Diving at Ocho Rios, Jamaica

[MoneyGuy]

If anyone has dived this location and has any advice or recommendations for dive shops or places to go, please post here. I'll be there in January 2010. Thanks.

[tombo]

We were there but didn't dive. No dive excursions were offered by the ship and all of the divers aboard seemed to conclude that there was no worhtwhile diving to be done there. We went to the Dunn's River Falls (?) and, If I returned, I would skip that too.

[bruce-r]

We were there but didn't dive. No dive excursions were offered by the ship and all of the divers aboard seemed to conclude that there was no worhtwhile diving to be done there.

I gotta agree. There is definitely a reason the ship didn't offer a dive excursion there.

[MoneyGuy]

I really want to get some diving in, even if it's sub-par.

 

What are my chances of finding a dive shop that will give me a refresher so I don't have to do one here at home?

[gliner]

There really is no diving in Jamaica.

 

The reefs have been killed off due to pollution, so there really is nothing to see. If you HAVE to dive, maybe a dive in the ship's pool would suffice. It will be just as interesting.

[Middleager]

It's warm water there. It's possible to find a dive op.

 

It was 2003 that my wife and I went to a Beaches resort in Ocho Rios. Diving was included, so I took advantage of that, took the resort course, and went to a few dives. I liked diving so much I got certified. After that and have dove in many other places, I realized there was really not much to see in Ocho Rios.

 

But it was warm water and decent visibility.

 

There are several Sandal/Beaches resorts in Jamaica. I think about 3 in the Ocho Rios area. They all have dive shops. So there must be some other dive ops there. It won't be very good diving, but definitely better than diving in the cold in Canada.

[bruce-r]

There really is no diving in Jamaica.

More accurately, there is really no good diving in Jamaica close enough to where the ships dock to be practical for cruisers.

[Sailfish]

I agree that I would not consider going on a dive trip to Ocho Rios; however, we also vacationed at the Sandals in Ocho Rios, and dove every day. We made friends with the water sports manager, who had the dive shop take us to several dive sites that many local dive shops do not visit.

 

One dive site in particular - Ocho Rios Wall - was actually a decent dive. But we were there on an add day where the visibility was amazing - even the dive master remarked that it was never this good - so I will chalk that up to luck.

 

But the bad news is the one dive operator in Ocho Rios generally won't take cruise passengers to any decent dive sites - even though Ocho Rios wall is a stones throw from the pier - when there are ships in town. Another good dive (and there were only 2) is towards Montego Bay, and again, we just got lucky we got to go there, as they won't take Sandals guests there normally.

 

On a good day, even Ocho Rios has decent dive sites! But I wouldn't dive there while on a cruise!

[MoneyGuy]

I should have been more clear. We won't be on a cruise. I came to this site because I know there are lots of people knowledgeable about destinations, but we're staying at an all-inclusive resort. I'm hoping to find a dive shop that will take me diving during our week there. If I don't have time or opportunity to get in a refresher before we leave, then I'll need a refresher in Jamaica also, so I'd like to contact a dive shop about that as well.

 

Any recommendations for such a shop are appreciated. I'm guessing that the Sandals in Ocho Rios would not provide this service for us as we're not staying there?!? I've never been at a Sandals but I think they'd only serve their guests.

[Sailfish]

I should have been more clear. We won't be on a cruise. I came to this site because I know there are lots of people knowledgeable about destinations, but we're staying at an all-inclusive resort. I'm hoping to find a dive shop that will take me diving during our week there. If I don't have time or opportunity to get in a refresher before we leave, then I'll need a refresher in Jamaica also, so I'd like to contact a dive shop about that as well.

 

Any recommendations for such a shop are appreciated. I'm guessing that the Sandals in Ocho Rios would not provide this service for us as we're not staying there?!? I've never been at a Sandals but I think they'd only serve their guests.

 

The dive shop at Sandals in Ocho Rios had its own dive operation, and I am going to assume what ever all-inclusive you go to will probably have their own dive shop. Diving at Sandals is included which was an unexpected bonus for us, as we went there to go golfing and ended up diving instead (the golf course wasn't too well maintained).

 

We dove every day, and I can't speak for the other resorts, but the PADI dive operation at the resort was a pain. All the dives were generally shallow, and kind of boring. Like I said earlier, it wasn't until after we spoke to the water sports manager that the dive operator took us to better dive sites. Make sure you ask to go to Ocho Rios Wall, among the better dive sites. There was another one -_____ Hall that was very nice as well - forgot the name.

 

Good luck!