any opinion on dive centers for Cabarete/ Sosua in DR

Hi,
I will be going to Cabarete during Dec/Jan and was wondering if
somebody has done some scuba in Sosua and can recommend any dive
cernter or other opinion about this topic. Also which one would be the
best choice if one has to commute from Cabarete.

I found the following dive centers there. The coices are:
1 Hippocampo Dive Centre S-20277
2 FAT CAT S-20621
3 Aqua Center S-20486
4 Northern Coast Aquasports

thanks very much.
Peter

Peter,
February 2002 my wife and I dove with Jack (owner) at Northern Coast. They
arranged for both our pickup and return to the resort we were staying at..
We had made previous arrangements through several back and forth emails to
be allowed to dive our own profiles. We dive here on the Canadian Pacific
coast on a regular basis. Warm water is a pleasant change.
Our first dive we were taken out to the Canyon in Sosua Bay. Big
disappointment. There was garbage and plastic bags everywhere. I asked the
dive master if this was typical and was told that it was. Second dive was at
the airport at P.P. Big improvement however still not anything to jump and
down about. On our return to shore, Northern Coast wanted to store our
equipment on site. I politely said no to that and also let them know that
they could keep the money that we had paid (for a 2 week diving package) but
we were no longer interested in D.R. diving. I wasn't interested going from
diving a pristine environment in BC to diving in a sewer. That was when
Jack got directly involved and positive things started happening. We were
taken down to great diving in Rio San Juan where they also keep a boat. They
had just started going into this area a short while before and hadn't mapped
out a lot of sites. It really became a lets try over here situation. We saw
no other dive boats or people for the time while we were diving there. And
had a great time.
Hope this helps
BJ


"peter" <hedgecta@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7555cd22.0312061035.3aec41e1@posting.google.c om...
> Hi,
> I will be going to Cabarete during Dec/Jan and was wondering if
> somebody has done some scuba in Sosua and can recommend any dive
> cernter or other opinion about this topic. Also which one would be the
> best choice if one has to commute from Cabarete.
>
> I found the following dive centers there. The coices are:
> 1 Hippocampo Dive Centre S-20277
> 2 FAT CAT S-20621
> 3 Aqua Center S-20486
> 4 Northern Coast Aquasports
>
> thanks very much.
> Peter

Bruce Jones wrote in news:sCrAb.581266$pl3.558243@pd7tw3no:

> Our first dive we were taken out to the Canyon in Sosua Bay. Big
> disappointment. There was garbage and plastic bags everywhere.

I have been diving in Sosua Bay during march 2003.
I have to second Bruce's opinion, Sosua Bay is a bit polluted and really
crowded on the beach. But I have definitely seen worse places in the DR
though, we could not even go into the water in front of our hotel on the
Playa Dorada (20 mins off Sosua) because it was all dirty. The only
watersport happening there is motorized (read: noisy) one (banana boats,
water ski, etc).

I guess diving in the Maldives spoils you forever. I DID enjoy my holiday
in the DR, but I am definitely NOT going there again. :) (has to do with
other things than diving as well, e.g. crappy hotel (had 4 stars, I still
wonder what for), bad service, mass tourism, etc.).

If you are really into spending your holidays in the DR, I'd recommend
going to the caribbean side. I have been told water, beaches etc. would
be much nicer there. I have no personal experience on that, though.

If it's Sosua all the way, I have heard lots and lots of positive reviews
about http://www.tauchschule-merlin.com/ (German owned, english speaking
personel of course). They are located directly on the beach road in
Sosua.
During my stay in the DR, I have been diving with my local Hotel
operators (SeaPro Divers), which I would not recomment to anyone.

Hope that helps a bit,
Bjoern

What is FAT CAT web site or phone number? Write to me at
julie_laplante@hotmail.com


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