach areas in previous trips to Kenya, and I must say Buccaneer was by far the best dive op I have come across.

I did the Deep Dive Speciality course (2 days) plus a further 3 days diving, and I had a blast - thanks mostly to my instructor, Bruno Kinross, and the centre manager, David von Helldorf. The staff were amongst the friendliest and most helpful I have experienced in 9 years of diving around the world. And where it matters most - safety - I have rarely come across a more aware & conscientious outfit. In addition to very thorough dive briefings, they never fail to carry out buddy checks before every dive. The dive groups are small and designed to suit the experience level of the divers. Although I had my own gear, the rental gear looked in excellent condition. Dive boats were comfortable and perfectly fit for purpose. The facilities at the dive centre (based at the Voyager Hotel) were excellent - clean, well-maintained and rather comfortable (lots of comfy sofas to lounge in before & after diving), and coffee & tea served while filling in log-books. Very civilised.

As far as the diving was concerned, I had a completely different experience from Amaliast. We saw turtles, blue spotted rays and morays (some huge specimens) on practically every dive. Also the occasional black-tip sharks, albeit small ones, and a few massive groupers. Large schools of fish were everywhere, nudibranches and colourful flatworms, lobsters, mantis shrimps, octopus .... plenty of healthy coral, both soft & hard, including a number of rather large brain coral. We also dived the Dania wreck which provided a nice diversion from the reefs. Visibility was variable, between 15-25m, but never a problem. I have no idea where Amaliast was diving but it sure wasn't where we were.

I am planning to return next year - same time, same place - and dive with Buccaneer again.