Scuba Diving Bahamas

Diving Bahamas Overview

Easily accessible from Florida for long weekends. Bahamas Diving varies substantially among islands, with pretty reefs (many are affected by algae), decent tropicals, and resorts that feed sharks. Liveaboards out of Florida take divers to spots with bigger fish and more dramatic seascape. Keep hurricane season, June through November, in mind; winter weather means low 70F water and sweaters in the evening; nighttime temperature is in the mid-60s, but can drop into the 50s if winter air blows off the continent.

Bahamas Seasonal Dive Planner

May through November is summer in the Bahamas. During these months, the most rain falls and temperatures average about 81°. Winter can bring surprisingly cool weather, with averages down about 70°. Northers can disrupt diving during winter months. The islands south of Nassau (such as Great Exuma, San Salvador, and Long Island) usually manage to stay a degree or two warmer. Easterly trade winds predominate for most of the year, but there is usually a lee to be found for diving.

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Riding Rock Resort and Marina A dedicated scuba diving resort on San Salvador located in the Bahamas. Known world wide for the quality and diversity of the diving and incredible service.	Undercurrent Online: Instant access to the latest issues and all readers reports. Click here now

Diving Bahamas Feature Articles and Reader Reports

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All Availble to Undercurrent Online Members; Some Publicly Available as Indicated

Diving Bahamas Articles - Land Based Bahamas Sharks Threatened by Seafood Exporter’s Expansion, 10/10 Oman, Fiji, Hawaii, Bahamas… , need a change of pace? check out these dive sites and operators, 4/10 Florida, California, Bahamas, Philippines…, good U.S. diving, Cozumel’s best gear repairman, and more, 5/09 Riding Rock Inn, San Salvador, Bahamas , wall diving close to the U.S., but still far from crowds, 4/09 Bahamas, B.V.I., Ontario, Roatan…, the good, bad and ugly in dive resorts, boats and service, 10/08 Bahamas, Canada, Caymans, Indonesia, planning your next dive trip? Here are readers’ suggestions, 7/08 Small Hope Bay Lodge, Andros Island , Bahamas diving with one big happy family, 4/08 Available to the Public Hawk’s Nest Resort, Cat Island, Bahamas, now, if they’ll only get a dive operation, 9/02 Bahamas Rogue Downwellings, 8/01 The Truth About San Salvador’s Algae, 8/01 Riding Rock Inn, San Salvador, Bahamas, where walls are the main attraction, 6/01 Thumbs Down for Riding Rock Inn, 2/00 Diving into the Known, A week with UNEXSO in the Bahamas, 9/97 Riding Rock Inn, San Salvador, 7/96 Diving in Nassau, 5/96 Shark Sanctuary, 5/96 Readers' Shark Dives, 5/96 Caribe Bay Defended, 6/95 Caribe Bay, Bahamas, 3/95

Diving Bahamas Articles - Liveaboards Aqua Cat, The Bahamas, algae-free dive sites far from the crowds, 7/10 Nekton Cruises Shuts Down , 6/10 Sea Dragon, Exuma Cays, Bahamas, a good-value charter for dog-loving divers, 1/08 Available to the Public Thumbs Down: AquaCat, 10/07 Morning Star, Blackbeard's Cruises, The Bahamas, frills-free liveaboard camping on the Caribbean, 3/07 RV Coral Reef II, The Bahamas, Fish Collecting with the New England Aquarium, 10/05 MV Shear Water, The Bahamas, swimming with sharks, 8/05 Bottom Time Not Well Spent, but Sea Fever generates relative heat, 2/02 One More Bahamas Boat, the Rorqual, 2/02 Doing the Bahamas in a Box, diving from a floating resort, the Nekton Pilot, 3/99

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Bahamas
including Abaco, Andros, Bimini, Grand Bahama Island,
Long Island, New Providence, San Salvador and Walker's Cay

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Diving Cozumel ... Cayman Islands ... Belize ... Bahamas ... Bay Islands ... Bonaire ... Bermuda ... British Virgin Islands ... Hawaii ... Micronesia
by Speck, Garoutte, Middleton, Cancelmo, Strohofer, Lewbel, Martin, Douglass, Verdure, Rosenberg, Hanauer...

No matter where you are headed, the Aqua Quest Books covering your destination are the only way to supplement Undercurrent's hardhitting critical information. Each of these books describes specific dive sites, depths and location, shore diving entries, the critters you'll see, local history and customs, places of interests. Take one as you travel or buy one after you return for the memories. Scores of excellent colorful pictures and maps supplement each of these 7x10 paperback 128 page books.

Paul Humann ID Books by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach: The three set fish, creature and coral ID books by Paul Humann are the unparalleled sources for information on Caribbean sea life and identification. This month Paul and his partner Ned deLoach released updated and expanded editions of each, with scores of new critters, even better photos, and information unavailable anywhere else. Why, the Reef Fish Identification book, at more than 500 pages, is 20 percent larger than the previous volume, which came out in 1994. Whenever I travel to the Caribbean, I tote all three books and spend my down hours figuring out what I saw and where to look to find rare creatures. Paul's splendid Reef Creature book (420 pages), covers sponges, nudibranchs, octopus, crustaceans, Christmas tree worms and plenty more. His Coral ID book (276 pages) helps you identify all the hard and soft corals, spawning, and even the growth on top of corals, as well as algae and other plant life. Beginners may want to ID only fish, but I'd recommend that all three books be part of every diver's library. And, if you have an old set, by all means replace it. You'll be delighted at the additions and improvements. Each book normally retails for $40, but are discounted when you order here. And the boxed 3-volume set is available now at a bigger discount, $81.60 (June, 2004). You'll get the best prices Amazon.com has to offer, speedy delivery, and the knowledge that a large hunk of our profit will go to preserve coral reefs. All are spiral bound, 6x9

• Reef Fish Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas ,
• Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas and
• Reef Coral Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas
• The Boxed Set of all three (now listed at $81.60 -- June, 2004)

Watching Fishes: Understanding Coral Reef Fish Behavior
by Roberta Wilson, James Q. Wilson.

Your buddies can probably name the reef fish, but read this volume and you can explain what those critters are actually doing -- and why. This fascinating book describes why and how fish change color, how they smell and socialize, the difference between day and night behavior, even how damsels cultivate algae patches -- which is why they attach you when you fin by. Watching Fishes, Understanding Coral and Reef Fish Behavior is written for divers, not scientists, by Roberta and James Q. Wilson. They describe in lively nonfiction prose the behavior of basslets to blennies, clownfish to crinoids, damsels to drumfish. Perfect for between-dive reference. Paperback, 6x9, 274 pages.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.