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Dive Review of Dive Rarotonga/Crown Beach Resort in
Cook Islands/Rarotonga

Dive Rarotonga/Crown Beach Resort, Oct, 2009,

by Larry Schnabel, CA, San Luis Obispo (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 5233 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Diveroratonga is next door to the Crown Beach Resort. Karen- head divemaster from Scotland- an experienced, helpful and cheerful group leader, and boat driver Jason too quite helpful and skilled. Gear is loaded into an open trailer at the Diverarotonga dive shop and then towed behind a minvan in which the divers are driven the 15 minute ride to the boat ramp where the approximately 20 foot open boat is moored. You assemble your gear on the dock, then walk it on your back down the boat ramp into the water and alongside the boat. Jason then pulls your BC/Tank off you and hoists this grear onto the boat . You climb onto the boat by shimmying onto a ledge at the boat's stern ( boat had no ladder). Room very tight when the full complement of 6 divers plus divemaster is in the boat.Dive sites are 10-15 minutes from the mooring point.You backroll into the water.We all used air ( not Nitrox)and save for one dive where We went to 106 ft., all dives were shallower than 100 ft.

The corals are healthy and colorful. Saw a Giant Green Moray ( named Marisa) out of her hole- enormous girth , biggest in diameter I have ever seen. Saw one Green Turtle, one 3 ft. White tip.Lots of colorful tropical fish-Blue Triggerfish, green Napolean Wrasse,Sunset Wrasse, Leaf Scorpion fish, many varieties of butterfly fish. Dives lasted 45-55 minutes.

Dive Rarotonga has full store of rental gear, although my group had all their own equipment save tanks ( 80 cu. ft. alum. provided) and weights. Outside of some difficulty loading the BC/tank on to my back and making it down the slippery boat ramp to the moored dive boat, I found the diving very enjoyable. I dove with a 3/2 mil long Henderson wetsuit plus a 3 mil vest/hood combo and yet by the second dive of the day ( I dove 3 days, 2 dives per day) I found myself getting chilled at the dive's end. I recommend a 5 mil or 7/5 if you happen to get cold fairly easily in 73-75 F. water.

Crown Beach Resort was clean, comfortable, food good , right on beach with good snorkling when the tide is in. Black pearls a good buy here.
Websites Dive Rarotonga   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving all over Caribbean and Mexico, So. Calif., Fiji, Hawaii, Yap, Palau, Thailand, Burma, PNG, Solomon Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Cocos, Galapagos, No. Carolina, Greece, Italy, Viet-Nam, Bermuda
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 73-75°F / 23-24°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 70-100 Ft/ 21-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions none other than to surface with somewhere around 500 psi. Group I dove with all experienced divers, so divemaster allowed us to dive our own profiles.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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