Abaco/St. Croix
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I checked out in the Abacos, and can tell you about that experience, but can't compare them.
If you need info just ask.
If you need info just ask.
Rowntree55
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I'm new here and new to diving but I'll give my input anyway. I've only dove in STX and have been certified less than 2 weeks. I have just a few dives but that number will be going up by at least 2 every week. On open water dive 4, after finishing the skills, we headed over the wall and I was amazed. I had entered a whole new world and knew I had just picked up a new lifelong hobby. Enough to go home and spend an entire pay check on my own gear. Tomorrow night I'm going on my first night dive off the Fredricksted Pier. I hear awesome things about this. Lots of octopus, seahorses, and other interesting sea life.
Shore entry is generally very easy, but can be difficult with rocky bottoms and mild waves. I haven't done any boat dives yet.
And like I said, not only can I not compare it to Abaco, I can't compare it to anything.
Shore entry is generally very easy, but can be difficult with rocky bottoms and mild waves. I haven't done any boat dives yet.
And like I said, not only can I not compare it to Abaco, I can't compare it to anything.
Dive Chickie
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We've been diving all over the Caribbean, however the only diving we've done in the USVI has been in St. Thomas and St. John, not St. Croix. Our favorite place to dive used to be Cayman until we went to Abaco. It spoiled us. Diving in Abaco is awesome. It's so diverse. Coral reefs and tunnels. Big and small marine life - sharks and turtles to banded coral shrimp and flamingo tongue. Even better, it's easy to get to and only a short flight from Florida, if you're connecting there. Dive Abaco is in Marsh Harbour. The owner, Keith, has been there forever and is a hoot to dive with. I think he's from Canada originally. We booked everything ourselves the first time, but we now ask them to put a package together for us that includes hotel and diving. And they're great about answering questions. Here's some more info, maybe it will help you. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g676266-d637874-r77582797-Dive_Abaco-Marsh_Harbour_Great_Abaco_Island_Out_Islands_Bahamas.html
We did most of our diving with Dive Abaco out of Marsh Harbor. Keith Rogers runs a great operation diving primarily in the Fowl Cay Marine Reserve on the east side of the Sea of Abaco. Visibility is very good with an abundance of marine life. Most of the dives are in the 30-60 foot range, although there are walls that drop off hundreds of feet. Current is never a problem. I have a web blog on our trip to the Abacos that includes a number of pictures from the dive trips. My first attempt at underwater photography so cut me a little slack. You will also get the flavor of the Northern Bahamas. You can check them out here:
Split Decision
Keith leads most dives and while you are free to go off on your own you would probably miss a lot. He really knows his way around the reefs. The coral formations are varied with some really great swim thru's.
If you want something a little more remote, you can catch a ferry from Marsh Harbor to Great Guana Cay. Troy with Dive Guana has a very good operation diving the reefs on the north side of the Sea of Abaco.
Split Decision
Keith leads most dives and while you are free to go off on your own you would probably miss a lot. He really knows his way around the reefs. The coral formations are varied with some really great swim thru's.
If you want something a little more remote, you can catch a ferry from Marsh Harbor to Great Guana Cay. Troy with Dive Guana has a very good operation diving the reefs on the north side of the Sea of Abaco.
Your review and Dive Chickie's review of Keith and Dive Abaco sound great, as most reviews I've read. Our problem is getting a quote from Dive Abaco. I've been emailing and calling since early July for a price quote...I've even spoken to them several times. They have our exact dates and where we want to stay. The lady is nice enough but I just get excuses of why they haven't gotten back to me yet, followed by weeks of nothing. 3 weeks ago an email said they'll get back to me next week....."next week" was 2 weeks ago. This is the time when someone should be getting right back to the customer! If I'm not getting service now, what's going to happen if I run into some kind of problem after the trip is booked? No travel agent or dive shop I've ever dealt with has ever taken near this long to get back to me. So...frustration is leading me to check out option #2, St Croix. Trip reports and photos from there sound excellent also.
Rowntree55
Registered
I went out for the Pier dive last night, and it was awesome!
The walk down the pier is pretty long (another reason I've learned full foot fins were the wrong choice for living in stx). The jump off the end was very fun. I was pretty nervous for it. Its probably a bit over 10 ft into the water.
The dive consisted of swimming back down the pier underneath of it. There were scattered "formations" about every 30-40 ft. Not sure how to describe them, I guess small coral masses. Nothing like the wall which is what I'm used to. Still need much work on my identification skills.
We dropped down and within 5 minutes passed over ~4 ft nurse shark. Soon after we passed over an octopus. Next I saw my first sea turtle. He stayed still as we swam around so we got a nice long look. Near the end we saw 2 huge barracuda. They were about 10 ft from us. Pretty scary/exciting. The columns along the entire pier were great to look at. Very colorful and different growth all over them. I'm sure I'll be diving it again in the near future.
The walk down the pier is pretty long (another reason I've learned full foot fins were the wrong choice for living in stx). The jump off the end was very fun. I was pretty nervous for it. Its probably a bit over 10 ft into the water.
The dive consisted of swimming back down the pier underneath of it. There were scattered "formations" about every 30-40 ft. Not sure how to describe them, I guess small coral masses. Nothing like the wall which is what I'm used to. Still need much work on my identification skills.
We dropped down and within 5 minutes passed over ~4 ft nurse shark. Soon after we passed over an octopus. Next I saw my first sea turtle. He stayed still as we swam around so we got a nice long look. Near the end we saw 2 huge barracuda. They were about 10 ft from us. Pretty scary/exciting. The columns along the entire pier were great to look at. Very colorful and different growth all over them. I'm sure I'll be diving it again in the near future.
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