Dive Review of
Aquamarine Dive/Blue Waters Inn, Tobago in
Trinidad and Tobago/Speyside

Caymans,Dominica,Bequia,Bonaire,Saba,Puerto Rico,Roatan,Belize,Cozumel,BVI

Dive Conditions

Time and depth, entry and exit  

The design of the boat doesn't accommodate large cameras, but the staff
used a styrofoam cooler as a makeshift camera bucket for us.  The camera
rinse tank at the dive shop was not filled for some reason.  Did our camera
maintenance in the room.  Speed of current on each dive will determine
success or failure for pictures!  

Overall Rating

After reading very mixed reviews of the Blue Waters Inn on several travel
websites, we were pretty wary of what we would get.  Aside from the
disappointment of a mix-up in our reservation that put us in a 2-room
kitchenette suite instead of a full cottage, we were very pleased with the
accommodations.  The rooms were simple but clean and well-kept, beds
comfortable, A/C if you wanted it, and bathrooms in good shape with no mold
or corroding fixtures.  TV is located in a game room; no phones in the
rooms either. (Bring your own alarm clock). We had strong consistent water
pressure, and were never out of hot water in our shower. The grounds of the
Inn are well-kept, with many bird feeders to attract the hundreds of
species that live on Tobago.  The beach is narrow, with tree roots and
rocky sand, but is kept free of litter.

The manager- Duane Kenny -is very sociable, attentive, and aims to please. 
Aside from him, service response is slow; if you need something done or
fixed it may take 2-4 requests.  As long as you are patient and persistent,
it will happen.  The staff are polite, but not very overtly friendly as on
other islands.  We ate breakfast and lunch everday at the onsite
restaurant, The Fishpot, as well as a few dinners.  The food was consistent
in quality and good. We also went to dinner at Jemma's Treehouse in
Speyside for the most incredible lobster dinner we've ever eaten, and to
Sharon & Pheb's in Charlottesville for another great local seafood
dinner. Having a car helped - BWI is tucked away in a remote setting and a
bit of a hilly walk to town.  Most guests are Europeans, with a split mix
of divers and birders.  Everyone dressed very casually.

The dive shop, although on-site, is a separate business.  The staff is
courteous and helpful if asked, but no-one steps up to tell you the
"drill" on getting geared and onto the boat; you either watch or
ask another diver. Set-up is done at the shop, a cart takes the gear to the
boat.  Gear is switched to new tanks at the dock between the dives; after
last dive gear is carried (by you unless you ask) to be rinsed at shop and
set aside for next day. The boat is very simple - tanks in the middle with
gear on, with divers seated in front of gear for 5 - 15 minute ride to
sites.  Group back-roll entries are done; some dives require fast descents
due to currents.  You are "counted" back at the shop - not on the
boat after dives. Everyone is given a safety sausage, if you don't have
your own - we also carried whistles. First dive is at 10-ish, second dive
after lunch around 1PM.  One or two night dives can be done during the
week.

Hurricane Ivan did a real number on the delicate finger corals at a few
sites (also strange to see a large land cacti at 100' depth), but still
many sites with beautiful corals and lots of small to mid-size fish remain.
 Japanese Gardens is particularly stunning. Currents are not always
consistent - switching at depth or along the wall - so on occasion you may
need to swim into pretty stiff water for 10 - 15 minutes. It helps to be in
shape - and you need solid bouyancy control to be comfortable.  There is no
drift line off the boat...so re-entry can be time consuming while the boat
maneuvers to collect everyone. A few dive guides surprised us by grabbing
little arrowhead crabs and releasing them away from their spots, or pulling
lobsters out of crevices by their antennae while leaning on corals - not
actions we wish to see.  Also saw a good sized turtle shell on a night dive
- the turtle had been freshly harvested and the shell dumped.  No
conservation efforts are apparent to protect the reefs. Tobago is behind
the curve on protecting her underwater resources.  

Still worth a trip; the island itself is beautiful with many waterfalls to
hike to and a rainforest to explore.  Englishman's Bay is a movie-set beach
for a quiet day swimming and sunning. 

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