It’,s Better in The Bahamas Coral kaleidoscope
With the third largest barrier quieter spots like Long Cay, reef system in the world and Crooked Island and Mayaguana around seven hundred islands in the south, off-shore you’ll and cays, the choice of The discover healthy coral reefs Bahamas’ reefs to dive is out of that teem with life and pulse this world. From the vibrancy with colour. Should you choose of Nassau and Grand Bahama a liveaboard dive trip, there’s in the north to the the rarely visited reef areas like southernmost reaches of the Gingerbread Grounds and Cay Sal Bank, claimed to include one of the largest atolls Reefs are better in The Bahamas in the world. Shark action
Want to see sharks while Typically, Caribbean reef you’re diving? The Bahamas sharks are impressive beasts are famous for shark but they are not the only encounters. These are not sharks you might encounter. sharks that disappear into the There are lemon sharks, nurse blue when you see them. sharks, bull sharks, great These are not fleeting hammerheads and tiger sharks encounters. These sharks are too. It’s the shark-diving Shark-diving is betterup close and in personal. The Bahamascapital of the world. Back to school
The name Bahamas comes from the Spanish for ‘shallow seas’ but deep blue channels punctuate the clear turquoise waters around the islands and these are frequented by huge schools of fish that make their way across the dive sites. Atlantic spadefish, jacks, dorado, silky sharks, silvery tarpon, and even Nassau grouper during spawning, school in large numbers. If your passion is to swim with the fishes, this is the place for you. Fish school better in The Bahamas Flying high
Using a diver propulsion vehicle (DPV) is no fun if you can’t see where you’re going. No problem in the high-visibility conditions provided by the Bahamian waters. You can rent a DPV at selected dive-centres and fly along the reef walls, covering a lot more territory than you wouldUnderwater by fin-power alone. wall-flying For the less ambitious there are bubble- subs at selected dive-centres. is better in The Bahamas Get wrecked
The waters around The vessels. These have received a Bahamas have never been a new lease of life, providing a challenge to navigators over safe habitat for marine life and passing years but an prove popular with divers. environmentally-aware Where else is the water so clear, government has encouraged the you can see a whole wreck from sinking of artificial reefs in the the surface? form of many old and obsolete or unwanted Wreck-diving is better in The Bahamas Turn turtle
The islands and cays of The Bahamas are famous for their white, pink and golden sandy beaches. They still provide plenty of nesting sites for a vibrant turtle population that is otherwise endangered through loss of habitat in many parts of the world. Hawksbill, loggerhead and green turtles are most commonly encountered and it’s pleasant to spend time underwater with these Turtle encounters are better in The Bahamasenigmatic reptiles. Keep smiling
Why do dolphin smile? No, it’s not because they live in The Bahamas! Like all mammals they require fresh water, which they obtain from the fishes they swallow whole. Their mouths are so shaped that they can squeeze the seawater out before they swallow. Spotted bottle-nose dolphin are often seen off the coast of The Bahamas and Atlantic bottle-nose dolphin, rescued and rehabilitated from dolphinarium and aquariums around the world, are allowed to swim free from Sanctuary Bay in DolGrand Bahama.phin experiences are better in The Bahamas Rock on!
You don’t need to be a by pioneering cave divers like petrologist to enjoy the Rob Palmer, Steffi Schwabe spectacular rock formations of and Ben Rose. You don’t need The Bahamas’ caves. These to be a full-on cave diver formed thousands of years ago either, to experience what it’s before sea levels rose and like in the caverns and flooded them. Bahamian Blue entrances of many of these Holes are formed from the Blue Holes and cavern diving collapsed ceilings of such courses are available at caves andEven have been explored theselected rocks dive-centres. are better in The Bahamas Dive centres
The Abacos Dives/day Instructors Boats Boat capacity Shark Dolphin dives Night dives Deepdives Wreckdives Cave dives dives Blue hole Wall dives dives Drift dives Nitrox Children dives Snorkelling dives Agencies* Pool Photo/Video Gear Gift shop Restaurant Above and Below Abaco 2 2 1 15 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N,S ● ● ● www.scuba-diving-abaco-bahamas.com Dive Abaco 1 or 2 3 1 14-22 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● ● ● ● www.diveabaco.com Dive Guana 1 2 1 7 ● ● ● ● ● ● P,S,N ● ● ● www.diveguana.com Froggies Out Island Adventure 2 1 1 10 ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● www.froggiesabaco.com Brendal’s Dive center 2 4 1 12 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● www.brendal.com Treasure Divers 2 1 1 6-20 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● P,N ● ● ● ● ● www.treasure-divers.com Andros Andros Diving 3 3 2 6-8 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● ● ● www.androsdiving.com Small Hope Bay Lodge 3 5 5 2-16 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● ● ● www.smallhope.com Bimini Bimini Undersea 2 3 2 14-22 ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● www.biminiundersea.com Cat Island Hawk Nest Resort and Marina 2 1 2 8 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● www.hawks-nest.com Greenwood 3 2 12 12 ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● ● ● ● www.greenwoodbeachresort.com Shanna’s Cove 4 1 7 17 ● ● ● ● ● ● P,N ● ● www.shannas-cove.com Eleuthera Ocean Fox Diving 1 to 3 3 3 10 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● P,S ● ● ● ● www.oceanfox.com Valentine’s Dive Center 2 3 2 5-30 ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● ● www.valentinesdive.com Cape Eleuthera Divers 2 to 4 3 1 15 ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● www.capeeleuthera.com The Exumas Dive Exuma 4 3 2 4-8 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● ● ● www.dive-exuma.com Staniel Cay Divers 2 to 4 1 1 10 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● ● www.stanielcaydivers.com Grand Bahama Island Grand Bahama Scuba 2 2 1 15 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● www.grandbahamascuba.com Sunn Odyssey Divers 2 1 2 10-18 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● www.sunnodyssey.com UNEXSO 3 8 7 4-16 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ALL ● ● ● ● www.unexso.com Viva Diving 7 2 23 ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● www.vivaresorts.com Long Island Cape Santa Maria Dive Center 1 2 1 6 ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● www.capesantamaria.com Stella Maris Resort 3 3 3 20 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● www.stellamarisresort.com Nassau Paradise Island Bahama Divers 2 5 2 20 ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● www.bahamadivers.com Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas 4 20 13 16-45 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● P,S,N ● ● ● www.stuartcove.com San Salvador Club Med Columbus 3 12 2 100 ● ● ● ● ● ● PADI ● ● ● ● ● www.clubmed.com Riding Rock Inn 2 1 2 15 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● P,S ● ● ● ● ● www.ridingrock.com
* P = PADI; N = NAUI; S = SSI. Every dive centres will recognize the BSAC cards.