Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Raja Ampat, Belize

We have garnered some diving tips and great destinations (and not-so-great) from our readers and want to pass them on to you. Here are some current ideas about where to dive, where not to, and a few things to keep in mind.

One doesn't have to travel around the world to find decent liveaboard diving, as Mary McCombie (New Haven, CT), who has been around the world, testifies. "I had done four trips on the Belize Aggressor IV but had never tried the Belize Aggressor III, which I did in February. The cabins are smaller and less comfortable than the IV's, with bunk beds; it would be tight with two people. The all-Belizean crew made for an enjoyable trip. The food was as good as could be (the meats were not the finest grade) . . . I really enjoyed the diving. Though this time of year is usually windy, we dived Half Moon Caye, which is home to the high-profile reef sharks, rays, and large grouper. We were there just before and during the annual spawning of Nassau grouper (see REEF's Grouper Moon Project, www.reef.org). I saw several Nassau groupers in the bicolor nuptial coloring the first two days, but then none - they were off to wherever their spawning site was! Thanks to its relatively shallow draft, the Belize Aggressor III can go to the Blue Hole in conditions that bar the Aggressor IV. I wore a Venture heated vest on every dive; water temps between 74-79ºF." www.aggressor.com"

The Turks and Caicos Explorer II gets high marks from a long-time Undercurrent subscriber, Rene Cote (Richmond, VA), who traveled in January. "The entire crew was accommodating and helpful. The yacht is in good condition, my cabin was comfy, and the hot water worked - essentials for a week-long liveaboard trip . . . Meals were "good cafeteria" food . . . Whenever I'm on a liveaboard, I try to find out whether the fire alarms are integrated - if one goes off, they all sound the alarm. There was no need to guess because the alarm rang loudly on the first day! False alarm . . . Getting back on the boat was sometimes a joy ride. The yacht was attached to a mooring line. Based on the wind, the boat could move 100 meters or more in roughly a 180-degree arc. To exit, you catch a line as the boat swings by. It could be quite the superman experience to hang on to that line and be pulled along . . . some divers liked it so much they hung out there for 10 minutes . . . On one notable dive, viz was 150 feet, with a few schools of jacks and barracuda, the occasional grouper, and lionfish; seeing sharks on every dive was fun. A very pleasant week of diving." www.explorerventures.com

Given Grand Cayman's reef structure, shore diving isn't easy, but the venerable Sunset House is set up for it. While there is no beach, Bill Schlegel (Jefferson City, MO) says shore diving out front is good once you get over the hardpan. "Farther out, the coral is fairly healthy, and the mermaid statue is a classic. Farther out is a WWII landing ship, a coral restoration farm, and several anchors, including a huge 12-foot cruise ship anchor and an 18th-century anchor. This is a great night dive due to easy access and many octopuses." It's an excellent place to practice underwater photography, because, Bill says, "Cathy Church's photo shop at the resort provides access to more underwater photo equipment that you will see anywhere else, and excellent courses." www.sunsethouse.com

At Sunset House in December, Jeanne Downey (Baden, PA) says, "Planning a slightly different direction each day made shore diving more interesting; some days, there was a mild current, a couple of days it was strong. We saw stingrays, tarpon, mottled jawfish, pufferfish, and Nassau groupers. There are lots of spur-and-groove formations to explore for small fish and crabs . . . The Sunset House finally upgraded the rooms, not high grade, but certainly better than what it had been" . . . One downside: their bar allows smoking, but there's a small no-smoking area. www.sunsethouse.com

One Cozumel caution. If you have not been there, do your research on the dive boats you select because some may be frustratingly slow, as Dave Demming (Chagrin Fall, OH) warns. Diving with Casa del Mar, he found that their boat rides were long and slow, with long surface intervals, meaning only two dives in 6-7 hours daily. Another tip: Climbing three flights to his room at Casa del Mar several times a day was no fun. https://casadelmarcozumel.com

Peter Pinkerton (Walworth, NY) joined Wallacea Cruises' MV Ambai for a Raja Ampat trip in January. While I want to highlight two takeaways, I'll first note it was a quirky trip, and if you are considering Wallacea, you had better read his online reader report. He and his three traveling companions are Caribbean divers who don't use reef hooks. No pre-trip information mentioned their importance; however, it appeared that the crew assumed they carried hooks and led them on a current dive where they were absolutely necessary. After that struggle, they were given hooks. Second, at the end of the trip, it was time to pay for port fees, a fuel surcharge, wine, and rental equipment, as well as tips. But there was no onboard credit card terminal. Cash only. Try scrambling for that kind of cash. Two lessons: when traveling abroad, pack a reef hook. And, when traveling to Third World countries or on liveaboards, pack cash or find out whether you can transfer money electronically. www.wallacea-divecruise.com/liveaboard/mv-ambai

The Juliet is a sailing vessel well-regarded by Undercurrent readers. While it sails from Miami to Bimini during the summer and in the USVI in the winter, it makes a couple of voyages to Mona Island in Puerto Rico, which once upon a time was quite an interesting diving location. No more, it seems. Mary Adams (Port Saint Lucie, FL), aboard in January, said that she conducted REEF fish-ID surveys on 15 of the 20 dives. "My impression of fish populations is that some fish that should have been present in big schools, especially snappers and grunts, were missing entirely. I saw small numbers of parrotfish, jacks, and groupers. The hard corals were long dead, and their skeletons were covered with seaweed. I saw a few remaining green corals with white-band coral disease. Soft corals and gorgonians were present." Looks like that itinerary is no longer worth the hassle. https://julietsailinganddiving.com

Thailand has many inexpensive liveaboards that North American divers don't find suitable, but the Smiling Seahorse, which Jon J. Watkins (Kasilof, AK) boarded in January, is a cut above. Jon, who tops 1000 dives, said the owners, "Frank and Camille have a great operation; clean, well-organized, and fun! James, our assigned guide, got to know us and how we dive and found great photo subjects. The Andaman Sea is a must-do trip for sea life, coral, and the unique scenery . . . Frank is a professional photographer, and the vessel reflects this. The blackwater dive we did, thanks to Frank's knowledge, was special. He set it up better than any other boat I have been on and produced results, but you must have the requisite experience in diving. Plenty of room to store things in the room, comfortable beds and showers, and food representative of Thailand's best." www.thesmilingseahorse.com

The East Bay Resort on South Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands has been open only for two years. Cayman's Reef Divers runs it, and the dive operation, but it's not gotten off the ground in this down economy. Fred Dinkler (Preston, ID) was there in January and says," Two dive masters took a vacation over Christmas, and neither returned, leaving the resort with a single dive master (Ethan), who did his job well until he became ill. So the last three dive days were canceled." The resort has a lot of potential - "Fish were plentiful, we always spotted large rays rooting in the sand, green morays, and three or four spotted eagle rays and sharks cruising past" - but Undercurrent has learned that the dive operation needs to travel farther to get to the best spots. Hopefully, that's on the horizon because Dinkler reports, "Later this year, it will be renovated into a high-end Marriott resort called "Saltera," with expanded restaurants, multiple pools with saunas, and a large dive shop. The plans are to reopen in 2024, and diving will continue to be operated by Reef Divers. www.eastbayresort.com

So you want to see sharks for a day or two without traveling far? In January, Fred Turoff (Philadelphia, PA) saw plenty in two days with Neal Watson/Old Bahama Bay, West End, Grand Bahama. "I chose this trip since I had been on the Bahamas Master liveaboard 14 months earlier that was hit by a freighter during an overnight crossing to Tiger Beach, which ended that trip.

We began with an 8:30 departure to Tiger Beach, which took 1 hour 40 minutes. Once we arrived at the dive site, we were greeted at the surface with numerous gray reef and lemon sharks. We each donned 24 pounds to keep us on the bottom easily. On each of the two days, we had seven large tiger sharks swimming around us. Water was around 78°F, and I used two 3mm suits to keep warm. Our dives were only 35 feet and lasted over 1 hour 40 minutes each day - only one dive per day. The guides handled the tiger sharks easily, and it's a small thrill to see one open its mouth as it is diverted from the bait box, realizing that the mouth could easily fit half of me in it. The crew did a fine job." www.biminiscubacenter.com https://www.oldbahamabayresorts.com

St. Kitts has a lot going for it as a tourist destination, but not for serious divers; as Thomas Sharp (San Mateo, CA) points out, it's probably not worth the trip. He dived with Pro Divers, a professional operation with a great staff but said that "fishing is unrestricted in St. Kitts, and it shows. Nonetheless, we did spot a turtle, a rather large stingray, a barracuda, several lionfish and a seahorse, and many lobsters. We maintained between 40 and 50 feet and saw hundreds of plastic water bottles, wet wipes (ew!), plastic cups, automotive tires, and assorted detritus from an island nation that does not appear to care about its reefs. Add to that, we were downstream of the cruise ships - at one point, there were four docked, including the largest in the world, and you have the makings of a Caribbean reef tragedy." While we decry the trash pouring into the sea in the Asian nations, we have to look closer to home and to the giant cruise ships that transport first-world people with money to third-world destinations, where they leave their trash behind. www.prodiversstkitts.com

- Ben Davison