Options/Advice for Diving in Exuma

[topher10]

My wife and I are taking an anniversary trip to Exuma. Will be staying 6 nights the last week of July. I am a newly certified diver (my wife is not), and would like to dive once or twice while there.

According to the resort, I have two options: 1) Sandals which is very close to our resort 2)Dive Exuma, which is in Georgetown and about 40 minute drive from the resort. Thus we would have to take a cab or rent a car to get to Georgetown (~70$).

Based on my internet research, Dive-Exuma is a nice shop and things would run smoothly, and they are responsive to questions via email. So I could set everything up ahead of time, including prices and gear rental. Sandals on the other hand will likely not be responsive, and I will have to walk over and set stuff up when I arrive. Plus, I have gotten the impression that things are slower at the Sandals, in that it takes a bit of time to leave on the boat each morning, and they only do 1 dive/tank per trip, so you have to go back to the dock and wait if you want to do a second dive that morning. But the Sandals staff, equipment, etc would be great, I am sure.

I am a new diver so anything I do or see will be great experience, so I am not as much worried about the quality of dive sites. But I would like to get the most for my time and money.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[ColoDale]

We had the same questions you had. We stayed at Sandals and dove with them once or twice then switches to Dive Exuma. We have more dives and were interested in more quality diving though. I would not call Sandals slow. They use the same boats for the dives and snorkel trips so if anything they will be more rushed. I wrote a trip report for all this on this board and posted July 10, 2010 in the Lesser Antilles forum. Though things may have changed the methods of the two are reflected. I also wrote a report for the dive shop on tripadvisor around the same time under a variation on my SB username.
When I was there in Exuma, Sandals used the marina facilities offsite and we did not return to the marina for the SI. I would ask Sandals there to have the dive shop people reply to you . We have had responses in past years.
Ask yourself what kind of experience you want. Sandals will go to nice safe easy dive sites. It will be regimented, timed, follow the leader, sometimes see cool things. The staff is professional, they have good rental equipment that I saw (we brought our own). And their boats are larger and in good condition (last I knew) but I expect that standard to be in affect now.
Dive Exuma will/should give you dive site choice if they can, more freedom, possibly more interesting sites. However, make sure if you dive with them, tell them what you want. There seem to be some complaints on tripadvisor of too much freedom when the divers were newer and expected more attention. We wanted the opposite and told them. They did it.
When we were there a taxi round trip was $100 US for the whole Suburban but the fare can be shared. Could be more now but don't know. Car would have been cheaper. It's not difficult to get to if you know what to look for (signs). The taxi driver then did not but I spotted the sign.
Yes you will have set up diving ahead time with Sandals when you arrive like a daily early sign up sheet but ask them. They may want a checkout dive (dip) in the pool first.
I am not a Sandals diving fan but it works and is less costly for out of pocket expenses.
You'll love the beach there.

 

[topher10]

Thanks so much for the response. I found and read your prior post about Exuma, and its very helpful. From your post and other reviews, I get the impression that Sandals is nice, clean and safe, but a bit restricted. Conversely Dive-Exuma will be more expensive but also perhaps more 'adventurous'.

We are staying at the Grande Isle Resort, which is on the same beach as the Sandals. The resort concierge said that the Marina is right across the street and that most guests choose to dive with Sandals and just walk to the dive boat at the marina in the morning. Since I am a beginner diver (8 total dives), its possible that the Sandals experience will be adequate for me. Diving a reef at 40ft is probably what I should be doing.

My only issue is that I am not sure what Sandals will charge me, since I am not staying with them. I need to try to email/call. If I can get a response, I think the best plan would be to dive sandals first and if the experience is bad then perhaps contact Dive Exuma.

Thanks again.

 

[ColoDale]

Sounds like a plan. I have been on their boats with local expatriots diving with them and I recall there was a charge but could not tell you what it was. We generally switch to a local dive op but that is just us. It's not horrible to dive with Sandals, we just want more.

 

[topher10]

Thought I would write a follow up in case someone searches and finds this thread.

General Impression: We spent a week in beautiful Exuma. Grande Isle Resort was excellent, island was nice, beaches and water were beautiful. Felt very safe driving around and seeing different places. Food was expensive. Boat tours around the various cays is really fun. Definitely recommend this place as a general island vacation. I am a very much a novice diver having just been certified this year, so anywhere with clear warm water is amazing to me. The Sandals vs. Dive Exuma experience was consistent with posts above.

Sandals: Sandals was very professional, with really nice people. Equipment seemed nice, boat was nice, divemaster, captain, mate and others on boat were very friendly and I enjoyed talking with them. Sign up was easy and straight-forward considering I just walked up. A little hard to contact them prior to arrival, but I did talk with someone on the phone. I was in a group of 4 couples and 3 singles (11 plus the DM who led and assistant who trailed). One guy who had no log and couldn’t prove he had been diving in the last 12 months had to spend 5 mins in the pool showing skills. We went to a reef, about 50ft deep although I was at 35 ft most of the time. Thorough and rather serious briefing. We all had to stay together, follow the dive master, and do exactly what he said. He asked for my gas pressure 3 times in the 38 minute dive. When he said surface we all surfaced as a group regardless of individual gas remaining. Afterward, the boat went back to the dock to drop off people and pick up others for a second dive, which I think would be shallower and included people in the Discover Program (not certified). I only did the one dive. I had a good experience with Sandals. Nice people in a well-controlled environment. I think it would be appropriate for vacationers who do not dive frequently.

Dive Exuma was in Georgetown. Tamara works the front desk and she was excellent at setting up our reservations and explaining the options for the various dives. Since I am a beginner I chose a day when they were doing a shallow set of reef dives. I was tempted to book the shark dive but decided to wait until I had more experience and could appreciate it. My wife and I showed up that morning (they let my wife ride on the boat for free) and everything went smoothly. Rental gear was nice and clean, as was the boat. On the boat was 3 staff: Boat captain, divemaster who handled the 3 certified divers (including me), and a DM who was doing checkout dives for 2 new divers. At the first site, DM gave a short but thorough briefing describing the site and expectations, saying that he would go into the water and chart a course around the reef, and we could follow. I was solo and the other two divers were a husband and wife team. They buddied up and loosely followed the DM (always within sight in the clear water, but not always close). I told the DM that I would stick close to him, and he said that would be great. DM checked my gear with me when I asked him to, and said I had it setup correctly. DM cruised slowly along the reef, I did a bit more looking and moving back and forth to see things. He pointed out lobster or other things of interest occasionally, but mostly just cruised, checking if I was nearby, and never asked me my tank pressure once. When we got back to the boat he asked if I was ready to surface, I said sure and we went up. I think the couple came up about 5 mins after us. Essentially the same thing for the second dive/site after a short boat ride and about a 30 minute interval. So 2 dives in about 35ft of crystal clear water, approximately ~ 50 mins each. I had a great time.

In summary, both places were nice and run professionally. Sandals is a more supervised and therefore rigid experience. Dive Exuma is more relaxed and open, but no less professional. I could see how the inexperienced would be comforted by Sandals close supervision, while the experienced would like the freedom of Dive Exuma.