Nassau Questions

[HammerNoMore]

Since I've decided that a trip to Guadeloupe will involve a camel expedition across the Caribbean Sea...I'm changing plans and going to Nassau next spring. I have a few questions:

1. Air/Water temps? I'll be going late April.
2. Best Dive Op? I've done some searching but can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I want small, fast (6 pack) boats and not to be babysat. I also want to dive my tank, not come up when the first person runs out of air.
3. AI or not? Are there good restrants on the island? Are they resonable? Or is it better just to go AI?
4. How much hassle is it gettin from the resort areas (Cable Beach or Paradise Island) to the dive areas? The shops provide transportation but how long does it take, etc?

James

 

[HammerNoMore]

Come on? Nassau...one of the most popular Caribbean destinations and no one has an answer?

 

[TropicalDiver]

Do a search and you'll find it's been covered before...diving is do-able, but not spectacular by any means...there are some ops and they are a drive from Paradise Island...the beaches and conch salad, however, are spectacular!!! Atlantis is a MUST see also. Have fun!

 

[HammerNoMore]

Do a search and you'll find it's been covered before...

Actually, as I indicated, I've done a search. Nothing but opinions on SC and DDD, both of which are cattle boat operators...

 

[outlawaggie]

Come on? Nassau...one of the most popular Caribbean destinations and no one has an answer?

I lived there for a while while Atlantis was under construction. THere are some excellent restraurants on the island that are reasonable. Ask around for the best places to eat. (There are lots of expats that live in Nassau) Atlantis itself is absurd on its pricing. Getting around the island is not bad at all. Stuarts Cove is (at least was) the biggest dive outfit down there.

Personally I'd look into some of the out islands for diving. They are much less touristy.

Here are a couple of other dive operators. I don't know much about them though.
http://www.nassau-scuba-centre.com/
http://www.nealwatson.com/Nassau/DiveRates.html

 

[blawler1]

Nassau is a bustling city with plenty of resort hotels and good places to eat. My experience was with the British Colonial Hilton which has its on beach downtown next to the straw market. The other nice areas are Paradise Island (the Atlantis is not to be missed and it has the largest casino in the Caribbean/Atlantic region) and Cable beach which has the Crystal casino is also a very nice area outside of town.

When I was there a couple of years ago in mid march the water temperature was 78 F, so I was comfortable in a shorty, my wife dove in skins a couple of days.

The best diving on the island of New Providence is on the SW side away from Nassau. My experience was with Stuart Cove, but I have heard good things about Nassau Dive Centre and Dive Dive Dive. All of the dive operators provide free shuttles from Nassau, Paradise Island and Cable Beach resorts to the dive shops and back.

Stuart Cove pioneered the shark feeding dives and still runs one of the best. They do it as a two tank dive with a swim along with the sharks along the Tongue of the Sea (a 6000' deep trench) with a shark feeding on the second tank. (The video is awesome)

They also run a DPV wall dive which is incredible. It runs a couple times a week and has a maximum of six divers. These go through the shark feeding sites which makes for lots of interaction with the sharks and the second tank goes through the James Bond wrecks, a collection of underwater sets and wrecks that were used on movies including the Vulcan bomber from Thunderball and the Tears of Allah wreck from Never Say Never.

 

[HammerNoMore]

When I was there a couple of years ago in mid march the water temperature was 78 F, so I was comfortable in a shorty, my wife dove in skins a couple of days.

Great! There is always a thermocline here so 78 is great for me, shorty temps. My wife gets cold in a full at 78 but she won't be diving much.

The best diving on the island of New Providence is on the SW side away from Nassau. My experience was with Stuart Cove, but I have heard good things about Nassau Dive Centre and Dive Dive Dive. All of the dive operators provide free shuttles from Nassau, Paradise Island and Cable Beach resorts to the dive shops and back.

I've heard that all of these guys run big boats and lowest common denominator dives. I've recently found Custom Aquatics (http://www.divecustomaquatics.com/boats.php). The Boomer looks perfect. Anyone have any experience with them?

James

 

[Scuba65]

Hi, James....I just returned from Nassau like 2 hrs. ago...and it was a great vacation in which we didn't want to come back from..specially after the diving. We went with Stuart Cove's and they are highly recommended by me. I've never dove with anyone else there..but, I don't think that after diving with Stuart Cove's I would use anyone else...they are the best dive op. i've ever dove with and i've been diving for over 12 yrs. in different areas. They are the most pleasant people...from the staff at the gift/registration offices to the staff on the boats...and they were not by all means cattle boats like i've also heard. they are the most professional people i've ever dealt with..very efficient..very helpful..and they know what they are doing. the shark feed is a must if you go there..i'ts so great that we did it twice and the video is a must. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in downtown and it's was a good clean place, we did encounter some rude people along the way..but i think that is expect in alot of places. well, that is my recommendation to Nassau and to SC. good luck