Diving around Nassau (Providence Island)

"Alex" <alex69uk@gmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:
:
:We're facing a dilemma here as to whether it is worth tryng to get to
:Andros, Eleuthera, Bimini, or anywhere else as opposed to arranging day
:trips from New Providence.
:
:The thing is that both accomodation and diving seems a lot more
:expensive outside NP and you also have to pay for the boat/plane which
:again isn't cheap. We've never been and are getting frustrated with the
:guides.
:
:What's the experience on the forum?

I've dove Bimini from the Nekton Pilot, but have not dove New
Providence. Unless New Providence was really bad, I would not spend
money for a day trip to Bimini.


Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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"Alex" <alex69uk@gmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:
:
:We're facing a dilemma here as to whether it is worth tryng to get to
:Andros, Eleuthera, Bimini, or anywhere else as opposed to arranging day
:trips from New Providence.
:
:The thing is that both accomodation and diving seems a lot more
:expensive outside NP and you also have to pay for the boat/plane which
:again isn't cheap. We've never been and are getting frustrated with the
:guides.
:
:What's the experience on the forum?

I've dove Bimini from the Nekton Pilot, but have not dove New
Providence. Unless New Providence was really bad, I would not spend
money for a day trip to Bimini.


Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Many thanks, very useful.

We are still wondering whether to stay in NP for 8 days or break it
into a 3 + 5 with 3 days somewhere else. If any spot is truly quite
nice and reasonably priced we'd like to do that, otherwise looks like
we'll be in NP the whole time...

We're still considering Harbour Island (and the whole of Eleuthera) and
Andros.

Many thanks, very useful.

We are still wondering whether to stay in NP for 8 days or break it
into a 3 + 5 with 3 days somewhere else. If any spot is truly quite
nice and reasonably priced we'd like to do that, otherwise looks like
we'll be in NP the whole time...

We're still considering Harbour Island (and the whole of Eleuthera) and
Andros.

"Alex" wrote

> We're facing a dilemma here as to whether it is worth tryng to get to
> Andros, Eleuthera, Bimini, or anywhere else as opposed to arranging day
> trips from New Providence.

I've never been diving around Eleuthera. In my opinion, the diving is much
better off Andros and Bimini, in that order, than anything New Providence
has to offer.

> The thing is that both accomodation and diving seems a lot more
> expensive outside NP and you also have to pay for the boat/plane which
> again isn't cheap. We've never been and are getting frustrated with the
> guides.

I've always found New Providence to be the most expensive of the Bahamas.
Then again, when I go there, I tend to stay in more upscale places. I'm not
usually there for the diving.

Transportation is alway an issue. My preference for diving the Bahamas is
to do it from a liveaboard dive boat. I like the focus on diving and like
the variety that traveling from area to area provides. If it were me, I'd
probably spend all of this trip on New Providence and schedule a future,
liveaboard trip for the out islands.

Lee

"Alex" wrote

> We're facing a dilemma here as to whether it is worth tryng to get to
> Andros, Eleuthera, Bimini, or anywhere else as opposed to arranging day
> trips from New Providence.

I've never been diving around Eleuthera. In my opinion, the diving is much
better off Andros and Bimini, in that order, than anything New Providence
has to offer.

> The thing is that both accomodation and diving seems a lot more
> expensive outside NP and you also have to pay for the boat/plane which
> again isn't cheap. We've never been and are getting frustrated with the
> guides.

I've always found New Providence to be the most expensive of the Bahamas.
Then again, when I go there, I tend to stay in more upscale places. I'm not
usually there for the diving.

Transportation is alway an issue. My preference for diving the Bahamas is
to do it from a liveaboard dive boat. I like the focus on diving and like
the variety that traveling from area to area provides. If it were me, I'd
probably spend all of this trip on New Providence and schedule a future,
liveaboard trip for the out islands.

Lee

"Dan Bracuk" wrote

> I've dove Bimini from the Nekton Pilot, but have not dove New
> Providence. Unless New Providence was really bad, I would not spend
> money for a day trip to Bimini.

Apparently, I've been able to dive more desirable sites around Bimini than
Dan. While it's not my favorite island in the Bahamas, there's still some
very nice diving in the area.

If we're talking about a day trip, however, I agree with Dan. There's
nothing on or around Bimini that, for me, would justify a day trip from
Nassau. If I didn't go there occasionally in my own boat, I probably would
take a weekend trip from Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

Lee

"Dan Bracuk" wrote

> I've dove Bimini from the Nekton Pilot, but have not dove New
> Providence. Unless New Providence was really bad, I would not spend
> money for a day trip to Bimini.

Apparently, I've been able to dive more desirable sites around Bimini than
Dan. While it's not my favorite island in the Bahamas, there's still some
very nice diving in the area.

If we're talking about a day trip, however, I agree with Dan. There's
nothing on or around Bimini that, for me, would justify a day trip from
Nassau. If I didn't go there occasionally in my own boat, I probably would
take a weekend trip from Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

Lee

Alex wrote:
> Hi
>
> What's the experience on the forum?
>
> We'll be in Nassau for 5 days (so we could do a couple of trips while
> there)

Next to Cozumel (where I logged 1200 dives by 2002) Nassau is my 2nd
most-favorite (partly because of my flights originate from ATL) dive
location, having logged over 200 dives there.

For 8-10 days, you will have plenty of opportunity to do various sites
and
different kinds of dives there without venturing anywhere else -- the
water
is not always greener on the other islands.

I posted this in this group in Nov 2005 about the shark dives there:

http://tinyurl.com/a3a9j

DDD (Dive Dive Dive) and Stuart Cove's within a stone's throw of each
other are my favorite shops there. For serious diving, there are
private
bungalos (villas) in DDD that are inexpensive and within 30 seconds of
the dive boats. Those shops will pick up divers from downtown Nassau
and Paradise island, but the free shuttle takes over an hour one-way.

Where else in the world would you ever find a SOB (Same Ocean Buddy)
buddy team on a regularly scheduled recreational dive (one of my 26 for

the week) whose VERTICAL distance between two of the divers exceed
380 fsw, and the shallowest of the 4 SOBs was at 100 fsw. See:

http://tinyurl.com/aqb22

http://tinyurl.com/ask9g

On another week, in August of 1994,

RF> On one of the dives, I was the SHALLOWEST of four divers in the
RF> SOB team: Dan to 485 fsw; his SO to 300+ fsw; an instructor
RF> who took a "deep air" course, to 250 fsw; I stayed my same max
RF> depth, 170 fsw.

Of course you DON'T have to be an SOB to enjoy diving some of the
walls along the Tongue of the Ocean in Nassau where those dives
were made.

-- Bob.

Alex wrote:
> Hi
>
> What's the experience on the forum?
>
> We'll be in Nassau for 5 days (so we could do a couple of trips while
> there)

Next to Cozumel (where I logged 1200 dives by 2002) Nassau is my 2nd
most-favorite (partly because of my flights originate from ATL) dive
location, having logged over 200 dives there.

For 8-10 days, you will have plenty of opportunity to do various sites
and
different kinds of dives there without venturing anywhere else -- the
water
is not always greener on the other islands.

I posted this in this group in Nov 2005 about the shark dives there:

http://tinyurl.com/a3a9j

DDD (Dive Dive Dive) and Stuart Cove's within a stone's throw of each
other are my favorite shops there. For serious diving, there are
private
bungalos (villas) in DDD that are inexpensive and within 30 seconds of
the dive boats. Those shops will pick up divers from downtown Nassau
and Paradise island, but the free shuttle takes over an hour one-way.

Where else in the world would you ever find a SOB (Same Ocean Buddy)
buddy team on a regularly scheduled recreational dive (one of my 26 for

the week) whose VERTICAL distance between two of the divers exceed
380 fsw, and the shallowest of the 4 SOBs was at 100 fsw. See:

http://tinyurl.com/aqb22

http://tinyurl.com/ask9g

On another week, in August of 1994,

RF> On one of the dives, I was the SHALLOWEST of four divers in the
RF> SOB team: Dan to 485 fsw; his SO to 300+ fsw; an instructor
RF> who took a "deep air" course, to 250 fsw; I stayed my same max
RF> depth, 170 fsw.

Of course you DON'T have to be an SOB to enjoy diving some of the
walls along the Tongue of the Ocean in Nassau where those dives
were made.

-- Bob.