Dive Review of Merlin Dive Centre, Sasúa/Villa Taina in Cabarete in
Dominican Republic

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Merlin Dive Centre, Sasúa/Villa Taina in Cabarete : "Christmas and New Year with diving", Dec, 2022, by Bevan Ratciffe, ON, CA ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 12328.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Wonderful time to visit DR. People are friendly and helpful. Merlin Dive Centre is a very competent operation with an international staff and an amazing array of languages including Spanish, German, French and Bulgarian. We had to use English in which all staff were very proficient. First dive was around 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning returning to the shop for the interval. Next dive was up to 2½ hours getting organized and assembled so many divers only did one dive per day. We generally did two dives but it took all day which would be a problem if traveling with a non-diving companion. The shop was very accommodating working with new students all the way up to experienced divers. For the first dives care was taken to ensure safety but that became less obvious once our competence was established. Dive sites were varied including a coral garden, a boulder field, walls and a fairly interesting wreck located from 95 to 120 feet. The wreck has been down for about 30 years so growth has been established. Too bad the viz was only about 25 feet that day. Most dives were about 60 feet and about 15 minutes from the launch. Early in the trip winds and current made the visibility so bad the DM kept her light on to make it easier to locate. That made for some interesting experiences and fortunately things improved. Every dive is different so enjoy each one. Unfortunately the reefs suffer from over fishing so fish life is thin. There are no clouds of fish to see as the schools have been decimated. Apparently fishers sometimes tie off on the dive site moorings. Lack of fisheries enforcement will hurt tourism and future harvest if things don't change. We felt safe in our travels, however, we stayed in tourist areas right on the beach in Cabarete and near the dive shop in Sasùa. Lots of warnings telling tourists to remain wary of their surroundings. It was a great trip with great accommodations and beaches. Diving made a good diversion and this dive shop and staff were quite enthusiastic and entertaining. If you go,relax and enjoy the experience. The prices were also very good. Hotel Taina is located on on the beach and is surrounded by some fabulous restaurants serving lots of variety from pizza to whole fish.
Websites	Merlin Dive Centre, Sasúa
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Around the Caribbean
Closest Airport	Puerto Plata 🇵🇷	Getting There	Lots of direct flights from Toronto are available. We used Air Canada
Dive Conditions
Weather		Seas
Water Temp	82-°F / 28-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	5-30 Ft/ 2-9 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Merlin Dive Centre, Sasúa/Villa Taina in Cabarete in Dominican Republic

Merlin Dive Centre, Sasúa/Villa Taina in Cabarete : "Christmas and New Year with diving", Dec, 2022,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Merlin Dive Centre, Sasúa/Villa Taina in Cabarete in
Dominican Republic