Freeport, GB AOW + Dive Package

[Tanked Monkey]

Hi. My wife and I are thinking of going to Freeport 4/6-4/11, and I am looking for your advice.

We are thinking of staying at the Port Lucaya Resort & Yacht Club. Seems nice and relatively economical. Has anyone stayed there recently? What did you think?

I have heard about several dive ops. Have you used any of them recently, and what did you think? From what I've read, I'm placing them in order, with top choice first).
Grand Bahama Scuba
Sunn Odessey
Caribbean Divers
Xanadu
UNEXSO

How about specific dive site recommendations? I've heard that the dolphin dive is fun, the shark dive is fun too. What reefs did you like? Did you do any blue holes? Wrecks?

We would like to do the AOW while there. Any instructor recommendations?

Water temps? 3mm OK?

What about the little things? Like restaurants? Shopping? Other fun stuff?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[yakivet]

Hi. My wife and I are thinking of going to Freeport 4/6-4/11, and I am looking for your advice.

I have heard about several dive ops. Have you used any of them recently, and what did you think? From what I've read, I'm placing them in order, with top choice first).
Grand Bahama Scuba
Sunn Odessey
Caribbean Divers
Xanadu
UNEXSO

How about specific dive site recommendations? I've heard that the dolphin dive is fun, the shark dive is fun too. What reefs did you like? Did you do any blue holes? Wrecks?

We would like to do the AOW while there. Any instructor recommendations?

Water temps? 3mm OK?

What about the little things? Like restaurants? Shopping? Other fun stuff?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

Mike- My wife and I dove with Sunn Oddessey a few years ago. It was a small operation at the time, and I believe it still is. Nick (Owner and DM) was fantastic. I think I remember seeing another post in which his son was now working with him. For most of the week it was just my wife and I on his boat. The special attention was great as my wife was still fairly new to diving at the time. Xanadu and Unexso I believe are a lot bigger operations. We enjoyed the uncrowded conditons.

We made a number of dive during the week but the most memorable was "Theo's Wreck" It sits in 70-90 feet of H2O, if I remember correctly, and is the home to a VERY large Green Moray. "Pickles" came out and was free swimming with us as he looked for handouts.

The water was surprising cool, can't remeber the exact temp, when there in November. The shallower dives were actually colder than the deeper ones. Spring water from the island seeps through the coral and settles in the shallows. I was wearing Bathing suit and T-Shirt and was fine but my wife got a little cold wearing a dive skin. I would think the 3mm suit should be just about right.

Don't remember much about the food, other than an Ice Cream shop downtown that made the best local Icecream from island fruits. Dive Safe, Ken :42:

 

[Tavi]

..............
We made a number of dive during the week but the most memorable was "Theo's Wreck" It sits in 70-90 feet of H2O, if I remember correctly, and is the home to a VERY large Green Moray. "Pickles" came out and was free swimming with us as he looked for handouts.

Sadly, Pickles is gone.

Theo's is a must do. It's 103' to the sand. most of the dive being much shallower.
I'd highly recommend Grand Bahama Scuba. If you did a search, you already knew that

Also The Sea Star II, She's been broken and moved by the Hurricanes last year.
Most of the wreck dive sites were moved by Frances and Jeanne. I'm looking forward to seeing the changesmyself!!

In April I usually take a 3/2 and 5/3 fullsuits, not sure what to expect.
Have a great trip!!!

 

[moneysavr]

Hi. My wife and I are thinking of going to Freeport 4/6-4/11, and I am looking for your advice.

We are thinking of staying at the Port Lucaya Resort & Yacht Club. Seems nice and relatively economical. Has anyone stayed there recently? What did you think?

I have heard about several dive ops. Have you used any of them recently, and what did you think? From what I've read, I'm placing them in order, with top choice first).
Grand Bahama Scuba
Sunn Odessey
Caribbean Divers
Xanadu
UNEXSO

How about specific dive site recommendations? I've heard that the dolphin dive is fun, the shark dive is fun too. What reefs did you like? Did you do any blue holes? Wrecks?

We would like to do the AOW while there. Any instructor recommendations?

Water temps? 3mm OK?

What about the little things? Like restaurants? Shopping? Other fun stuff?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

Hi Mike,
I would Pic Caribbean Divers,And if you need any GrandBahama info PM me 20 years+ going to the Island & yes we go cheap thats why they call me moneysavr!
They will get you on some good wrecks,and the local reefs,the one small blue hole on the East end is too far for a boat ride,you can do this one as a shore dive or snorkel it!
YachtClub is ok,have you checked rates at the Westin=OurLucaya across the street?
www.ourlucaya.com also airtran,an... or pics,places to go,car rental ect,,. Brad

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Thanks for all of the replies. They really help narrow down the search a bit.

Has anyone had instruction from either Grand Bahama Scuba, Sunn Odessey, or Caribbean Divers? It doesn't have to be AOW. Instructor recommendations would be great. PM me if you don't want it to be public knowledge.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Earl2112]

Hello Mike,

I would highly recommend Grand Bahama Scuba. I have been diving with Fred and his staff for several years. I was trained by Fred for both my Rescue Diver and Nitrox cards and I am currently working on my Dive Master card. Last summer he trained my daughter, age 16, and my son, age 18. They completed the Open Water training and completed 10 additional dives. During that same trip, my brother, age 41, also trained for and received his Open Water cert. I am planning on taking my other brother sometime this summer or fall to get certified with Fred. Check out their website at WWW.GRANDBAHAMASCUBA.COM for info about cert and prices.

I really love to dive the tunnels and canyons in the coral reefs. So I would recommend the dive sites of Gails Grotto, Pigmy Caves and Tunnels. If you like wreck diving, Theo's is the best, even though Pickles is gone. Sea Star, or Duncan's, had major changes due to the hurricanes. It was a freighter that sat upright in the water. Now it is more of a scrap yard. The bow stills sits upright, but has been squashed down and the rest of the ship is twisted and broken into pieces. I dove this site many time before the hurricanes. After the storms, I just did not recognize it. Of all the dive sites, I like Shark Junction the most. I think sharks are the most graceful creatures on the planet. It just amazes me to see them so close. I as close a 2 feet, nose to nose with a 6 foot female reef shark. She came out of the blue and headed straight for me and turned away at the last minute.

I was there in January and the water temp was a cool 72. I believe it is hovering around 73 right now. I wear a 3/2 full suit in the winter and a 1mm in the summer just for protection. I would highly recommend a hood and gloves this time of the year. With a hood and gloves, I was plenty warm last month. In April, I believe it may be a little warmer, but not much.

Shopping is still a little iffy since the hurricanes. Port Lucaya has many shops that are open, but the number of street vendors is down, especially at the International Bizarre. If you are interested in nightlife, then Port Lucaya is where to go. They have live music many nights, there are several bars and some good places to eat.

One thing I haven't done yet is kayaking through the Mangroves at the National Park. I just can't seem to get away from the diving long enough to go, but it is on my list of to do's.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Earl

 

[boca diver]

I haven't received instruction from Grand Bahama scuba but I'm sure it will be more than adequate. I think the majority of the diving experience is contributed by the charter you use. With that said I'd go with the op that the most people have had pleasurable experiences with, whether it be diving or instruciton.

I took the Discovery day cruise over to GB last March and stayed in Freeport. I will be going again this March and staying in Port Lucaya as there are more activities there. I too have been researching places to stay and am posting a link to a thread I created on another forum:

http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=308821

You might also want to consider starting your AOW in Virginia and doing your check out dives in GB. That way you can spend more time diving and less time in the classroom. I am from the Alexandria area, Fort Hunt right off the GW parkway, and know of a decent op in Fairfax if you need their number. Also shooting an email to Fred or Suzuki at GBS might be a good way to start.

Shoot me an email or PM if you have any other questions...

-Matt

 

[Tavi]

I also recomend Grand Bahama Scuba. I did my OW,AOW, Masterdiver, Nitrox, and Stress and Rescue with them. Fred is a very Knowledgable Instructor. My wife did her Nitrox, and her Divemaster with him, he really made her work for that one!!

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Thank you all so much. I'm leaning toward Grand Bahama Scuba now, but definitely haven't eliminated Sunn Odessey or Caribbean Divers. BTW, I contacted these top 3 dive ops, and they all wrote me back with some great information. Now that's good customer service.

Earl2112, welcome to Scubaboard! I just noticed that was your first post. Thanks for all the great info. Kayaking might be a great option for the offgassing last day.

Mike

 

[Tanked Monkey]

Now that I'm back I have posted a trip report, if you're interested: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=93787