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Dive Review of Green Monkey/Bunkum Beach House in
General Travel/Other Locations/Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

Green Monkey/Bunkum Beach House, Aug, 2007,

by Brian Gibson, MO, USA ( 1 report). Report 3497.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments My wife and I recently took a trip to Montserrat (August 2007). Due to Hurricane Dean we arrived a day late but we were able to get there early the next morning and didn't miss any diving. We were originally scheduled to dive with Sea Wolf diving because of their good correspondence via email. However upon arriving, we discovered that they had pulled their boat out of the water for the hurricane and didn't plan on putting it back in for a few days. We then called the Green Monkey dive shop and they were happy to accommodate us. We were in the water within a few hours of landing on the island. (Sea Wolf was even a little confrontational after learning we had decided to dive with Green Monkey, so I'm glad our situation worked out like it did. Not to mention that the Green Monkey boat is much better suited for diving).

Due to the hurricane the water was murky, but Troy at Green Monkey was up front and honest that the visibility wouldn't be good. Having not dove in a while we decided it would be fun just to get wet. We dove for 3 days, the first 2 the visibility was poor but on the third day it cleared up to close to normal. Even with limited visibility we had great diving and on the last day the diving was fantastic. Due to the lack of tourists the reefs are in perfect condition and the wildlife is not used to human interaction. Among many other things, we saw a pair of 5' sting rays that were content to sit and watch while I was swimming around them getting pictures from all angles and even some great macro shots.

Troy and Melody run a good operation. They have a good, clean boat and shop. We took our own gear, but our friend rented gear and it was well maintained and in good working order. Our dive guide, Ned, was great, showing us all kinds of critters.

We stayed at Bunkum Beach House (www.bunkumbeachhouse.com), owned and operated by Sun. The rooms were large and clean and the pool was a great way to spend the afternoon. She even bought breakfast for us when she found out that we were delayed and that we wouldn't arrive until Sunday, because all the grocery stores are closed on Sundays.


There are lots of other activities on Montserrat like hiking and the MVO (Montserrat Volcano Observatory), where you can get a good look at the active volcano. For transportation, the mini buses run very regularly and will get you pretty much anywhere you need to go. We used a taxi driver named Winston a few times. He is the former police commissioner and is very knowledgeable about the island. We are always looking for different and exotic places to go and Montserrat definitely fits that profile, in fact, when we were there we were the only tourists on the island. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something different that the normal Caribbean destination.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Little Caymen, Cozumel, Roatan, Grand Turk, Dominica, Palau, Yap, Curacao, Belize, Bahamas
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather Seas calm, choppy, noCurrents
Water Temp 80-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 25-75 Ft/ 8-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments No camera table but there was only 3 people on the boat so there was plenty of space to work with cameras.
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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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