Brief Trip Report -- Eleuthera

[Ripple in still water]

We completed three nice days of boat diving, for a total of five dives, in Eleuthera this past week. We did three dives with Valentine's Dive Center, http://bit.ly/NojMvk , on Harbour Island. VDC apparently developed a bad reputation before a family from Canada, the Gross' (with, per the website apparently another family, the Reise-Ward's) bought it about 8 months ago. The new owners are great. Francine Gross works the shop, and was extremely accommodating. We showed up for an afternoon dive/snorkel trip on which three others were scheduled to go, but canceled at the last minute. Francine said that, despite there being only two of us for the trip, the boat was ours. When Francine noted my wife, a new diver, toting her fins a bit awkwardly in a canvas bag with beach towels and the like, she went into the back, found a fin bag, and gave it to her, gratis.

Francine's son, Shane, led the dives. He stayed close by, but also took a lot of pictures during the dives. He offered to send us the pix gratis, a nice change after diving with Stuart Cove in Nassua which, while overall a good outfit, would only offer pix their folks' took during dives for sale, at a rather high cost. Shane also permitted fairly lengthy bottom times on all dives (unlike, say, Cozumel, we did not find any Bahamas ops, either in Nassau or Eleuthera, who allow divers to dive their air and computers). The three sites we visited were diverse and rewarding.

We also dived two tanks with Ocean Fox on the opposite (southern) tip of the island. Ocean Fox's divemaster was also attentive. Ocean Fox permitted shorter bottom times for roughly equivalent depths than Valentine's, however. Also, OF charges $20 more per trip than Valentine's, and only accepts cash (Valentine's takes credit cards).

I'd recommend either shop. The sites we visited in the South were different than the sites we visited in the North w. Valentine's, each of which was in turn distinctive. We stayed in Governor's Harbour, in the middle of the island, about an hour from either shop. If I were to choose to stay closer to one or the other end of the island to make diving easier, I think we'd stay near Valentine's, given that they provide at least the same quality of service for less and are a bit more flexible. On the other hand, the dive sites in the North and the South are different enough that, if you don't mind long drives, there's something to be said for staying in the middle of the island and doing dives on both ends with both ops.

 

[Heatheroe]

Thanks for the report. We almost did a Discover Scuba course with Al back in October. I wish we had splurged and done the dive Oh well, we will be back. Would you say the diving is better at one end than the other? Most people seem to think it's better in the south. Thanks again, we LOVE Eleuthera. We honeymooned there and have been hooked ever since.

 

[They call me Tater]

Call me jealous. I love Eleuthera.

I was there before Valentine's had finished changing hands but I had a great time with the crew at OF Davis Harbor. I got all kinds of pictures included and more, and I was solo on the boat. That may not always be possible but I was grateful they would even take me as a single newb. I would think getting to HI would have offset some of that $20 but don't doubt they are good folks also. We stayed on the Atlantic just north of Tippy's.

In any case I just had to put in my .02 for Ocean Fox, they were good to me. I hope to go back for a 'dive trip' soon.

 

[Ripple in still water]

Thanks for the report. We almost did a Discover Scuba course with Al back in October. I wish we had splurged and done the dive Oh well, we will be back. Would you say the diving is better at one end than the other? Most people seem to think it's better in the south. Thanks again, we LOVE Eleuthera. We honeymooned there and have been hooked ever since.

This was our first trip, and I think we are hooked too! Although there are so many other great looking out islands to visit, and so little time. . .

I didn't find the diving to be clearly better at one end of the island or the other. Every site we visited was distinct and satisfying. If we had done a dozen dives with each op we might have found one end that was better, but if you are only doing a few dives, it seems like either op ought to be able to show you a good time.

---------- Post Merged at 02:13 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:09 PM ----------

Call me jealous. I love Eleuthera.

I was there before Valentine's had finished changing hands but I had a great time with the crew at OF Davis Harbor. I got all kinds of pictures included and more, and I was solo on the boat. That may not always be possible but I was grateful they would even take me as a single newb. I would think getting to HI would have offset some of that $20 but don't doubt they are good folks also. We stayed on the Atlantic just north of Tippy's.

In any case I just had to put in my .02 for Ocean Fox, they were good to me. I hope to go back for a 'dive trip' soon.

Yes, if you are not staying on Harbour Island, there is the $10 per person roundtrip water taxi fare to factor in. I really don't like to deal with carrying large sums of cash on vacation, and I did get the sense that Valentine's tried a little harder in general, but as I said, both ops are very good, and I hope to have the opportunity to dive with both of them again.