Freeport in May

[rwb]

Palnning trip to Freeport in May! Who to dive with (I'm easy to please, used Blue Angel in Coz) and what will water temp be?

 

[bikefox]

Palnning trip to Freeport in May! Who to dive with (I'm easy to please, used Blue Angel in Coz) and what will water temp be?

I just returned from freeport on friday. We used Xanadu adventures and really like them. It really depends on where you are staying however. The Xanadu Hotel and dive shop is out of the way of most of the other major hotels, especially since the hurricane damaged most of the hotels in the Freeport area. The Xanadu Hotel is pretty nice and the dive shop is on site. If you stay there though I would spend the money to rent a car. It is convenient for diving but we had to spend $17 each way to get to Port Lucaya for any good shopping or dining.

 

[Tavi]

Grand Bahama Scuba

Nice Boat, Great crew. exellent with newbies or seasoned divers!!

If you do a search You'll find several of my trip reports.

There are several pages of underwater pics from diving with GBS on my website.

 

[Puck]

Grand Bahama Scuba all the way. Reliable and helpful -- very important. They treat you like family (like their family, not your family) and really try to make your trips memorable. Safe and no crowded boats. I wish I was going again already.

 

[mle_osu]

We're planning a vacation to Freeport next year (I won a vacation and my vacation time this year is already spoken for - with other dive trips!).

What is the diving like in Freeport? I have been diving in Hawaii, Bermuda, and Cozumel.

 

[blawler1]

GB is more like Cozumel and other caribbean sites than Hawaii in that it has a lots of soft coral (sea fans etc.) and no lava formations. While the coral formations are not as spectacular as Cozumel, there are some good formations and other sites with numerous nice sized coral heads. It also doesn't have the current so there is generally no drift diving. The vis has been quite good when we have gone, summer and fall, and topped out at around 100' at some sites. What GB offers that none of the other locations you mentioned do is the regular opportunity to dive with caribbean reef sharks. At sites around the shark feeding site, you are pretty much guaranteed shark encounters on most dives.

 

[moneysavr]

Palnning trip to Freeport in May! Who to dive with (I'm easy to please, used Blue Angel in Coz) and what will water temp be?

The water Temps will be at that time high 70's=76-78+ real fine,I use a basic 3mm
Freeport since the storms is a bit run down,with the major resort closed at this time, so look for many fine places to stay in Lucaya Port Lucaya area=The Westin ,
www.ourlucaya.com
is REAL nice but not cheap!
The Yacht club,
BellChannel Inn=$75.00 per night clean rooms ,& nice dive shop on site Caribbean divers.
The reefs are nice,vis can be Great!,see Theos wreck!
Dive safe and have a Great Trip!
Brad

 

[dcrmd]

I would recommend Grand Bahama Scuba too!! They go out of their way to make you feel at home. Check out their web site at www.grandbahamascuba.com. Drop them an e-mail and they will respond with any information you need. Call them when you arrive on island, their number is on the site.

Water should be in the high 70's at this time of the year. A good 3 mm suit should be fine. If you get cold easily, put on a hood and gloves and you will be comfortable. I have stay at Ocean Reef Yacht Club several times. Nice place, but a little pricey. Check out their site or more information, www.oryc.com. But there are several good hotels around Port Lucaya that are reasonable also.

Have fun and enjoy the sun.

 

[sharkbaitDAN]

I am somewhat partial to Xanadu, as I used to work there, and I believe they are the only operation that still does a shark feeding dive. The diving in May should be good, with decent vis (~60'-100'). Water temp, as mentioned should be in the high 70s. The pictures on http://www.xanadudive.com/xanpix.html, of the shark dive were taken in June, with similar vis range. I don't know about the shark pictures that are numbered and not named. THe Westin was really nice to stay at when I went for spring break last year. All of the fun stuff is in Lucaya, but I would recommend a car to go see the National Park and beach toward the East side of the Island. Pristine white sand beaches, and some nice caves.

 

[Tavi]

While ORYC is a little pricey, I really like it there. It's a gated community so there isn't anyone there that shouln't be (think of all those people trying to sell you something). The suites are great. The Staff is very freindly and helpful. It's easy to get to Port Lucaya. And best of all, you can take a short walk from your room to Grand Bahama Scuba!! The boat is right there, and your gear is stored 15' away!! NICE!!