Bahamas- what island- please help!

[bethbsting]

I have a couple of questions about the Bahamas that I hope some of you can offer an opinion about. We (two married divers) would like to go between now and mid August.

1. What island/ place to stay is best to experience both good wreck and reef dives?

2. Are there any good wreck dives above 90-100 feet? (We still have yet to get nitrox certs)

3. Who should we dive with? (No cattle boats and we have no desire to "dive with the sharks" and the masses that want to see them).

4. What is a good 3 1/2 to 4 star hotel that makes you feel like you are on vacation? (With nice clean bed linens and clean bathrooms that does not cost as much as the Atlantis) (All Inclusives are okay, if that is the best advice. Can you tell I am picky about clean bed linens?)

5. Any "must see places" on land to visit and eat? (The nightlife and casino scene are really not our style. We will probably want to go out to not too expensive dinners at night, but one or two nights we would like a nice place that does not require more than dockers and a sundress.)

Thanks!

 

[Quarrior]

I'll answer all your questions in one. Sandals Nassau. It's an AI and doesn't get any better. You can catch a regular bus downtown for a buck and don't need any cash while on the resort. Facilities are superb and food is beyond comparison. Very romantic place too.

Edit: Also it's not a family resort, adult couples only.

 

[scubamickey]

I was on a liveaboard to the Bahamas last month and we did some great reefs, walls, and wrecks. While we were at Nassau, Stuart Cove and Sandals both had boats a stone's throw away from us on one of the wrecks. It was a very funny surface interval for those of us on the liveaboard. Why? because both boats were being run by barely competent divemasters (yes, they tied up so close to us that we could see and hear the happenings on the boat) and in one case the guy (Sandals I believe) was well over 400 pounds. This guy was a heartache waiting to happen. Everybody got in the water at the same time, practically were made to hold hands (they floated in a tight circle), and then descended together, for a very short dive (we timed them at 30 minutes). Two of the boats nearly collided (not Sandals) as they tangled their anchor lines together while pulling them up. There was a third boat there--Can't remember the name of the operator (I would if I saw it though).

It was funny to watch. I would never do a land based operator out of Nassau after seeing that. I was just glad these were the only other boats we saw on our 7 day trip and that it only last under an hour.

I had to share my experience and I'm sorry it was not a positive one.

 

[mstevens]

We're going back to New Providence (the island with Nassau on it) in 2 weeks after having been there in February. "A Stone's Throw Away" is a small boutique hotel where the bed linens will more than satisfy you. Check out their website at http://astonesthrowaway.com/index.htm.

We'll be diving, again, with Custom Aquatics. No cattle boats. Their biggest boat will accommodate 6 divers. However, you get the entire boat, so for most parties their smaller 4-diver boat will work fine. Fran and Monty, who run CA, are both experienced instructors who are happy to teach or just let you do your own thing. Check out http://www.divecustomaquatics.com/. They're not cheap, but they cater to a very different crowd than Mr. Cove does. Stuart Cove isn't the only dive operator on the island, though you could easily get that impression since he runs most of the boats associated with resorts and cruise lines there.

BTW, nitrox is best for shallower dives, so not being nitrox certified wouldn't be a problem with deeper sites.

Eat at the fish fry at Arawak Key (a collection of seafood restaurants ranging from literal shacks to 2-storey places with (generally slow) waitstaff that accept credit cards. You should also consider Traveller's Rest (near A Stone's Throw Away). You won't be able to beat the food at any of these places, and the prices are better than in town or at the large hotels.

The "must-see" places on land are... the beaches! You could check out the Queen's Steps, the library and museum, or the pirates museum, or even the Bacardi distillery and the Kalik brewery. Ardastra Gardens has marching flamingoes that I haven't seen yet, and might not. I tend to stick to the beach.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

There is not such thing as "not too expensive" on an island. We stayed at the Wyndham in Nassau and the bananas were $2 each in the hotel cafe. There are 18 wrecks on the side of the island where Stuart Cove's dive operation is.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[bethbsting]

Thanks for the advice so far. Any other advice will be welcomed as well.

A Stones Throw Away looks great and prices seem good as well. I'll bookmark this one even if is not available now. We usually like B&B's that are well run and clean!

I am a little confused about the rates for diving at Custom Aquatics. There are only 2 of us and it looks like they quote $595 for 4 people for a day of diving. $595 for a day for 2 divers seems like more than we are willing to spend. How many dives does this include and would they put us with another 2 divers and have us split this cost?

 

[rexman24]

I did a shark dive with Stuart Cove May 06 and they were very competent and professional, fast and nice boat, only 8 divers, and very exciting. I would recommend them to anyone.

 

[blawler1]

Nassau has alot of things to do and some very upscale attractions (Atlantis). We stayed at the British Colonial Hilton and loved it. It is very nicely situated on its own beach downtown, next to Bay St shopping and the water taxi over to Paradise Island. Stuart Cove's picks up there. Nassau is a large city with alot of hustle and bustle as it is usually hosting several cruise ships, so if you're not into crowds, you may not like Nassau.

Another option is to go to Grand Bahama (GB). Its a generally a slower pace than Nassau but not as slow as the out islands. The diving off of GB is very nice, with lots of chances for reef shark encounters like on New Providence. Every time I have been there the water has been clear (70' to 100' visibility) and warm. There are a couple of good wrecks (the Theo and the Sea Star both about 90'), plenty of good reef dives and did I mention shark feeding and (UNEXSO) dolphin encounter dives. There are also fresh water cave dives during certain times of the year. There are a number of good operators, such as Grand Bahama Dive, Xanadu, Caribbean Divers and UNEXSO.

Also, you could get your Nitrox certification on GB, that's what I did. I purchased the Nitrox books locally, completed the work prior to our trip and conducted the check out dives on GB with Xanadu. I was able to use nitrox immediately as I watched the video and took the test the evening we arrived and did my check out dives the next morning on the Theo (sweet). They also knocked 10% off the course for me booking it in advance online.

I would recommend staying in the Port Lucaya area. Its a nice tourist area centering with a pavillion where live entertainment happens nightly most of spring and summer and plenty of good restaurants and bars in walking distance, and from what I hear, they have now opened up a casino. Its a great big outdoor party when the people come over from Florida in their boats this time of year.

As far as hotels, the Pelican Bay resort in Port Lucaya is a nice small resort which is comparable to a B&B. There are also the Our Lucaya resorts (Westin and Sheraton) and the Port Lucaya Resort.

 

[mstevens]

I am a little confused about the rates for diving at Custom Aquatics. There are only 2 of us and it looks like they quote $595 for 4 people for a day of diving. $595 for a day for 2 divers seems like more than we are willing to spend. How many dives does this include and would they put us with another 2 divers and have us split this cost?

It can undoubtedly be expensive. They do tend to cater to movie stars and billionaires. Basically, you charter the boat so it's up to you how many divers you take (up to their capacity limits). For 4 people that's not a bad deal since you get two dive sites (if you hoover air you can use multiple tanks at one site) with no particular time limits at any site for about 50% more than Stuart Cove, and you get master instructor trainers instead of divemasters to dive with. You're in charge - they're there to make everything work well for you, and they do a great job.

If you want any instruction, it can be a bargain. For two people who didn't want to do any instruction and weren't made of money it would be pretty hard to justify. We have 3 divers, one of whom got his Jr. OW last time we dived with them and plans to do Adventure Dives toward his Jr. AOW this time. That makes it expensive but not outrageous. Plus, they throw in the Coke, water, and Kalik, some ham sandwiches, and granola bars so you save on lunch!

 

[scubamickey]

I forgot to mention that there is fantastic diving off of Bimini and Andros Island. Bimini is not as touristy as Nassau (which I disliked because it was cruise ship city and crowded).

Of course, there are many more islands in the Bahamas besides these that we mention here. Do you know where in the Bahamas you want to go?