Bonaire, Belize, Rangiroa, Fiji, Indonesia

For several decades, we have collected readers' diving trip report. Lately, it's been heartbreaking to read about coral bleaching and diseases throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere. Researchers found that in the Florida Keys, only 22 percent of the nurseryraised staghorn coral that had been transplanted at five Florida reef sites survived the 2023 summer heat wave. That doesn't bode well for the efforts to restore coral colonies or the existing reefs. Here's what readers say.

The Caribbean

Leslie Russum (Broomfield, CO) dived with Belize's Ramon's Village in December and reported: "The hard corals have been hit hard - the lettuce corals were 100 percent bleached. The brain corals are starting to bleach, as are the cactus corals. The DMs said all the pillar corals died in the past three years. They believe if the water temperatures improve in a few months, there is hope for the coral to recover."

From the '90s, Ramon's has been Ambergris Caye's go-to resort, but Russum says, "The current owner is not investing in the resort and dive operation. Small things are not being repaired. They are trying to convince him to replace the Nitrox system." Undercurrent reported last May that Ramon's had replaced their boat windshield with ordinary window glass, which shattered when a bow wave hit it, lacerating a diver's leg and permanently disabling her. She had to stage an expensive legal fight in Belize to get at least some compensation for her injury. https://ramons.com

The more charming Caye Caulker is 20 miles away, where Marcia Pederson (Deming, WA) dived in January with Frenchies. "Great crew. Half Moon Wall was the best dive, with lots of marine life, beautiful topography, and great vis and color. Throughout the week, we saw many sharks, a few morays, a couple of rays, a turtle, jacks, parrotfish, nudibranchs, crabs, good-sized groupers, lobsters, and only a few lionfish - lots of big sponges, various fans, and corals. There are nice rooms and a good restaurant at Island Magic. Next time, I want to be closer to the Turneffe area to avoid long boat rides." www.frenchiesdivingbelize.com

Bonaire residents have worked hard to stem Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, but it's a losing battle. Larry Klumb (Lithia, FL) stayed at Captain Don's Habitat in December, saying, "The reefs are under aggressive attack from SCTLD and bleaching, and 60-70 percent seem affected. Lack of large fish; in a week, no nurse sharks, no eagle rays, a few small southern rays, plenty of lionfish, and small fish. Captain Don's has been renovated; the restaurant was well run [with good food], remarkable burger and fries, excellent ribs, chicken, and fish barbecue . . . . The dive operation hadn't been updated in years. The storage lockers are the dregs. The one ladder to access the house reef was in disrepair, with the railing collapsed during the week." [Eds note: word has it that they ran out of money; updating the dive operation is on the agenda.] . . . . www.habitatbonaire.com Buddy's next door was in far better shape, with less expensive meals and excellent dive facilities. www.buddydive.com

While we prefer Cozumel's small hotels and dive operators like Aldora and Living Underwater, one luxury and pricey hotel, Occidental, stands out. Jon Hoffmann (Gainesville, GA) reports, "We have stayed at over six resorts in Cozumel; this was our 2nd stay at the Occidental, 4-plus-star rated and all-inclusive, like a cruise ship on land (it's not for everyone), with whatever activity you want. There are 10 three-story complexes, a 100-yard boardwalk over a mangrove swamp to get to the beach and dive shop. We dived with Pro Dive, which is onsite, but other operators will pick you up at the hotel dock. The Occidental is far south with less boat time to the better dive spots; you return to the hotel for intervals. Everyone at Pro Dive was professional and fun. You must lug your gear, set up your tanks, and rinse and store your stuff. Expect to see multiple boats at every dive site and groups prowling below. 84°F at the bottom in November for most dives. Most sites have SCTLD, with some looking like a desert that received a dusting of snow. Most reefs are still healthy, but some have patches of completely white coral with a "desert dusting" of white on corals in the periphery."
www.barcelo.com/en-gb/occidental-cozumel
www.aldora.com   www.living-underwater.com

Even CoCo View Resort on Roatan says Jon J. Watkins (Kasilof, AK), who's made more than 1000 dives, is affected. "I was shocked by the massive bleaching and algae everywhere. Clearly, the reef is dying - excessive island building without controlling untreated dumping into the ocean. Still, CoCo View is an excellent facility with excellent people. I would trust my grandchildren to dive here. They take out groups as large as 13 with a single dive guide. A diver got stung by a lionfish, but they handled it without disrupting the other divers. A one-tank dive per trip is the norm. They 'let' you dive all you want on the dead reef they call the front yard . . . . I was taken aback by the request of another 15 percent per person in our party in tips - not including vessel crew!" www.cocoviewresort.com

Saba is a unique island with unusual diving, and we've heard no reports of significant coral damage. Rick Feinleib (Reston, VA), there in October, said, "Most everyone lives above 300 m elevation; there are under 2000 permanent residents, small hotels and cottage rentals, and a few very good restaurants. Visibility was usually over 30 m. Subsurface topographies varied greatly, with occasional narrow swim-thrus. Sites are between 5 and 20 minutes away. Man O'War Shoals was one of the three best dives I have ever had: clouds of fish (durgons, triggers, parrots, angels, chromis, wrasse, damsels, butterflies, tangs, squirrels, fairy basslets, drums, yellowtail snappers, grunts), turtles, lobsters, rays, nudis, barracudas, puffers, all among two pillars that extend from 110 feet up to 20 feet. Even the safety stop is a show! Sea Saba has two new boats, each with long padded benches, easy stride entries, and a good exit ladder. Gear is rinsed, dried, and set up on the boat for you. Competent divemasters who knew the reefs and currents. www.seasaba.com

We reported on the tragic death of Dive Bequia owner Robert Sachs in December. Tom Flaherty (Marsworth, UK) was there in January and reported that "Kathy (Robert's wife/partner) reopened the shop. Polite, friendly, and helpful, the staff did a great job in difficult circumstances. We regularly found octopuses, arrow crabs, and other small critters in the grass. In deeper water, we saw impressive sponges, lots of morays, and a good variety of fish, but few 'table-sized' fish. We saw squid, octopuses hunting and flashing colors, puffers, bannerfish, two large seahorses, scrawled filefish. The Cathedral was sensational with waving tree-like corals abutting a lovely coral slope." Bequia is a charming island with under 5,000 residents, 10 miles south of St. Vincent. www.divebequia.com

Fiji, Fakarova, and Lembeh

So far, Fiji reefs have avoided bleaching, but one of Fiji's favorite resorts has become less appealing to serious divers. Tim Nugent (Huntington Beach, CA) chose Volivoli Beach Resort "based on past Undercurrent reviews, and it truly lived up to the term 'Resort.' It's well laid out on a fantastic point of land with great island architecture, top-notch construction, and a friendly staff. The food was good, but about half of it wasn't what we were used to." www.volivoli.com

While serious divers could once had days of topnotch diving, that may have passed. He says, "Ra Divers has five capable dive boats. The marine park is in the famous Bligh Waters, an hour away. On our first day, because new groups of divers were aboard, we went to reefs about 15 minutes away. If everyone checked out OK, we could go to the marine park tomorrow. Or, if the divers didn't measure up, the rest of the dives may have to stay local. 20-40 feet visibility, hardly any fish life, and nothing but rubble below 30 feet. The reef tops at 10-15 feet had colorful, dense hard corals. The multiple swim-thrus were packed with beautiful soft corals, but I was underwhelmed. On day four we did make it out to the marine park for Fiji's best diving; 50-80 feet visibility, densely packed hard and soft corals and enough fish to stock most of the world's aquariums, and lots of pelagic predators. Out of several diving days, we only made it to the marine park three times. Whenever a new group showed up, the staff went to local reefs to check them out. Why don't they run additional boats for more experienced divers? In my opinion, they're saving fuel and crew costs. I won't dive with Volivoli again." www.volivoli.com/scuba-diving-fiji

Their website says Hand Picked Bligh Water Dive Sites - With over 90 dive sites, we have great diving options for nearly all weather conditions. Take a look and plan your next dive in the Bligh Water with Ra Divers - It's not worth an 11-hour flight from Los Angeles only to find that inexperienced divers dictate the diving. Of course, this isn't the only dive operator in the world pulling the old bait and switch.

One downside of Indonesian diving is a day or two of travel time to remote operations. So, consider the unique tropical diving in French Polynesia, under nine hours from SFO or LAX, and only a 2-3 hour time zone difference. In October, Kelley McDaneld (Steamboat Springs, CO) Flew to Fakarava and stayed at Havaiki Lodge in a beach bungalow. "Nice, but nothing compares to the Indonesian style of lodging. Dove with O2 Divers. Almost all dives are deco. Our divemaster, JC, forgot his computer, and we had to return to the shop after making it halfway to the dive - which meant the current in the pass would be superstrong. It was a horizontal current, but one diver was doing head-over-heels flips. Tons of gray reef sharks at 100 feet and many colorful reef fish throughout the dive. www.havaiki.com www.o2fakarava.com

In North Fakarava, we dove with Top Dive. Definitely the most adventurous part of the trip. Sharks were everywhere. We saw grays, blackfins, blacktips, and whitetips in great numbers. The food at Moto Aitu was horrible, except for the fresh tuna. They wouldn't let us go below 100 feet because we didn't have our 'deep dive' certification, though we were Rescue divers. I guess we need to fork over $ to PADI for that certification if we go back. Diving was OK in the Tiputa pass at Rangiroa. The highlights were the dolphins, at times interactive. In the future, we would do all our diving on Fakarava North and South, spend a few nights on a high island such as Huahine, and do some hiking. www.topdive.com/scuba-diving-fakarava

The Marquesas (3-hour flight) apparently can have great diving, but it has variable visibility and is advanced, according to our DM at O2." French Polynesia can be rustic, not as upscale as many Indonesian dive operations, but if you're adventurous, you'll have more to write home about. Read about McDonald's adventurous trip at http://tinyurl.com/td5ccejt.

If you want to refine your macro photograph skills, there's no better place than Indonesia's Lembeh Resort. Richard Shifreen (Madison, WI) was there for January's annual Capturing Critters Underwater Photography Workshop. "The facilities are excellent, as is the food. The workshop is for photographers and videographers with varied skills and interests. You needn't be an expert. Our group had cameras ranging from housed cell phones to compact cameras with simple lighting to complex mirrorless systems with specialized housing and lighting. Photo editing was a significant part of the workshop; you need a laptop with Lightroom and Photoshop to get the most out of the program. We had three guest professionals and the resort's photo pro. Each day was non-stop seminars, workshops, and three boat dives. The guides found interesting subjects and helped with lighting. We received individual attention. Wonderful resort." Sign up for next January's Workshop www.lembehresort.com

Diving Like It Was Done Forty Years Ago

A long-time Undercurrent member with a thousand dives under his weight belt dived in January with Blue Water Divers on Grand Turk Island. He was amazed that "the shop operated two small pangas, set up for eight divers each, with the only staff member on the panga being the panga operator, gear handler, and guide. No one was in the panga when we dived, a clear threat to our safety and well-being. This is the normal mode of operation of the other main dive operator, Grand Turk Diving. My wife and I decided to accept the risk and dive. The pangas were beached stern-first in the wave break zone. With the assistance of the jack-of-all-trades guide, you had to step on the moving platform, over the gunnel, and grab hold of something to prevent falling. Hard for us 80-year-olds, but even the young folks had problems. And your gear got sandy. The guide allowed divers to do their dives with little supervision. The guide led the dive out and returned to the panga area after 45 minutes, and immediately left the water to assist divers returning to the boat. Climbing a tiny 3-step ladder is doable but not comfortable." www.grandturkscuba.com

I understand his concern. Diving without a guide can be disconcerting when you're not expecting it. Yet, that's how Grand Truk dive operators have done it since I was first there in the 1980s. Back then, many dive operations elsewhere dived that way, and I didn't give much thought to it (but I do now, as I'm no longer an immortal youth). Times have changed, but it's unlikely dive ops on Grand Turk will. If you dive there, you'll be about 100-200 yards offshore, so I hope you're in good enough shape to make the swim.

- Ben Davison