San Juan to Dominica / Dominica Dive Ops

We are traveling to Dominica via San Juan. Is two hours sufficient to pick
up luggage in San Juan and check in with Liat for our flight to Dominica?
Would like to avoid a nite in San Juan going there. Can't avoid the one
coming home.
Also has anyone been there recently? Am considering Nature Island Divers,
Dive Dominica, or Anchorage.
Nature Island Divers is our preference but would like to stay within a short
walk of the dive shop and town. Any suggestions. If we go with Dive
Dominica and Castle Comfort how is the dive operation? Have read good and
bad but some reports go back several years. Is there a time restriction on
dives. Do not like coming back with 1200 lbs air. Have also read good and
bad on the food. We are not picky and like most fish. Same questions on
Anchorage Hotel. How is Evergreen Hotel which has a package with Dive
Dominica with or without a meal plan.
Thanks

>Nature Island Divers is our preference but would like to stay within a short
>walk of the dive shop and town. Any suggestions. If we go with Dive
>Dominica and Castle Comfort how is the dive operation? Have read good and
>bad but some reports go back several years. Is there a time restriction on
>dives. Do not like coming back with 1200 lbs air.

Went out with Nature Island Divers in January and couldn't have been more
pleased. They are a bit out of the way, but right on the dive cove.
Definitely not walking distance to Roseau. But they were extremely
professional, let me dive my profile and air, and the diving is fabulous. The
owners are very nice and accommodating.

Looking forward to more dives with them in November.

Amber

We dove with Nature Island Divers in November & loved them. The top dives
(pinnacles) are just 5 minutes from their dock. 100' vis with very little
chop. Very restful to come back to shop area for surface interval. Great
set-up to wash out gear afterwards. Some of my favorite dives -EVER (over
500 to date). Did first dive 108 min. for 68 minutes (great pinnacles for
multi level dive). 60' for 70 minutes - still well within green on
everyone's computers! Owners very nice!
The couple we dove with had used ops in town and liked Nature Island Divers
a lot better. One of the ones in town was quite rude to me on the phone from
the US - it was a no brainier!

"betty" <rpete@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:VgjLa.273$VY3.81@news02.roc.ny...
> We are traveling to Dominica via San Juan. Is two hours sufficient to
pick
> up luggage in San Juan and check in with Liat for our flight to Dominica?
> Would like to avoid a nite in San Juan going there. Can't avoid the one
> coming home.
> Also has anyone been there recently? Am considering Nature Island Divers,
> Dive Dominica, or Anchorage.
> Nature Island Divers is our preference but would like to stay within a
short
> walk of the dive shop and town. Any suggestions. If we go with Dive
> Dominica and Castle Comfort how is the dive operation? Have read good and
> bad but some reports go back several years. Is there a time restriction
on
> dives. Do not like coming back with 1200 lbs air. Have also read good
and
> bad on the food. We are not picky and like most fish. Same questions on
> Anchorage Hotel. How is Evergreen Hotel which has a package with Dive
> Dominica with or without a meal plan.
> Thanks
>
>

betty wrote:
>
> We are traveling to Dominica via San Juan. Is two hours sufficient to pick
> up luggage in San Juan and check in with Liat for our flight to Dominica?
> Would like to avoid a nite in San Juan going there. Can't avoid the one
> coming home.
> Also has anyone been there recently? Am considering Nature Island Divers,
> Dive Dominica, or Anchorage.
> Nature Island Divers is our preference but would like to stay within a short
> walk of the dive shop and town.

Within a walk of the dive shop shouldn't be a problem, and I believe they
have their own property to rent out: the best thing is to get help with
booking from the shop staff. Most places will be fairly low-key guesthouses
down at that end, although a short drive away is the wonderful Petit
Coulibri Guesthouse (At the expensive end of the market but IMO one of the
most wonderful places to stay in Dominica, and no question the palce to go
if you fancy good food). However, its a 20-minute drive into town from
Soufriere. Personally, I don't know why you would want to be within a short
walk of town. Roseau is the least attractive part of Dominica IMO, and
doesn't have that much to offer that you would want on ready access. There
are not even a large number of places to eat in the evening: most eateries
operate during the day only and as I say below, there are few that would
merit the effort of a walk anyway (even Castle Comfort/Anchorage are at
least 20-30 minutes walk along a narrow congested road with lots of
traffic).

Any suggestions. If we go with Dive
> Dominica and Castle Comfort how is the dive operation? Have read good and
> bad but some reports go back several years. Is there a time restriction on
> dives. Do not like coming back with 1200 lbs air.

My experience is not recent as I stopped diving with them many years ago.
As far as my observations of their operations go (can't really avoid this
since they are often "parked" on a neighbouring buoy during dives) they
still are pretty regimented. At the time I dove with them it was a standard
dive plan: 80 feet for 45 minutes for the first dive, 1 hr SIT and then 50
ft for 45 minutes for the second. Anchorage is much more accommodating and
flexible and I have dived with them for many years now. However, in all
honesty I have to say that their operation can be a bit chaotic at times.

Have also read good and
> bad on the food. We are not picky and like most fish. Same questions on
> Anchorage Hotel.

Don't go to Dominica for the food. I can think of a handful of times when
I've eaten what I would call a decent meal out in Dominica...and I've been
going there every year since 1988, sometime twice a year (although I
usually self-cater so would only eat out a couple of times per trip: its
not that cheap).

Anita

Dive with Nature Island - it will be well worth it!!!
Mike