Bahamas dive vaca, lots of questions

[Murphy in NC]

So I would like to go to the Bahamas as I have been told, relatively shallow, little current and opportunities to see BIG fish and sharks.

It is rather confusing with the multiple islands and differences.

I definitely want to do the great hammerheads out of Bimini however I am not sure how I feel about baited dives.

So first question is does anyone have knowledge of the great hammerhead dives baited/not baited ?

Secondly there are so many negative safety reports relating to topside not underwater and I know these things are often blown out of proportion, however it is becoming confusing.

So my second question is if you wanted safety:
e.g.,
wife alone on beach while my son and I dive and her being undisturbed.
Shallow, no current and very fishy, where in the Bahamas would you go?
Will need two bedrooms and will be traveling with wife (non diver) and my son and I (divers).

I am looking at Bimini and Exuma however I am wondering if I can obtain some guidance/info from those more experienced with the Bahmas. Are those the right places?

Also if there are other places that have the same opportunity I would appreciate that.

I can't consider the keys as I just got back from a week there in July. Have been to Grand Cayman and Belize, Awesome time, just need somewhere new.

As always Thanks to the Scubaboard members, this forum and those that come together on it have helped me out tremendously
PT

 

[ColoDale]

I can't answer the first question as we did not dive with hammerheads in the Bahamas.

For the second question; I've been to New Providence (Nassau) and Exuma. Nassau is much more crowded in town and the beaches. Most Bahamians were decent there but we did get bothered by some trying to sell things and a couple of drunks shoving people into city buses which is not their job.

Exuma is much slower with less people. Also harder to get to. We think the best beach we have seen in our travels was in Exuma. Granted we've not seen them all but the water was very shallow into the water for some distance. Beaches there were not crowded and sometimes we were the only ones there. Exuma will have fewer amenities.

There wasn't much current in most sites we dove and was fairly easy shallow diving. We did get a current on a wall dive around New Providence. All sites around Exuma had very little current. We had a trip to Long Island from Exuma for a wall dive but was cancelled due to thunderstorms but we were told the current would be more. The Bahamas had the least overall current than others I've been to in the Caribbean except the tongue and groove formations in Grand Cayman.

I do not consider any of the dive sites in the Bahamas that I dived and ocean near beaches to be fishy. Except for some walls and around coral/wrecks, you will see alot of sand. I equate Bahamas with sharks.

For diving, Exuma was better than New Providence. There are other islands like Abaco, Andros and Eleuthera which get mentions for diving on SB. I've not been but I suspect the diving is similar. Topside, don't know.

 

[Damselfish]

We did a 2 week extended liveaboard departing Nassau to I think Eleuthera, San Salvador, Long Island & Exumas, though I wouldn't swear without digging out a dive log. I don't think we actually did any dives around Nassau/New Providence Island. Lots of sharks, lots of sand, not very fishy or a good reef destination anywhere we went. I think we saw the most sharks at sites where they had been fed in the past, even if not currently, I guess they remember. Mostly shallow without current (except for the Washing Machine site I think in the Exumas, where the current was pretty much the point of the dive.) It was a pleasant trip, but I think a place you need to go with the right expectations of the diving. If I were to go there for a land based trip (which I probably wouldn't) I'd be more interested in staying on one of the out islands than Nassau. Grand Bahama/Freeport, the other major entry spot, sounds much nicer/safer/laid back than Nassau to me but we didn't do that or see any of the diving to the north. Tiger Beach is off there which you can apparently hit land-based, so that might be an area to look into.

 

[flyboy08]

Dove Nassau with Stewart Cove Divers...plenty to see do with white tips swimming along with us each day/dive. If you stay at Atlantis, the wife should be well cared for on their awesome beach....we rented a VRBO home.

 

[KathyV]

At one time we did a lot of diving in the Bahamas but it has been awhile, but we had some great times. My memory is lots of fish and sharks, but not great corals and the water was very cold in the winter and spring.

Since you are divers traveling with a non-diver, take a look at the Club Med Columbus Isle on San Salvador in the Bahamas. We stayed at the Riding Rock Inn on San Sal which is a 3-star dive resort, but the Club Med is a nicer and safe location with activities and attractions for all of the family members.

There is good diving around San Sal and you will definitely see sharks. Hammerheads are rare but they are seen occasionally, but these are not baited dives.

 

[ColoDale]

At one time we did a lot of diving in the Bahamas but it has been awhile, but we had some great times. My memory is lots of fish and sharks, but not great corals and the water was very cold in the winter and spring.

Since you are divers traveling with a non-diver, take a look at the Club Med Columbus Isle on San Salvador in the Bahamas. We stayed at the Riding Rock Inn on San Sal which is a 3-star dive resort, but the Club Med is a nicer and safe location with activities and attractions for all of the family members.

There is good diving around San Sal and you will definitely see sharks. Hammerheads are rare but they are seen occasionally, but these are not baited dives.

Thanks for the reminder on temps. We were Nassau in early January with a cold front going through for the week. Air temps 64F and water temps 64F with wind blowing the water out of the pool.

 

[diversteve]

You might look into: http://www.biminiscubacenter.com/great-hammerhead-safari

IDK much about Bimini - been there once on a day stop - it was pretty quiet. I believe you can fly there from FLL or MIA on BahamasAir - or Silver Airways.

my avatar was shot near there...