Need info for a possible Bahamas Trip

[Dr. Jay]

Anyone have any info on diving in the Bahamas?

I'm thinking of taking a trip there sometime this May. I was just wondering if I would be way off if I thought I could spend around $1000-$1500 for two people for maybe 3 to 4 nights plus diving and airfare. Is there any tourist traps (well...besides the whole place) that I should avoid? Any good places to look for package deals, or should I avoid that? What about shore diving (since its much cheaper)? Or, are there any threads on this that I am too lazy to search for?

Thanks
Jason

 

[cudachaser]

I'm running a trip to Bimini Apr 18-23 that may perfectly meet your needs...email me cbdives@hotmail.com

 

[Dr. Jay]

...for the offer cudachaser, but my graduation isn't until May 3 .

It'll probably be the second week or so in May before I can go.

I appreciate the offer!

 

[Soggy]

I recently spent a week in Nassau, Bahamas (New Providence Island). Look into staying at the South Ocean Beach & Golf Club in the southwest corner - they have real good diving/lodging packages. New Providence is likely the cheapest Bahamas option.

I stayed at a very inexpensive hotel, the Nassau Beach Hotel, on Cable Beach and was picked up every day for diving and driven to the dive shop.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

AaronBBrown once bubbled...
I recently spent a week in Nassau, Bahamas (New Providence Island). Look into staying at the South Ocean Beach & Golf Club in the southwest corner - they have real good diving/lodging packages. New Providence is likely the cheapest Bahamas option.

I stayed at a very inexpensive hotel, the Nassau Beach Hotel, on Cable Beach and was picked up every day for diving and driven to the dive shop.

I second that opinion. I stayed at the Clarion and dove with Stuart Cove's. Great op. So-so hotel. If you can arrange a hotel a little closer to downtown do it cause the food at Clarion was pretty bad. The diving is okay. The big attraction is the shark diving. Well worth the trip.

 

[miesemer]

My wife and I stayed at Pelican Bay and dove with UNEXSO. The hotel was very clean and is located right next to the dive operator. We spent about $900 per person which included 4 nights lodging, breakfast, airfare from Baltimore and 7 dives each (including a shark feeding $90 and dolphin dive $160). The dive shop offers packages with and without the shark and dolphin dives. There are many restaurants, bars and shops within easy walking distance from the hotel. I don't think there's any decent shore diving on Grand Bahama (or so I was told). The dive sites were decent but don't expect abundant sea life and viz like Cozumel or Bonaire.

I have some pictures on my website .

 

[Natasha]

I'll second Unexso and Pelican Bay. Very nice resort. Also, The Port Lucyan Yacht club prices out well, and is next to the dive shop.
You should be able to get good air prices on Air Tran.
No shore diving, but you can do the dolphin dive and shark feeding dives there, if you're willing to spend a little more.

 

[Soggy]

I also dove with Stuart's Cove on New Providence Island.

They were a good op. A little more pricey, but they had several large boats and friendly staff. The only "problem" I ran into was that I never got back on the boat with less than 1400psi in my AL80...they limited your time a bit because they have a schedule to keep. I did get a 68 minute dive in on a shallow reef, however....could've been 90 mins or more, though.

 

[Natasha]

I have also heard that Stuart's Cove won't let you dive your own profile, because of tight boat schedules.

 

[Soggy]

Natasha once bubbled...
I have also heard that Stuart's Cove won't let you dive your own profile, because of tight boat schedules.

You can dive your own profile as long as it is within the NDL. The real issue is time. So, I could've gone down to 120ft on a wall, but I needed to back on the boat within around 30 minutes.

The big issue is that they cater to the resort diver, so they watch over everyone quite a bit. They let the reigns go on people a bit if it was obvious they had some experience and I think it helped a bit when I told them my last dive was a week prior in 38 degree water. I was always the last person back on the boat and they didn't give me any grief. I suppose it depends on what time of year you go and how busy they were. One day the boat had 19 divers, another 6.

They suggest a profile (70 feet, 30 minutes on the wall), but inform people that they can change the profile if you want.