Scuba Diving Bahamas

Diving Bahamas Overview

Easily accessible from Florida for long weekends. Bahamas Diving varies substantially among islands, with pretty reefs (many are affected by algae), decent tropicals, and resorts that feed sharks. Liveaboards out of Florida take divers to spots with bigger fish and more dramatic seascape. Keep hurricane season, June through November, in mind; winter weather means low 70F water and sweaters in the evening; nighttime temperature is in the mid-60s, but can drop into the 50s if winter air blows off the continent.

Bahamas Seasonal Dive Planner

May through November is summer in the Bahamas. During these months, the most rain falls and temperatures average about 81°. Winter can bring surprisingly cool weather, with averages down about 70°. Northers can disrupt diving during winter months. The islands south of Nassau (such as Great Exuma, San Salvador, and Long Island) usually manage to stay a degree or two warmer. Easterly trade winds predominate for most of the year, but there is usually a lee to be found for diving.

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Diving Bahamas Feature Articles and Reader Reports

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Diving Bahamas Articles - Land Based Belize, Hawaii, Cozumel, Palau . . ., Caribbean winter warnings and more trouble with the Siren fleet, 3/13 Bikini Atoll, Hawaii, Raja Ampat…, and one reader’s Hurricane Sandy dive trip, 11/12 Bahamas, Carriacou, Puerto Rico . . ., and choose from land-based or liveaboard options in the Galapagos, 10/12 Bonaire, Maui, Phuket…, Francis Coppola’s five-star resort, a clueless Cozumel divemaster, 6/12 Bahamas Sharks Threatened by Seafood Exporter’s Expansion, 10/10 Oman, Fiji, Hawaii, Bahamas… , need a change of pace? check out these dive sites and operators, 4/10 Florida, California, Bahamas, Philippines…, good U.S. diving, Cozumel’s best gear repairman, and more, 5/09 Riding Rock Inn, San Salvador, Bahamas , wall diving close to the U.S., but still far from crowds, 4/09 Available to the Public Bahamas, B.V.I., Ontario, Roatan…, the good, bad and ugly in dive resorts, boats and service, 10/08 Bahamas, Canada, Caymans, Indonesia, planning your next dive trip? Here are readers’ suggestions, 7/08 Small Hope Bay Lodge, Andros Island , Bahamas diving with one big happy family, 4/08 Hawk’s Nest Resort, Cat Island, Bahamas, now, if they’ll only get a dive operation, 9/02 Bahamas Rogue Downwellings, 8/01 The Truth About San Salvador’s Algae, 8/01 Riding Rock Inn, San Salvador, Bahamas, where walls are the main attraction, 6/01 Thumbs Down for Riding Rock Inn, 2/00 Diving into the Known, A week with UNEXSO in the Bahamas, 9/97 Riding Rock Inn, San Salvador, 7/96 Diving in Nassau, 5/96 Shark Sanctuary, 5/96 Readers' Shark Dives, 5/96 Caribe Bay Defended, 6/95 Caribe Bay, Bahamas, 3/95

Diving Bahamas Articles - Liveaboards Cape Eleuthera, Fiji, Maui, Mexico, two more Baja boats, a new dive shop, and a great night dive, 3/12 Aqua Cat, The Bahamas, algae-free dive sites far from the crowds, 7/10 Nekton Cruises Shuts Down , 6/10 Available to the Public Sea Dragon, Exuma Cays, Bahamas, a good-value charter for dog-loving divers, 1/08 Thumbs Down: AquaCat, 10/07 Morning Star, Blackbeard's Cruises, The Bahamas, frills-free liveaboard camping on the Caribbean, 3/07 RV Coral Reef II, The Bahamas, Fish Collecting with the New England Aquarium, 10/05 MV Shear Water, The Bahamas, swimming with sharks, 8/05 Bottom Time Not Well Spent, but Sea Fever generates relative heat, 2/02 One More Bahamas Boat, the Rorqual, 2/02 Doing the Bahamas in a Box, diving from a floating resort, the Nekton Pilot, 3/99

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Bahamas
including Abaco, Andros, Bimini, Grand Bahama Island,
Long Island, New Providence, San Salvador and Walker's Cay

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Travel Edition of Reef Fish Identification: Caribbean, Bahamas, South Florida
by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach

Today's airline weight restrictions not only limit the amount of dive gear and cameras you can pack for overseas trips, but also those valuable prized marine life identification books. And with spotty Internet access overseas, it's not like you can look a critter of or fish up easily online. For the divers who still want a book in their hands post-dive to look up the fishes they encounter, Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach are offering "Travel Edition of Reef Fish Identification: Caribbean, Bahamas, South Florida." It's lightweight enough to thrown in your carry-on but rugged enough to withstand frequent saltwater washings on board.

Click here to buy it at Amazon via our website -- our profits go to save the reefs.

World Atlas of Coral Reefs
by Mark D. Spalding, Corinna Ravilious, Edmund P. Green, United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center.

If there is one book that belongs in every traveling diver's library, this is it. The superb World Atlas of Coral Reefs has everything you want to know about the reefs from Costa Rica and Cuba to the Coral Sea and Cayman. The information is specific and up to date. The photos, maps and layout superb. And the price, for this 424 page, full color, hard bound volume, is a steal at $31.50

The Atlas was released in September by the United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center to document and conserve the world's coral reefs. Clearly written with divers in mind, it's an invaluable resource for global travelers. Here's what you'll find.

• 94 maps, including global maps of biodiversity and reef stresses, regional maps showing 3-D bathymetry and high resolution maps showing reefs, mangroves, population centers, dive centers and protected areas.
• 280 color photographs, showing reefs, wildlife, people and places, Including 84 photographs taken from space by Shuttle astronauts.
• Text explaining the formation, structure and ecology of coral reefs; their various uses and abuses at the hands of humans; and the techniques used in coral reef mapping.
• Detailed texts describing the distribution and status of coral reefs in every country.
• Data tables listing information on biodiversity, human use, and protected areas. These include statistics on coral reef area, biodiversity, fish consumption, and threats.

For example, you can learn about pollution damage to the reefs at Providenciales and the lack of human impact, as well. Or, where extensive bleaching took place in Honduras 1998. You'll read that Milne Bay in Papua New Guineas has the most extensive reef system in that country and where, in Fiji, the bumphead parrotfish and tridachna clams will not be found, thanks to overfishing. Order now.

The Reef Set: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral (3 Volumes):
Paul Humann ID Books
by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach

The three set fish, creature and coral ID books by Paul Humann are the unparalleled sources for information on Caribbean sea life and identification. Paul and his partner Ned Deloach recently released updated and expanded editions of each, with scores of new critters, even better photos, and information unavailable anywhere else. Why, the Reef Fish Identification book, at more than 500 pages, is 20 percent larger than the previous volume, which came out in 1994. Whenever I travel to the Caribbean, I tote all three books and spend my down hours figuring out what I saw and where to look to find rare creatures. Paul's splendid Reef Creature book (420 pages), covers sponges, nudibranchs, octopus, crustaceans, Christmas tree worms and plenty more. His Reef Coral ID book (276 pages) helps you identify all the hard and soft corals, spawning, and even the growth on top of corals, as well as algae and other plant life. Beginners may want to ID only fish, but I'd recommend that all three books be part of every diver's library. And, if you have an old set, by all means replace it. You'll be delighted at the additions and improvements. Each book normally retails for $40, but are discounted when you order here. And the boxed 3-volume set is available now at a bigger discount, up to 30%. You'll get the best prices Amazon.com has to offer, speedy delivery, and the knowledge that a large hunk of our profit will go to preserve coral reefs.

* Reef Fish Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas,
* Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas, and
* Reef Coral Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas
* The Boxed Set of all three (you can save up to 30%)

A Guide to the Coral Reefs of the Caribbean
by Mark Spalding

This book doubles as a guide to the natural history of the coral reefs and a diver's travel guide. In addition to providing information about some of the most popular diving and snorkeling, it also offers practical suggestions to divers who want to protect these sites. Author Mark Spalding, a coral reef scientist who has worked on coral reefs in over thirty countries, delves into the eco-problems with a focus on what each person can do to protect the reefs. The guide section covers 35 dive destinations with key information on the reefs, marine parks, remote places, and unusual species as well as excellent maps and a photographic field guide of the marine flora and fauna.
Order Now at a reduced price of only $16.47.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.