My wife and I had a couple extra days before our real vacation started, so we flew up to Denver to check out the DiveDowntown.com dive at the Denver Aquarium. A1 Scuba is the LDS that runs the dives at the Aquarium and they were great to work with. We did the "Dive with the Fish" (they also have "Dive with the Sharks"). It was $175/person which includes all gear rental (the only gear you can use of your own is mask due to contamination issues), a t-shirt, fish guide, and admission to the aquarium/free parking.
We got geared up and in to the water quickly. The aquarium for the "Dive with the fish" is the one with the walk through tube. It's not real large but there's plenty of room to swim around. We descended and I immediately noticed after a few breaths my 2nd stage was leaking water. I switched to my alternate and they swapped out my 2nd stage for a different one. Once we got back down it was a pretty cool experience.
After swimming around for a few minutes to see all the fish, I spent most of my time at the tube entertaining the kids. Seeing their eyes get as big as saucers and smile when you swam up to them was priceless. They'd put their hands up against yours on the glass and just grin from ear to ear.
There was a large sea turtle that enjoyed goosing us. A moray eel that swam by our heads a couple times. And a couple nurse sharks that were asleep in the back corner. The coolest fish was a very larger grouper that I swam with for a few minutes.
The cost is a bit much considering you already have to be certified to dive there. But overall the experience was worth it. The best part is definitely seeing the kids reactions to you. I think even experienced divers would enjoy this aspect of it. For us desert divers, it beats Blue Hole, but like I said, it is a bit pricey for what it is.
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Chris - Denver Aquari...
We got geared up and in to the water quickly. The aquarium for the "Dive with the fish" is the one with the walk through tube. It's not real large but there's plenty of room to swim around. We descended and I immediately noticed after a few breaths my 2nd stage was leaking water. I switched to my alternate and they swapped out my 2nd stage for a different one. Once we got back down it was a pretty cool experience.
After swimming around for a few minutes to see all the fish, I spent most of my time at the tube entertaining the kids. Seeing their eyes get as big as saucers and smile when you swam up to them was priceless. They'd put their hands up against yours on the glass and just grin from ear to ear.
There was a large sea turtle that enjoyed goosing us. A moray eel that swam by our heads a couple times. And a couple nurse sharks that were asleep in the back corner. The coolest fish was a very larger grouper that I swam with for a few minutes.
The cost is a bit much considering you already have to be certified to dive there. But overall the experience was worth it. The best part is definitely seeing the kids reactions to you. I think even experienced divers would enjoy this aspect of it. For us desert divers, it beats Blue Hole, but like I said, it is a bit pricey for what it is.
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Chris - Denver Aquari...