On my way to Dominica I stopped and dived Antigua. What I remember most about the island was beautiful beaches and scenery, high-dollar hotels, and a five-buck hot dog. The diving was forgettable. If you find yourself here, avoid boats that take divers from the cruise ships, as they do only the close-in, shallow reefs.

Dive Antigua/Halcyon Bay, November 1996, Jeff & Sherry Hotham, Phoenix, AZ. "Divemaster was the captain leaving no one to tend the boat while we were in the water. Anchor thrown on the coral. Everyone was to backroll in at once and go straight down. My buddy and I waited and watched the banging collisions of inexperienced divers and then caught up. Divemaster touched everything! Not a sea fan escaped a pinch across its whole length. Never turned around to see if everyone was following. Everyone but us surfaced after 35 minutes without a safety stop;300 yards surface swim back to the boat against choppy seas. As people were waiting to climb the ladder the divemaster stood tanks on the edge of the boat siding; missed a gash in my head by half inch as the sea pitched the tanks overboard. . . . Second dive the same: On the ride back rum is provided. Final insult: quoted prices included tanks but not the air in them; there is an additional charge for that. . . . Timeshare units at Halycon Cove Resort are regular hotel rooms modified to hold a mini kitchen, but they forgot the sink for dish washing so the bathtub became the back breaking sink. The power failed every time we attempted to cook as the circuit breakers tripped."

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