Scuba in LaRomana, Cayo Levantando; St. Martin

[sunpsyche]

Has anyone had any experience with private dive operator in any of these locations? Our cruiseline appears to only offer snorkling trips. We are experienced divers--20 years. Any help would be most appreciated!

[scubamargie]

I can't recommend a dive operator, but I can tell you one to avoid. We dove with Scubafun and were not impressed. The tiny wooden fishing boat was packed with about 10 divers. We literally could not move to put on gear or anything else, so everyone suited up on shore. I doubt there was any safety equipment on board. If we hadn't pre-paid for the diving we would have left. The diving wasn't very good (poor vis). You can find a list of other dive operators there on the PADI site (link below), but I don't think the diving was really worth the effort. There is, however, an awesome night show in town that you don't want to miss (Kandela - A Latin Extravaganza) which just made the trip for us! The little town outside the amphitheatre (Altos de Chavon) is very cool, with cobblestone streets and lots of artist shops. We arrived early for the show and only saw it at night. I would have liked to have had time to see it in the daytime, or maybe at sunset :) since it is up on a hill and overlooks the bay.

 

You'll find info about St. Martin in the "Where to dive Southern Caribbean?" thread.

 

PADI link: http://padi.com/english/common/search/dcnr/search.asp?Country=DM+R&City=&Name=&Submit2=Submit

[sunpsyche]

Thanks for the heads up about ScubaFun, Margie. I came across their site and they are a good bit cheaper than many others, so I was tempted! We'll be in town for about 11 hours so a dive sounded great. I had heard about the Kandela and we will be sure not to miss it. Thanks for your help!

[CountessP]

I've e-mailed several diver operators in both St. Maarten and La Romana. At this point, the only one I've heard from is ScubaFun in La Romana, so I may have no choice but to dive with them. We'll see! I get the impression that Caye Levantado is similar to a private island and I'm not sure scuba diving is even available. I think the only thing you can do is snorkle. If anyone knows different, please let me know!

 

ScubaMargie, thanks for the Padi site. I know it'll come in handy on future trips, and thanks for the heads up on Kandela. I was wondering why they stay in La Romana so long, but I guess they must sell tickets to this show. Did you see the show in conjunction with a cruise excursion or did you go into town and do it on your own? Wondering which is the best way to do it.

 

Thanks, Millie

[CountessP]

I just arranged a dive in St. Maarten with Dive Safari. Haven't done it yet, so don't know how good they are, but they are very accomodating, picking us up at the pier. Based on their website, they seem to have a good operation. I'll be diving with ScubaFun in La Romana simply because no one else reponded to my e-mails. If anyone else knows of some other options, let me know.

 

Hope I get some great diving!

Millie

[scubamargie]

We just booked the Kandela excursion through the ship because I couldn't find a way to book it otherwise. There were lots of open seats so you could probably wait until that day to check it out. The ship provided bus transportation to and from the show so you would also need to plan on getting a taxi each way.

[cmdchiefthom]

NCL SHOREX is offering a three hour certified SCUBA in Cayo Lavantado at Cayo La Forola, but in searching the net, I can't find any information on that location, or SCUBA anywhere n the Samana area. Any info would be appreciated.;)