Dive recommendations for a beginner ?

[Paul Baker]

Hi,

Been reading what you've said about diving in Tobago.
I'm hoping for some beginner-specific advice.

I've just done my pool work and exam for PADI Open Water Diver here in the UK, and intend to do my qualifying dives in Tobago.

We're going in 2 weeks, staying at Turtle Beach.

What factors do I need to consider ?
Any particular schools or dive teams ?
Any particular sites ?

For the record, this is our second trip to Tobago (and Turtle Beach).
Last time was our honeymoon 10 years ago.
This time with kids in tow.

We're really looking forward to it - hope things haven't changed too much !!

Thanks for your help.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Paul

Welcome aboard!

Don't worry, you won't notice a lot of difference in those 10 years. I have managed to get some very high resolution satellite photos of Tobago from NASA; one taken in 1990 and the other in 2000. I was prepared lower-resolution copies for the new myTobago site yesterday and had the two images up on two adjacent large computer screens. It was fascinating trying to spot the differences between the two. There was surprisingly little evidence of increased building etc.

OK, to your requirements. Sadly our new diving article will not be available before you go. However, forget about the sites - the dive operator you finally choose will discuss these with you and take you to those most suited to your capabilities, experience and current weather conditions.

Choice of a dive operator. Firstly, I have to say that I personally would run a mile from the dive operations at the Rex Turtle Beach. In fact, I would not use any dive operations based along the Caribbean coast. An experienced diver would know what to look for, but as a novice, it is essential that you choose a professional dive operation.

So, accept that a 20-30 minute drive to the dive operation might be the order of the day and plump for one of the better outfits. Names to consider (in alphabetical order) are as follows. They are all around the same distance from the RTB and some of them will arrange to collect/return you.

Extra Divers at Pigeon Point Road, R & Sea Divers at Pigeon Point, Undersea Tobago at the Coco Reef Resort, and Wordl of Watersports at the Hilton Hotel (Tobago Plantations in Lowland).

Websites for these operators are as follows:


http://www.rseadivers.com
http://www.underseatobago.com
http://www.worldofwatersports.com

[James]

Hiya,

Besides the good advice that Steve has imparted, you could also take a look on the PADI website, which will give you details of which centre has has what rating with PADI.

I've yet to visit the Island (going out at Xmas) but if it is anything like what I've been ed to believe you will have an amazing time and be completely hooked.

Enjoy

James Knowles

[Rachel Crew]

I would wholeheartedly support Steve's advice... and don't be put off by a short ride to the Crown Point area - any good dive operator will pick you up and drop you back to Turtle Beach.

While I would also say that you certainly want to make sure you do your Open water referral with a Padi instructor, I would take the Padi website dive shop ratings with a pinch of salt... since they largely reflect how much cash the shop has shelled out into Padi coffers! (and I say this as a Padi instructor myself!!) Your individual instructor is the one who has to carry the can with Padi if anything goes amiss with your course, so making sure that they are "in current teaching status" is far more important. Don't be afraid to ask to see the instructor's card, which should have a current sticker on saying they are renewed for this current year (it should state "Padi 2004 Teaching Status"). Any excuses... find another dive shop!

[Rachel Crew]

PS. Don't forget to pack all your signed-up paperwork for the parts of the course you did in the UK!

[Marc Jones]

Rachel, am I correct in thinking that Marlon does scuba?

He said he did when we met.

Only, if (and it looks likely) we come back in Nov/Dec I'll deffo want to attempt a scuba dive just so I have done it IYSWIM.

Tom would also be keen to try (he'll be 9 when/if we go) but I'm not sure Tracey would! (so I'd be looking for someone that wouldn't leave her on the shore and us having fun!).

[Andrew Poole]

Manta Dive on the Pigeon Point rd are a PADI operater, me and my partner did our open water cousre with them last June.
They will pick you up and drop you off too!
They have a website http://www.mantadive.com and i would highly reccomend them.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Andrew

Sadly, PADI certification is not exactly a guarantee of anything. All 17 dive operators on Tobago are PADI certified, but believe you me, the difference in safety standards, equipment and general service is mind-boggling.

My comment is not specifically targetted at Manta Dive, but let's just say that they are not in the premier or first division.

[Andrew Poole]

Hi Steve, i'd be interested to know why not? in private if you wish to avoid a law suit Seriously though, they did a very good job with Mimi and myself last summer and i've not hesitated to recommend them in the past. Should i no longer do this

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Andrew

As with all recommendations, it is up to you to make your own enquiries and to make your own judgement. Obviously the more experienced a diver you are, the better able you are to judge any particular establishment and start running when things look less than satisfactory. My comments are based on nearly 24 months of research into the subject. For a variety of legal reasons, I would prefer not to go into detail, but let's just say that my comments were not made without very good reason.

[Paul Baker]

Thanks everyone for the tips.

I'll post a message in about a month and let you know how it all went.

Regards,
Paul Baker.

[Kevin Hampson]

Hi Paul,
I can recommend Undersea Tobago at Coco Reef Hotel it’s not too far from the Rex. Last time I was there I saw Derek teaching some PADI classes and he was very professional. It’s a small operation and very friendly.

If you’re off in two weeks I may see you I'll be diving with them from around the 16th

Regards
Kevin

[Graeme Jones]

Paul,

I am staying at the Rex in November and I have arranged to dive with R& Sea divers who will be picking me up from the Rex. I had a great experience with them last year,very friendly and although I am a very experienced diver I could see how they dealt with relative newcomers and I would recommend them to you.

I dived with the outfit based at the Rex the year before,and again I couldn't complain,but I have done over a 1000 dives in Uk cold waters so I was happy with the diving,however it was more adventurous in it's context.However the adventurous nature of the diving was probably unplanned on a couple of dives due to currents unpredictable off the Rex beach area,this made it difficult for the less experienced diver and perhaps could put you off.

Also considerably more expensive.

The dives we did with R & Sea were not deep,safe and lot's to see I would recommend them to someone of your level.


Graeme

[Kris Munroe]

Well, no one has mentioned Adventure Eco Divers near Grafton Beach. I would highly recommend them - I did my Open Water course with them and absolutely cannot complain - I am a teacher and Dion made me study well into the night and was extremely thorough in the training and following dives. I was impressed with his tolerance and persistence! All of the staff are friendly and very professional. I do not have a bad word to say about them.

Kris

[Paul Baker]

OK folks,

We've been, we've come back, and as promised here's some feedback.

Diving
--------
My original post was to find out if anyone would recommend a company to use to finish my PADI open water qualificaiton. Thanks for your help.

In the end I used R and Sea divers.
My reason for choosing them above the others ?
Simply that they returned my phone calls and the other highly recommended dive outfit did not.

In any case, I couldn't have hoped for R And Sea to be more helpful or more friendly, and I can't recommend them highly enough.

General stuff
---------------
It's been ten years since our last trip to Tobago and I'm happy to report that things haven't changed too much.

Our initial impression was that they had, but we reached the conclusion in the end that the warnings from our rep. were unfounded, and possibly even intended to sell us more of his package trips than he might otherwise have done.

There are a few stories of tourists getting their cameras or jewellery stolen etc.
But when you hear the FULL story - they're in a relatively poor area and they're flashing their wealth about or behaving really quite naively - it's not surprising.
Had they behaved the same way at home they would also have been robbed.

Car hire and taxis
---------------------
Car hire is quite costly.
We were happy instead to use taxis (about ten trips = 1 day's car hire). All the taxis were happy to pick us up for a return trip at an agreed time. And they didn't want paying until the return journey, so you could feel confident that they would turn up.

We used them for trips to different beaches and for evenings out to restaurants.

Restaurants
--------------
There are not many restaurants near the Turtle Beach any more (see below for my guess why).
The nearest that's still open, Black Rock, isn't what it was.

But one that I MUST mention is La Terrazza (Italian).
The food is simply fantastic, without (or maybe because of) having a bewildering selection on the menu.
It's also extremely good value, although the wines are generally expensive.

Turtle Beach
--------------
We stayed at the Turtle Beach.

Yes, it could use a lick of paint.
Yes the food isn't great (but it's OK).
Yes, the service is bad at times.

But the pool is fabulous (we couldn't get the kids out of it - it's 3 feet deep everywhere so great for anyone older than about 5 or 6).

And the location is great too.
Beware of young children in the sea though as the waves are unpredictable.

There's a kids club.
We took ours out after 1 session.
The woman running the club was totally disinterested in children and the facilities were severely lacking.
Anyway, the kids will have much more fun in the pool.

I would suggest that people use this hotel as a cheap and cheerful base from which to explore.
Don't expect real luxury, great food, or great service, and you won't be disapointed.

And do try to get out of the hotel a bit.

Moan, gripe
--------------
Biggest shame about the hotel is the all-inclusive tarrif.
We were all-inclusive, as were most of the guests, because the price difference almost covered the cost of breakfast alone.
So that sounds good, you might think..

The down-side of this is that people tend to stay put in the hotel.
None of the money gets into the local community (I'm assuming that the hotel isn't owned by locals).

A lot of the local restaurants are in decline or have shutdown.
I suspect this is as a result of this type of holiday.

And whilst we had no reason to complain, an all-inclusive package (I'm specifically thinking about the bar here) is bound, on occasion, to attract the lager-lout type of holiday maker that I've heard others complaining of.
Perhaps the tourist board need to take note.


Sorry this is mostly off-topic.
Hope it's of use.

Paul Baker.

[Marc Jones]

Two weeks until I return to the Rex.

I swerved AI, I will get a car, and the Kariwak and it's ilk will see me again as well.

Will hit a few beaches I missed last time, hopefully the weather will be on my side (seems churlish to worry about rain after the poor souls out there who have really suffered rather than just some lazy tourist wanting a dry spell).

Snorkel and mask packed, starting ti get excited.

Thanks for the report, most enjoyable!