|
No photos available at this time
|
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5
(best):
|
| Accommodations |
 |
Food |
|
| Service and Attitude |
 |
Environmental Sensitivity |
N/A |
| Dive Operation |
 |
Shore Diving |
|
| Snorkeling |
N/A |
Overall Rating |
| Value for $$ |
N/A |
| Beginners |
 |
| Advanced |
|
| Comments |
Accomodation at the Sofitel was good. I live in the UK so travel was fairly easy.
Decided to use dive operation on site as web site looked good and had own jetty at hotel. In reality had to be bused to town to get the boat. Logistics were poor and often it was an hour or two from meeting at the hotels dive center to the boat actually sailing. Two dive trip could mean meeting at 8.45am and not being back at the hotel until about 6.00pm - an appalling waste of time. Lunch and drinks on boat weren't too bad but cost extra.
All gear has to be transferred into plastic crates and they look after it and take to the boat every day. They never lost anything but it never looked that reliable a system. Sometimes had to wait up to 45 mins after getting back to hotel before gear arrived so that I could rinse it.
On one three dive trip we decided to sit out the second dive. After lunch we just sailed back to port. When I asked what was happening they said not enough people wanted to do the third dive. We had been at the dive center for 7.45 and got back at about 4.30 so all that for just one dive.
Coral looked in poor condition in many places. Saw no large pelagics at all. Only large fish was a good sized napoleon wrasse. Smaller fish more plentiful but overall I was disappointed. On one occasion I counted 14 boats moored at the same site for lunch - each capable of carrying 25 divers. Its just too much. Ports are a zoo as well with too many boats for the jetty space.
On the last day I wanted to just do a shore dive. I had snorkelled over the "house reef" and it looked quite good. Max depth about 25-30 ft but they wouldn't let me dive it without a dive master at a $30 charge because I didn't have advanced certification. A few harsh words were exchanged but they wouldn't budge.
Overall a nice place with very friendly people but they need to get their act together with the diving or they are going to kill their main attraction. If you are going I would suggest trying Red Sea Diving College or Camel club or Ocean College - all were recommended to me by others as better run. |
Reporter and Travel |
| Dive Experience |
51-100 dives |
| Where else diving |
USA (FL & NC, Carribean, Mexico, Hawaii |
| Closest Airport |
|
Getting There |
|
Dive Conditions |
| Weather |
sunny |
Seas |
calm |
| Water Temp |
70-75°F / 21-24°C |
Wetsuit Thickness |
5 |
| Water Visibility |
40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M
|
Dive Policy |
| Dive own profile |
no |
| Enforced diving restrictions |
All group dives with a divemaster and group all in buddy pairs. Mainly drift dives and depth restricted to 25m (81ft).
|
| Liveaboard? |
no |
Nitrox Available? |
N/A |
What I Saw |
| Sharks |
None |
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 |
N/A |
Boat Facilities |
N/A |
| Overall rating for UWP's |
N/A |
Shore Facilities |
N/A |
| UW Photo Comments |
[None] |
Email Signup
|
Subscribe
|
Login
