Corn Island, Chuuk Lagoon, Galapagos

Our subscribers often travel to unique and under-advertised destinations and hotels, and periodically, I select a few reports to condense and share with readers. I've always been a fan of small, unadvertised, out-of-the-way places, so I've highlighted a few here, as well as some destinations that have had problems future travelers should be aware of.

If any of these tales interests you, go to the reader reports on our website, and you'll find the author's email address. They have agreed to share information by email with any Undercurrent reader who asks. Ask about the coral health, whether there were any big fish, the cleanliness of the accommodations, anything. And I'm sure your fellow Undercurrent subscribers will be pleased to tell you about their experiences.

Here are several destinations you might want to know more about, and a few others with a problem their management needs to resolve.

Off the Beaten Path

About as far from the beaten path as you can get in the Caribbean is Nicaragua's Little Corn Island and Derek's Place. Harvey Monroe (Santa Fe), who has more than 1000 dives, visited in August and reports: "The island is primitive with no motor roads, but walking paths all over the island, which pass through the jungle going north to Derek's. There are several small hotels. We dived from pangas, with 3-5 divers, at Derek's son's operation. The shallow reefshad typical algae overgrowth. The deeper reefs had goodto very good coral. Many sites had a good variety of fish,turtles, rays, some pelagics, and nurse sharks. There wasan exceptional shallow cave site with swim-throughs withthousands of silvery minnows. Turtle Rock had resident raysthat followed us around during a very good night dive. At one site with towering rock/coral formations and white sand, curious hammerheads showed up. This is a reasonably priced old-style Caribbean atmosphere with English spoken as much as Spanish. The depth was generally no more than 70 feet. Little in the way of Sargassum weed was seen as compared to the Yucatán." www.dereksplacelittlecorn.com

It's unusual for an Undercurrent reader to report on diving in the Gulf of Oman, but Robert Jackson (Gladstone, MO) dived there in June with MolaMola while staying at the Muscat/Holiday Inn. A divemaster with more than 4000 dives, he said, "I was extremely pleased with operations and the people associated with MolaMola. Water ran 89-90°F, and all our dives were excellent, with the reefs healthy, including the coral and sponges. I saw turtles, octopuses, eels, a leopard shark, some rays, and a wide variety of small tropical fish. There is plenty of room on the boat that has a toilet, a shower, and is shaded. We snorkeled with whale sharks. They serve lunch: meat and chicken kebabs, falafel, hummus, fruit, and vegetables.
www.molamoladivingcenter.com
www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/muscat/musap/hoteldetail

To get more than calm and repetitive diving in Bonaire, head to the island's East side, and dive at Bonaire East Coast Diving. Gerald Wilson (Harbor Springs, MI) did earlier this month and says divers "depart near Loc Bay on a 30-foot rigid inflatable boat (RIB). Beyond the barrier reef, the seas get big, so hold on tight. Tons of sea fans in the shallows. Saw stingrays, eagle rays, green morays, and fish large and small; 20-30 turtles, large ones. For experienced divers, a nice break from the west side routine." www.bonaireeastcoastdiving.com

The Galapagos Islands are off the beaten path, but not for C. Leroy Anderson (Salt Lake City), who has dived there three times, the latest in September. "My second on the MY. Galapagos Sky, an excellent operation, well run with excellent guides, dinghy operators, cooks, and housekeepers . . . Wonderful diving, with red-lipped batfish, marine iguanas, all the hammerheads one could dream of, sea lions, whale sharks, and even mola molas on some dives."

Leroy learned a lot about the Galapagos on his previous trip and made some significant adjustments: "Visibility was about 50 feet, and I was glad I just used my point-and-shoot Olympus TG-6. I had a higher quality micro-four-thirds camera and dual strobe lights with me, but 4k and strobes would just have been a waste with the distance to photographic objects, lower visibility, and currents and surge complicating the use of a big camera rig. I was glad to have a small video light for photographing beautiful fans and soft coral, morays, porcupine fish, batfish, and puffer fish. But of course, a light only creates backscatter for more distant pelagic shots, which is the vast majority of photography and videography here. This year I brought a steel 135 cubic foot tank as I use lots of air, and I brought my drysuit, as last year I froze even in 12 mm of neoprene. The dive temperatures here are 62-75°F, making this year better than last. Here's my video from 2024:"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXF2nebEoIU&list=RDEXF2nebEoIU&start_radio=1&t=1934s
www.galapagossky.com

Roatan is 40 miles long with 95 miles of shoreline. And while often reports talk about bleaching and declines in fish population, it differs depending on where you dive. Susan H. (Placitas, NM) dived from the cozy eight-cottage Tranquilseas Resort and said, "The diving was much better than I expected based on prior reviews. Although the coral was not in great shape, I saw promising signs that it was coming back. We saw several turtles, an octopus, spotted eagle rays, large rainbow parrotfish, midnight parrotfish, groupers, anemones, and schools of fish, including horse-eye jacks, blue tangs, and Creole wrasses. The divemaster, Armando, was terrific, as was the boat crew. The resort is small and has a restaurant open to the public.

Everyone was helpful and friendly. The rooms had A/C, comfortable beds, and good storage space. I appreciated that they kept no animals in cages or pens." www.tranquilseas.com

Problems, Large and Small

Lawrence O'Keefe (Portland, OR) returned to Cozumel in September, 20 years after he first dived it. After diving with Dressel Divers, he says, "The reefs seemed pretty healthy to me, and there was a good variety of wildlife."

Overall, he thought the operation was great, but had some quibbles. We won't list them all, but here's one every traveler to Mexico -- or elsewhere -- needs to watch out for. "They listed prices in US$, but charged my credit card in Pesos at a manually calculated, ridiculous exchange rate six percent above the actual current rate. I've taken this up with my credit card company and Dressel Divers. Let's hope they get it resolved." www.dresseldivers.com

Little Cayman Beach Resort always gets good reader reviews, and Steven Davidson (Midland, GA) liked it -- "LCBR is the absolute best; the diving is the best in the western hemisphere. And the food is very good." But in August, he encountered an unappetizing problem. "I went to the buffet early, and there were a dozen flies walking on the cheese, on the fruit, on everything. I opened the food warmer with chicken and sauce, and a fly dive bombed into the sauce. A staff member was swinging an electric wand, like a tennis racket, trying to kill the flies, but it was woefully inadequate. This was every day, every meal. They woefully need to be more proactive in solving the issue." If they haven't solved the problem by now, this little item should light a fire. That said, things happen at small resorts in the tropics that don't happen at home. Sometimes, you may just have to shrug your shoulders and forget about it. www.littlecayman.com

On a Thailand liveaboard, a far more serious problem than flies developed, which we hope has been resolved by now. William Stohler (Kailua, Kona), who went diving in February, wrote "I chose the Mandarin Queen 9 and afterwards sent the following email to Phuket Dive Center in April 2025 (which owns the boat):

"I'd like to ask if you [the MQ9 owners] have the compressor air quality checked periodically? During my first dive, as I descended below 20m, I had a sudden wave of nausea, and 'tunnel vision'. I also thought that the air smelled like oil/diesel. The nausea disappeared as I ascended above 20m. The air quality in my tank seemed to improve on subsequent dives based on its smell. It's also worth noting that others on the boat noted tunnel vision or perceptual narrowing. My concern is that the diesel fumes from the tenders are entering the compressor air intake when the boat is stationary and the engine room door is left open. The stern deck is really smelly when the tenders are in operation."

Stohler never heard back from them. I emailed as well but heard nothing.

He also noted that one guest was trapped in her cabin bathroom when the cabin door was left open, blocking the bathroom door from opening. "This is a safety and design flaw. The boat wasn't in the condition I expected for a two-year-old vessel." www.phuketdivecenter.com

We first wrote about the Micronesian liveaboard SS Thorfinn and captain Lance Higgs in 1986, when our writer said "he is a likeable chap, but couldn't seem to do much to resolve the problems." Then it was the only liveaboard in Chuuk Lagoon, but it was no luxury craft, and 12 days was $2900, the equivalent of $8500 today. (Today it's $3600, and that's far too much.) The craft -- and Lance -- has not aged well, and it is now marketed as a "floating resort," since it stays moored. Lance has become more eccentric, and we get the occasional report from dissatisfied customers. The latest is Mary Anne Yonk (Lakewood, OH), who, with her buddy, went aboard in August and, only lasted a day.

"Lance told us our checkout dive would be down to 147 feet. On the dive printout, it was actually to 45 feet. Lance gets confused easily . . . Lance tried to put my travel partner and me in one cabin despite our paying for private cabins. Lance said, "I don't want to run two AC units.' We persisted so he finally placed us in separate cabins . . . Lance told me I could only set the temperature in my cabin at 86°F during the day. My friend discovered the AC in his cabin did not work, and Lance told him he would not be able to get it fixed for at least three more days . . . My friend spent a very uncomfortable night sleeping on a lounge chair on the upper deck, only to be forced to move to the salon floor after a massive rainstorm in the middle of the night.

He referred to me as 'honey' despite my telling him my name repeatedly. When speaking to me, he stared at my chest, not making eye contact with me . . . I could frequently hear Lance yelling at the female young stews . . . Lance often interacted with us with his shirt off. It was disgusting because his body was covered in open wounds, and he had pink welts all down his back. I think he had bed bug bites because I am now experiencing the same type of welts." She said porn was playing on a screen in the wheelhouse. They left the Thorfinn after the first night. www.thorfinn.net

Don't Forget the GBR

Australia's Great Barrier Reef was once the go-to place for American divers, but today it plays second fiddle to Indonesia. But Australia is a great country to visit, and, says John Morgan of Surprise, Arizona, there in August, Mike Ball's MY. Spoilsport is a great boat, with a great crew. "The most spacious dive boat I have been on. The deck has plenty of room for divers and equipment."

John, who has made more than 1000 dives, said the trip began with "a rough 12-hour run to the north. Several people were seasick . . . The shark dive at Osprey Reef featured numerous grey reef sharks and clear water. Gotham City night dive brought out giant trevallies and sharks that used the diver's lights to hunt for little fish hiding in the reef. It's quite a show. Fish are getting smashed, whether you like it or not. It's unavoidable, unless you turn off your light . . . We ran into a dozen cuttlefish surrounding a hard coral head. The females were laying eggs, and the males were guarding them. Reef fish were trying to eat the eggs. The males would fight them off as best as they could. It was an extraordinary spectacle." He says to keep in mind that you are in the open ocean with almost no protection from prevailing winds. www.mikeball.com

Touché

And finally, as a bit of a touché to our stories and special publication about liveaboard losses, noting the Red Sea has been a disaster, Van Freidin (Mountain View, CA), back from a recent trip to the Red Sea, says, simply, "The MY. Red Sea Aggressor IV is more expensive than many of its competitors but they will more likely get you back to port without the aid of the Egyptian Navy." www.aggressor.com

Ben Davison