Need some recommendations

[Weston]

Working on next years - madison trips.....

Need suggestions, dive charters, hotesl or great places,  advice you have for :

Rotan - 2nd week of November

Bahamas - End of feb 2006

Belize - mid april 2006

--- thanks all

[schultz]

A group of us stayed at Anthony's Key a few years back... great resort, but the good diving sites were all on the opposite side of the island, which meant a lengthy (and sometimes bumpy) boat ride to those locations. The sites in and around the resort were not all that spectacular. Aside from one of the shipwrecks (a seriously stripped 700+foot long cargo vessel sunk for the purposes of creating more reefs) and Mary's Place (directly opposite side of island from Anthony's) were the only memorable places. The rest reminded me of sites where DM's take a group on reef checkouts to see how much the divers beat up the coral before taking them to better spots.

You might be better served going to Utila. It's less developed, but as a result offers much better diving from what I've heard. I haven't been there yet, but local Madison divers I know that told me they've seen anything from mantas to multiple whale sharks there. The coral is supposedly relatively untouched as well.

Where do you want to go here? I've done two different types of Blackbeard cruises () here... the first time was on their bigger sail boat. Although the diving was pretty good, the facilities are basically the equivalent of camping on the water for one week. No freshwater showers, shared toilets, and a lot of opportunity to get your neighbors well (sometimes too well) since you share cabin space with everyone. These tend to sail the Bimini chain of atolls. That being said, I saw and swam with my first whale shark here - only about 25 feet in length.

The second, was with Blackbeard's Cat Ppalu cruises (). This one sails the Exumas and the Tongue of the Ocean and is perfect for a small group of 10-12 divers. You can get the entire boat, and then pretty much tell them where you want to go. Private cabins, but still shared baths and showers. The big plus here is that it is air conditioned and the showers are all freshwater. Some of the best diving I've seen in the Bahamas to date - especially when in the preserve. I've never seen a black coral formation with its tip starting at 60 feet and its base at about 130.


Ah... Belize. Yet another group trip I took a few years ago. We were originally scheduled for the Red Sea, but then 9/11 struck and we canceled that destination in favor of a liveaboard in Belize. We used the Nekton Pilot (). It's a goofy looking boat, but well favored for those that are prone to sea-sickness. Private cabins, private freshwater showers, private toilet, and A/C.  This has to be some of the best diving I've seen in the Caribbean. When you're not marveled at the corals, there are huge groupers, dolphins that swim overhead, hundreds of octopi, an occasional shark (hammerheads too) and massive green morays that swim with you during daylight hours. You can typically do 5 hours underwater per day diving here. Would I do this trip again? Well, I'll be going in January of 2006.

Hope this helps get you started on some trip planning! Good Luck Wes!