Should we go?

[lazyturtle]

Hi all

My wife and I are planning an east coast trip this summer (sometime during june-august) and were considering a side trip to Bermuda.
A little background on us: I've been an instructor for 10 years, 6.5 years in the Carib and the rest in Hawaii. She's been diving for 7 years and has been around as well.
She gets cold easily. Here in Hawaii (in the summer when the water is 77-80) she wears a full 6/3 with a hood. I don't get cold.
If you have any useful responses please answer any or all of the following:
What would the conditions (temp/vis) be during the summer?
What kind of marine life would we see (just like the Carrib or different?)
Are there any 'must do' dives there?
Is there an off the beaten path dive?
Hows the shore diving?
What are the prices like (i.e. boat dives, tank rental, hotel, resturant)? I realize there will be a range, I'm just trying to get an idea.
Reccomended operator? Personally I want an operator that will bring me to the dive and leave me alone. I'd like a comfortable, fast boat.
Do any of the hotels/resorts have child care?

Thanks

 

[DeputyDan]

I am going to post about a place I have not been to. So take it for what its worth.

#1. Bermuda is not a top dive destination on the east coast.
#2. From reading various articles, etc. the better dives appear to be wrecks rather than reefs.
#3. The water will be much colder that you would expect in the late fall/winter/early spring. June - August should be OK.
#4. Expensive. It is a British colony and prices are kept up to keep a certain group of visitors from visiting. PRICE is the reason I have not been there.
#5. Don't know about the child care.

 

[smokey braden]

lazyturtle,
i've only been there twice.
take it for what it's worth.
the gulf stream pumps warm water and critters from the caribbean to bermuda.
there are reefs at shallow depths.
these shallow reefs have played hell on shipping for the last 400 years.
most of the dives are shallow with reefs with a wreck thrown in at no extra charge.

my wife and i have only stayed at bed and breakfasts accommondations.
this way we meet locals who tell us neat things.
there is a tremendous amount of history.
the locals are very proud of their island.

try to make the time to go to the swizzle inn for a cocktail.
you're going to have a blast.
regards,

 

[scubamax]

To provide further information:

It is somewhat different from the Carribean. There is not nearly as much fish life as most other destinations down south, but in exchange you get more wrecks. Coral is in generally healthy condition, but not the variety you might expect, so there are fewer colors, etc.

Sea surface Temps in the summer are from 79 to 86. General rule of thumb is the warmer the water, the lower the visibility due to more plankton in the water.

Shore Dives: Elbow Beach is a wonderful shore dive. Depending on where you go you can see a wreck, experience spectacular caverns or just nice shallow reef. You can rent tanks from Blue Water Divers right there. There are other places to shore dive, but since you cannot rent a car, it is very difficult and expensive to arrange for logistics to other dive sites...in other words you are better off doing a boat dive, although if you do the right planning you can do three very different dives at Elbow Beach.

check out:

www.divebermuda.com

They run the shop at Elbow Beach as well as their boats out of Somerset in the west end of the island. They have the most informative web site for the island.

East end diving with Triangle diving is also good, but visiblity in the summer can be more limited due to the cruise ships stirring things up. There are a lot of super dives on the east end by the airport.

www.trianglediving.com

In terms of childcare, that one can be a bit tricky. Most of the big resort hotels will have something available, but smaller properties will not. Depends on where you want to stay.

Yes, Bermuda is expensive, but then again, Hawaii is not cheap, so it wont be as much sticker shock as if you were from another part of the US. But again be warned, it is expensive here.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Scubamax

 

[lazyturtle]

.. but since you cannot rent a car...

You can't rent a car there? Is there a great bus system or is everything walkable?

Aside from that thanks for the great insights.

 

[scubamax]

That is correct, no rental cars allowed,:11: only scooters, which I do not recommend. Bermuda road traffic is not as restful as its beaches. The bus system and ferry system works pretty good, and you can get a pass which works on both modes of transport. That is the best way to get around the island. The island is to big (20 miles long) to do a lot of walking, plus outside of Hamilton there are few roads with sidwalks, so you get to walk on the road (see above traffic comment) :shakehead

Unless you stay very close to a dive operation, the only real effective way to get there from your hotel is to take a taxi, which again can add up the costs depending on the distance.

Of course don't be turned off by all of this...Bermuda is a great place to visit and a nice place to dive, but unlike Bonaire or Cayman you don't have the same degree of transportation freedom.

Scubamax

 

[k4man]

Hi all

My wife and I are planning an east coast trip this summer (sometime during june-august) and were considering a side trip to Bermuda.
Thanks

while I've not been, either, my question is that if you are going to look for a side trip, it's a new location, and you have opportunity...

why wouldn't you go??

 

[spectrum]

Hi all

My wife and I are planning an east coast trip this summer (sometime during june-august) and were considering a side trip to Bermuda.
A little background on us: I've been an instructor for 10 years, 6.5 years in the Carib and the rest in Hawaii. She's been diving for 7 years and has been around as well.
She gets cold easily. Here in Hawaii (in the summer when the water is 77-80) she wears a full 6/3 with a hood. I don't get cold.
If you have any useful responses please answer any or all of the following:
What would the conditions (temp/vis) be during the summer?
What kind of marine life would we see (just like the Carrib or different?)
Are there any 'must do' dives there?
Is there an off the beaten path dive?
Hows the shore diving?
What are the prices like (i.e. boat dives, tank rental, hotel, resturant)? I realize there will be a range, I'm just trying to get an idea.
Reccomended operator? Personally I want an operator that will bring me to the dive and leave me alone. I'd like a comfortable, fast boat.
Do any of the hotels/resorts have child care?

Thanks

We ended up there on a family trip Easter week in 2006 and while admittedly not prime dive season managed a few dives.

At least then Blue water Divers (nice folks) operated out of Somerset/ Elbow Beach and the Wyndham where we stayed.

The first thing you need to know (mentioned already) is that it's a difficult place for a diver to get around. With no rental cars you can't do much of anything without dropping at least $20 for a cab. They are run by the government at metered rates. If you have dive gear make sire it's clean and dry before trying to get into a cab.

The bus system is the ticket for sightseeing. It was very well run. It is not very suitable to get around with scuba or even skin-diving gear. We learned from and enjoyed many locals on the buses.

Elbow Beach is shore diving only. We made 2 dives there and it was interesting but not worth the trip. We did see some colorful fish and visibility while nicer than we get in Maine but did not blow my mind. Seas had been up and down in fairness. As a dive shop guest you will be tolerated on the property if you come in via taxi. They will serve you on the beach front Cafe. Burger, Fries (with pickle) and a soft drink, $55 for 2.

From what I have read most Caribbean fish can be found there but they will be fewer and larger. I guess these are the one that disperse from the breeding grounds? We saw plenty of variety

At the Whyndam Blue Water Divers has a boat that does the usual AM and PM runs, we got to one wreck and the dive was nicely run. They made sure everyone was buddied and set the duration of the dive. Being a morning dive and since there in NO NITROX on the island there is not a lot to debate. Other than that we were left to dive. Shore diving at the Whyndham is possible but not appealing or encouraged.

I never made it to the Sommerset location. It sounded like that was more sheltered and the hub of their boat diving.

Summertime conditions get quite warm thanks to the gulf stream but you are well up the Atlantic seaboard. By late summer I would not ignore the risk of hurricane season making diving impossible.

I had not heard of any small dive operators but I could have missed that, especially in April.

Nothing is cheap but if you follow the locals you can do OK.

Diving was reasonable with shore dive tanks going for $10 or $15, I forget. Boat fees were customary.

If I were to do it again I'd go to spend a few days. It is nice to see the place, The sherbet colored homes, the stonework and people are interesting but after a few days I felt trapped and frustrated. There is no doubt that being there as a diver on a trip not tailored to diving was a frustration. Being one that prefers leisurely shore diving over the hustle of cattle boats didn't help. I'm looking forward to Bonaire this spring.

For a boat diving wreck lover, in the right season it may be heaven on earth.

Pete

 

[lazyturtle]

while I've not been, either, my question is that if you are going to look for a side trip, it's a new location, and you have opportunity...

why wouldn't you go??

Well as it's a side trip for us (we'd be visiting family on the east coast) we could just as easily and cheaply fly to the Bahamas (she has never been and I've only been to Nassau and Eluthera) or the Turks and Caicos (where we met) or even south Florida (fun diving and cheap room and board). Basically we'll only get to do a few dives on the trip and I'm trying to decide if it's worth the expense or if it would be better to save the money for a full dive vacation later in the year. If we made a full vacation later in the year it would most likely be to the South Pacific.

 

[lazyturtle]

Being one that prefers leisurely shore diving over the hustle of cattle boats didn't help. I'm looking forward to Bonaire this spring.

For a boat diving wreck lover, in the right season it may be heaven on earth.

Pete

Care to elaborate on the cattle boat statement? What do you think of as a cattle boat? I'd prefer a boat that has less than 10 divers onboard. I HATE diving in a herd, don't want a guided dive but I can tolerate a pre-determined dive time based on depth (unless it's WAY shorter than those allowed by the tables).
I'm also all about the shore diving freedom (we both LOVED Bonaire, lived there for 6 months still miss it...) and it sounds like that's not realistic to do on a quick trip there.
I don't particularly care about wreck diving (though I think the Bermuda wrecks would be interesting because of thier historical nature), I'm more into marine life, espcially invertibrates and endemics.