Dive Review of Small Hope Bay Lodge in
Bahamas/Andros

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Small Hope Bay Lodge, Apr, 2012, by Douglas Garrou, VA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 6498 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This is a very interesting place that really hit the sweet spot for me. Tripadvisor covers the resort itself fully and quite accurately, so I'll refer you there for details. One added note is that the food was super. Diving-wise, the real draw is the stupendous underwater terrain. The east side of Andros is right on the "Tongue of the Ocean," a 6000-foot-deep channel that begins just offshore. Immense walls here truly have to be seen to be believed. Astounding stuff. There's a very long, and well-crafted, tradition of deep air diving at Small Hope. (Founder Dick Birch, a colorful early scuba pioneer, set the record on air here years ago.) They don't go to Dick's record 460+ feet, but they do routinely take divers to 140-185 feet. These dives are heavily staffed and closely supervised, and are made available on a case by case basis after the dive staff becomes comfortable with your diving skill level (which they take care to investigate through observation and discussion). Less skilled, or less adventurous, divers can participate in these dives and are assigned to staff who take them to shallower depths. Then everybody joins up for meandering time (if available) at shallower depths. Swimming sea life is not nearly as abundant as in Cozumel or Belize. This is likely due to the lack of nutrients borne by currents (I experienced no meaningful currents in a week of diving here) and possibly to the deleterious effects of nearby Nassau and its hordes of tourists. I discount the pollution theory a bit because the coral seemed highly varied and really quite healthy. For whatever reason, turtles and sharks are sighted pretty commonly; I saw a number of each. One positive of the terrain is that there is always the chance of larger oceangoing critters looming up from the abyss. So think of Small Hope as visiting the Grand Canyon rather than the Bronx Zoo. As you may have gleaned from the comments above, I was extremely impressed with the professionalism of the dive staff. They're friendly and quite good, and the whole operation functions at a very high standard. Briefings are excellent, boats are well equipped, "just in case" hang tanks are a standard feature, etc. etc. They were able to solve a gear problem of mine almost instantly, saving a morning of diving in the process. This would be a terrific place to get instruction at all levels.
Websites	Small Hope Bay Lodge
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Belize, Morehead City NC, Florida Keys, Jamaica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp	74-77°F / 23-25°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-90 Ft/ 18-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Some (deeper) dives guided, with dive master interrogating air status at end and dispatching buddy teams for additional unguided exploring at shallower depths. Shallow dives unguided.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Separate tank on dive boat, well marked for cameras only.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Small Hope Bay Lodge in Bahamas/Andros

Small Hope Bay Lodge, Apr, 2012,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Small Hope Bay Lodge in
Bahamas/Andros