Dive Review of Octopus Divers/La Reserve in
Seychelles/Praslin Is.

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Octopus Divers/La Reserve, Jan, 2004, by Dee, Ca, usa . Report 1052.
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	There's a reason why the "Inner Islands" of the Seychelles are not noted as a world class dive destination. It's because they're not! However, that's not to say that the farther out ones like Aldabra are the same at all- I've never been there, but they sound pretty spectacular. Getting back to the point however, we did three dives with Octopus Divers on the island of Praslin. They have an open boat, approx. 30 ft, partial shade cover, and no head. Boat rides weren't far though, no more than 15-20 minutes. Everyone spoke passable English, and the briefings were adequate. Dives were led by a guide,but they weren't manic if you fell behind to look at something. When our guide realised we were experienced divers, he seemed to stop worrying about us. Still, I got the impression that he was very careful with some newer divers. We were not allowed to dive our own time and depth, obviosly, it was all back on board as a group. We did rent BC's that were in great shape, but we brought the rest of our gear with us. Complimentary pick up from the hotel was included. You set up your own gear and then haul it to the boat yourself, which is about 50 yds offshore in shallow water. This is certainly a little demanding, but when I asked for assistance cuz my back is not good, they had no problem taking my rig out for me. There was water provided onboard the boat for after dives. They do one dive in the morning, and one in the afternoon. I don't recall any offerings of nite dives, but I'm not sure about that. It was about $70 to do 2 dives in one day. Underwater, you see the same incredible granite boulders that the islands are famous for topsides, except underwater, they just look like big rocks. Not that it wasn't interesting, but it's not a be-all to end-all dive destination. There were the usual suspects for tropical fish, although not incredible swarms of them... but Moorish Idols, lots of butterflies, damsels, a semi-circle angel or two, a large bat-ray holed up under an overhang. Not as much hard coral as I expected- I'd say it's on a par with Hawaii, and very little soft coral. I'm definately glad we dove there, the dives were not ever boring by any means. Oh, we did spot whale shark on the surface, which certainly would have upped the thrill factor, and I understand they're not uncommon in the beginning months of the year {according to our dive guide}, but he dove before our boat got close enough to snorkel. Darn! This being said, let me just say that I would go back to the Seychelles in a heartbeat. They are the most beautiful islands I have ever seen, and I'm happy to say I get around. Never have I seen such drop dead beauty. The beaches are stunning,and I say this though I am not the type of person to lay around in the sand and idle away a vacation day. You can't help but be awestruck when you see the pitch black granite boulders tumbling down to the most perfect white sand beaches. The granite is sculpted by years of wind and sea so you end up with these other-worldly shaped rocks that make you feel liked you've wandered onto another planet. Unbelievable! Don't miss the beach on the island of La Digue called Anse D'Source Argent. It's the best of the best, and voted the most beautiful beach in the world. The resort we stayed in was La Reserve,and it was just beautiful. We had our own beachfront cottage, with it's own veranda, very large bedroom decorated very tastefully,and large spotless bath. Small mini-bar that you could manage to fit your own stuff in {like fruit juice to mix your own cocktails}. Definately grab some alcohol at the duty-free shop at the international airport on Mahe, cuz liquor, like virtually everything else on the island, has to be imported and is unbelievably expensive. This is first and formost a tourist destination and the $20 dollar rule applies - everything you want is going to be a minimum of $20. Want tropical drinks for two? fork over $20. Cab ride a short distance? $20......
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Tahiti, Palau, Fiji, Coral Sea, Lembeh Straits, Belize, Roatan, Caymans
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, noCurrents
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	We were in a small group led by a dive master, so there wasn't much leeway. They weren't manic about it though, as they did let us lag behind at times
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
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	No real accomodations for photographers, as we were in an open boat, with no rinse tank. It was your basic "put the cameras on the aft deck, dive guide will hand them to you after you enter the water, and reverse procedure on exit". Nothing fancy, but competent.

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Dive Review of Octopus Divers/La Reserve in Seychelles/Praslin Is.

Octopus Divers/La Reserve, Jan, 2004,

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 Octopus Divers/La Reserve in
Seychelles/Praslin Is.