myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

IF YOU ONLY HAD ONE WEEK:
What area would you dive? Castara, Charlotteville, Speyside
What dive operator would you use? do Castara boats go to north end?
Where would you stay? economical, nice, clean, scenic

Three of us are planning a week trip, for the first time. Don't need 5-star accommodations, just clean with a couple of restaurants nearby. We're advanced divers with much experience.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

I do not dive, but brought some friends with me in May who are very advanced divers. They went with a dive shop out of the Hilton and were very disappointed until the last day when they said they dove on the north east side. Except for the long ride to get there and the boat had no shade, they said the diving was acceptable.. Otherwise, it was beginners stuff they said. They met a lot of divers who were staying at the Toucan Inn.

Hi Jey

Welcome aboard!

May I please refer you to our Dive article (available via Out & About/Activities/Diving). All the dive operators are listed, by region. From this you will see that there are NO dive centres in or near Castara and only one in Charloteville - but one with very, very limited facilities (the divemaster isn't even based in Tobago and only comes over when he's got full courses booked, I believe).

So, if you want to dive the North End, you really only have the choice of Speyside. Of course you can stay in Charlotteville and dive in Speyside - it's only a 15-20 minute drive between the two.

This is not really the thread for it, but a little birdie told me yesterday that Stuart Sampson, who did such sterling work for Extra Divers (Crown Point & Speyside) has now taken over as Manager of Aquamarine Dive at Speyside. So, Jey, you would do well to consider the Blue Waters Inn at Batteaux Bay, Speyside, and dive with Aquamarine who are based in the grounds of that hotel.

Hello Jey
Just got back today in Holland.
We were in The Blue Waters Inn for 7 Days.
Enjoy'd it verry much and i got Stuart Sampson as my dive-instructor.
I really like'd his calm,patient and serious way of teaching.
When i was certifying for PADI Open water diver, i had 4 dives around the north-east area (Little tobago & goat island).Wonderfull! All the different currents there make it verry special.
I really can recommend Diveshop:AquaMarine Dive with Stuart as your divemaster and the Blue Waters Inn is a nice place to stay.
Look at :
http://www.bluewatersinn.com/
and
http://www.aquamarinedive.com/
Good luck and if you meet Stuart, please thank him again for me.

Thank you Steve , for your suggestions, which we're pursuing as we speak. And thank you Mick , for confirming those recommendations.

I printed the restaurants and bars and excursions sections, and am looking forward to exploring as many things as we can in one week.

But Mick, since you were just there, did you have any experiences that you care to share, or related things you care to recommend?

Hi Jay,
If it’s just a week then it’s got to be Speyside. I have been diving both Speyside and Crown Point for the last 4 years and the dives at Speyside are a lot more varied.
I fully agree with Mick on the BWI and Aquamarine and not just for the novice once they are happy with your skills they can find sites to challenge experienced divers.

If you look in the back pages of this forum you'll find a few dive reports of my previous visits.

Regards
Kevin

Steve, I saw your note about Stuart Sampson, does this mean Alice is no longer there?

Thanks Kevin. More affirmations are good. I'll search for your prior posts on dive sites.

Jey

Hi Kevin

NO - far from. Kevin and Alice still own Aquamarine, but Stuart has been brought in to run the thing from day-to-day and, I guess, bring it up to the top-quality of the 5* Tobago dive operations. Let be honest, they would already be there if their staff were a little more motivated.

Mick's comments totally endorse everything I've heard about Stewart, so fingers crossed, he'll be able to do the same again at Aquamarine.

Thanks Steve,
That's good news. Motivating the staff at Aquamarine has been half the fun, they really are a laid back bunch of guys.

I'll let you know how things are going next month as I'm off for my annual fix in October. 10 days at BWI and a few days at Crown Point to "rest up" for the flight home.

Regards
Kevin