Less spartan-style diving tours (around Sydney)?

[sashkello]

Hello everyone!

After diving for a bit overseas and only a couple of times in Sydney, I'm a bit disappointed in service provided by the tour companies, and thought to ask around if this is just Aussie-style, or if I'm looking in the wrong place.

Basically, all the tours I've taken so far were on a tiny boat where everyone sits shoulder-to-shoulder, you drag around all your stuff yourself, there is no real "guide", just a general idea of where everyone is supposed to go, etc. Overall, what I experienced doesn't feel like a tour to me, but just a transfer boat hire to your destination and back, extreme economy style. I've used two major Sydney diving tour providers which have very high online review scores.

Now, I understand I might sound like a spoiled brat, but... look. I feel extremely uncomfortable and rushed on such tours. The boat is bobbing, everyone is bumping into each other, I get sea sick, forget to do proper checks and ultimately not only I fail to enjoy the experience, I also undermine my safety along the way. I understand it's a matter of preference, and I see other people do enjoy it quite a lot. But, I'm looking for something else.

So, can you guys recommend some tour providers which feature a more personalized and relaxing experience? Sydney and NSW coast in general.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

You may find that joining a shore dive with one of the dive shops is a better option for you. We have great shore diving here and you may connect with someone who will be happy to buddy with you and provide some guidance/support. You are still pretty new in the game. With so many excellent shore dives in Sydney it is a great way to get the bugs worked out and the bottom time to build your skill set. Happy bubble blowing...

 

[clownfishsydney]

Generally, diving in Australia (apart from the very tourist locations of GBR and Byron Bay) do not provide guides for divers. You are expected to be able to look after yourself and dive by listening to the briefing and then exploring. There is no commercial boat dive operation in Sydney that will guide you around like it seems you are used to. As Sheila has said above, shore dives do tend to be guided, so find a shop and go for a dive with them.

Once you have more experience, you will find that you do not want a guide except at certain locations where you want to find small species (eg Bare Island, Clifton Gardens) but anyway, most of them are shore dives as it turns out.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

While the owner has changed hands, Fish Rock Dive Center in South West Rocks has a nice boat and I expect to be still a great dive op. It is a bit of a trek from Sydney, about 6 hours, but it is worth it.

 

[Divectionist]

Up here on the Gold Coast the typical double tank boat dives are from small RHIBs (say 6 to 12 divers depending on the operator), skipper stays on deck, and there is always a guide in the water as an extra buddy if there is an uneven number of divers, and generally available as a guide to follow around if you/your buddy want to do so.

In reality, you may all start descending together and stick together for a bit until the guide has to deal with some underwater situation or escort low on air divers back to the boat. Then you just keep going until the operator's reserve air or time restrictions are reached, all depending on the insta-buddy lottery. Good to carry a DSMB on drift dives if you move on from the guide.

Surface intervals are about an hour long, warm drinks, fruits, snacks served.

In terms of equipment, you obviously bring your stuff to the dive shop, set it up, hand it up to the boat (usually still trailered) and then someone will help you into your rig before jumping in. The guide will swap your tank (I do not want that service as I need to do it my way) during the interval.

The most important thing to me is that the operator cares to go the extra mile (extra fuel) to reach the best possible spot for the day and has a watchful eye over their customers beyond going through the safety motions. No need for a luxury cruiser for 10-30 minute boat rides to the destination. If I pay $125 for 2 dives on a RHIB or $250 for 2 dives on a cruiser where someone zips up my boots for me, I go diving 4 times on the small boat instead.

I feel extremely uncomfortable and rushed on such tours. The boat is bobbing, everyone is bumping into each other, I get sea sick, forget to do proper checks and ultimately not only I fail to enjoy the experience, I also undermine my safety along the way.

You are entitled to want something else but you would have an easier journey getting comfortable with what is on offer. For a boat not to bob around, you are either restricted to only the greatest of surface conditions or larger boats (= usually means more people, more chaos, and even more rushing - just go to the GBR and check it out). In practice, you can just take a sea sickness tablet and deal with the ocean being wavey. Doing your proper checks is on you. I find that the time between meeting and departing is usually long enough to set up my gear multiple times over, so certainly enough to do it once and have a good look over everything being as it should before loading onto the boat, and there is plenty of time for some thinking or visualisation on the ride to the site. Once there, put on your rig, check yourself, check your buddy, communicate any FYI's regarding each other's gear setup, and jump in the water. If you have to wait for the rest of the group, great, float a bit and get your breathing right, then enjoy the dive.

And consider that tourist-style dive boats in such destinations are probably more likely to have their share of suboptimal buddies on board, whereas the no-frills boat transfers targeted at local divers may bring more experienced divers. Would you rather thave 1 guide and 7 erratic divers, one of which is your buddy, or 0 guides and 7 calm and confident divers?

 

[CJS]

Pro dive in Sydney offer guided boat dives every weekend off Sealife V. I've never been in a group of more than 5 per dive guide.

 

[Chris Ross]

Sydney dive shops cater to local divers doesn't seem to be a critical mass of tourists. Agree about shore dives, I do a lot of shore dives and while you can tag along with the DM, I generally go with my buddy as you are on lowest common denominator and would need to tiurnaround with the DM when the first person runs low on air. Be warned though many of the best dive sites are a haul to get yourself down to the water and back up.

Best sites are in south of Sydney, Bare Island, the leap and the steps in Botany Bay, Oak Park is a nice easy dive, Shiprock among others.

On your original request the closest you get to what your asking would be Pro-Dive - it's a bigger boat and they have any hire gear including tanks and weights on board you just have to get own gear on. Downside there is parking at Rose Bay can be a real challenge depending on what day/time you dive.

It could be worse - I went diving in LA out to Catalina Island - the boats only do the trip and the food. If you want hire gear it's arranged separately and finding hire tanks/weights is very difficult - everyone seems to have their own tanks/weights. On the boat you get a basic briefing and it's up to you they don't even organise buddy pairs.