Dive Review of
Aquanauts/Coral Cove Cottages in
Grenada

Most of the Caribbean; Fiji; Tonga; Costa Rica

Dive Conditions

Group asked to descend and surface together on many dives due to current.  

Large rinse tank on board.  

Overall Rating

Diving in Grenada was surprisingly good, with reefs that were healthy and
full of color.  Sponges are prolific and varied – purple barrel sponges
were large and bizarrely shaped in the constant currents, and vase sponges
were everywhere, in azure, pink, and pale green. Grenada is home to the
most impressive collection of soft corals that I’ve seen in the Caribbean:
purple, pink, yellow, orange, red, white – either sweeping across the
reefs, or encrusting the wrecks – they made for an underwater garden of
color, and wonderful photo opportunities.

If you are enchanted by feather dusters, you’ll love diving here.  Feather
dusters were everywhere – large ones, small ones, clusters of two or three,
growing inside sponges, under gorgonians, or sprouting from a wrecked ship
hull – Grenada has got to be the feather duster capital of the Caribbean.

Save for a few nurse sharks, we saw no big fish here, and while there were
a few impressive schools of Creole wrasse and chromis, in general, it
appears Grenada’s waters are sadly over fished.  I don’t think I saw one
parrotfish or grouper in eight days of diving.  We did spot a few turtles,
large stingrays, and a surprising number of lobsters.

Grenada is known for its wrecks, and they did not disappoint.  The Veronica
was an easy second dive, at about 60 feet; the hull was almost completely
encrusted in yellow and orange cup corals, and the deck was a fairyland of
gorgonians – a photographer’s dream.  The Bianca C is, as they say in
Grenada, “a crackin’ dive.”  The wrecked cruise ship sank in the 1960s, and
while the center of the deck is a mass of wreckage, much of the deck and
the entire hull are intact. The sight of that soft white coral-encrusted
bow coming into view, as you follow the line down to about 120 feet, was
worth the trip itself.  

My friends and I rented cottages at Coral Cove Cottages and Apartments
(www.coralcovecottages.com), and could not have been more pleased with our
accommodations.  The setting was idyllic and peaceful, and the drive to
Aquanauts at True Blue Bay was only about 15 minutes and easy to navigate. 
We let Damien at Coral Cove arrange our rental car, and we also had basic
provisions (like plenty of cold Carib) stocked in the full kitchen before
our arrival.  The cottages were immaculately clean and spacious, and within
50 yards of a lovely beach and a dock that would be perfect for swimming
and snorkeling. The pool made for a great place to relax after a morning of
diving, and the constant sea breezes and sound of the sea lulled me to
sleep every night. 

Service at Aquanauts was efficient and pleasant.  Boats were roomy, with
large rinse tanks for cameras, plenty of fresh drinking water, and juice
and fresh fruit served after dives.  Dive briefings were thorough without
being overdone, and the crew was friendly and fun. Given the currents,
almost all dives were drift, and a schedule was maintained, so dive times
rarely ran a full hour.  Nitrox is included at no extra charge, and they
make it simple, with an analyzer on board and tanks checked there before
the boat leaves the dock. If you’re not Nitrox certified, you’ll be the odd
diver out – so many of the dives are below 80 feet, that you really need
the additional dive time that Nitrox provides. Boat trips averaged ten to
twenty minutes, and the crew was great about accommodating dive site
requests. The only real disappointment was the day we dived at the
underwater sculpture park – which was clearly a concession made for some
snorkelers on board, and the one error in customer service that I
encountered from Aquanauts. With all the lovely dive sites in Grenada,
enduring the murk of that location was unfair to the divers on board –
particularly when we were spending a lot more money to dive for eight days
than were the “one day wonders” with their snorkels.

Currents were lively here, but seldom tortuous.  Water temps were perfect,
averaging 82, and the vis was good, despite frequent nighttime rains.
You’ll definitely want to rent a vehicle in order to enjoy the fun of
narrow, winding roads and left-side driving. There are plenty of good
restaurants in Grenada, and food can be quite good, with an abundance of
fresh, locally grown ingredients. Try The Nutmeg, on the Carenage in St.
George’s, for killer rum punch and a roti.  For ambiance and fine dining,
get directions and head to La Luna. U.S. currency was accepted everywhere,
but it’s also easy to get Eastern Caribbean dollars at ATMs.

After tripping around the Caribbean and avoiding Grenada for many years due
to its lackluster diving reputation, I was drawn to Grenada on a hunch that
it was probably better than its reputation would indicate.  It was. People
were friendly and accommodating, and the island is lush and beautiful.  If
you’re looking for a new dive destination with fabulous corals, photogenic
wrecks, and plenty of topside adventure, give Grenada a try.  
 

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