Do I need a guide for Eden Rock?

[SailingDeanna]

My research online for scuba diving at Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto is giving me mixed ideas. Do you recommend to pay for a guide to take you to both sites? The websites say you see more things, and are able to explore the caverns better. Is this true? Or is it more trouble since you are forced to follow the guide and other people?

Thanks.

[bruce-r]

You won't be able to rent tanks in GCM unless you have a buddy. They don't look favorably on solo diving. If you have a buddy, or can hook up with one at the site, and you are more experienced than just a once a year cruise diver, then you should be able to dive the site by yourselves, as long as you feel comfortable doing so. If you are a new-ish or once a year diver, then I would strongly suggest that you go with a guide, even if you do have a buddy. I could be wrong, but my thinking is that if you do a guided dive there, it would be just you, your buddy if you have one, and the guide on the dive.

 

Personally, I'd dive it without a guide if I could find a buddy there, but then I'd treat it like a solo dive since I would be diving with a stranger.

[SailingDeanna]

I do already have a buddy. The Eden Rock site says you can see more caverns, etc. if you rent a guide. But it does say up to six people are guided by the guide. So I wasn't sure if you all thought it would be a better experience with a guide, or if it was shallow enough that we should just do it on our own. Thanks.

[MsJ]

I do already have a buddy. The Eden Rock site says you can see more caverns, etc. if you rent a guide. But it does say up to six people are guided by the guide. So I wasn't sure if you all thought it would be a better experience with a guide, or if it was shallow enough that we should just do it on our own. Thanks.

 

Hi we spent a week in GC last April and Eden Rock was our favorite snorkeling site....you could just about jump off the ship and be right there..we stayed at the Sunset House Dive Resort just down the road from ER.....we would get in the water at the SH and snorkel down to ER...and we were in the shadows of the ships..literally....I saw so much sea life there..and beautiful coral..dont know about the diving but I do know that there is a dive shop at Eden Rock....just get off the tender and turn righ...walk about 3 minutes and its right there Marianne

[cmdchiefthom]

There used to be a map of the dive site posted on a large post, at the entrance area, at least there was before the hurricane. Regardless, the dive shop should have a map of the dive site. A guide , in my opinion, wouldn't be necessary, unless you are a novice, incapable of understanding basic underwater navigation. I don't believe you would have enough air to extend your dive beyond the area shown on the displayed map. In any event, you will absoutley love the dive.

[bruce-r]

You know, if you don't see enough on the first dive, you can always do another dive. That's what I would do.

[fishnfan]

My first trip to eden rock i did not have a buddy so i hired a guide from the dive shop. I think for about $20-$30. He was good and it was a very nice dive but you may want to stop and look closer at something and he may be moving away. My trip there last year, my buddy and i dove and i did like it better. We did about 45 minutes Nitrox and you can do 2 dives to see it all if one does not do it for you.

[scubaman]

I'm having the same problem. I will be on the conquest and wanted to do ER. I do have a dive buddy, but we arrive at 7 am and the first guided dive is at 9 am. I am worried that we might not get off the ship and over to ER by then.

[ardie42]

We dove Edin Rock last June. Booked through Edin Rock Dive Center. We also used a guide. You only have so much bottom time, if you haven't been there you might as well make the most of your time. A guide will know where the best fish hang out. We saw some big fish there. Know that there isn't much down there. The hurricane tore it up pretty good. Another consideration...lots of snorklers in the area. That caused lots of stuff to be kicked up. Our pictures had lots of scatter in them. On the good side, it's warm and an easy dive.

[waterrats]

Last September we snorkeled there. It is a short walk from the Princess tender peir. It wasn't very busy in the shop. We only had 3 ships in port that day so it wasn't necessary to make reservations. I would have gone diving except I ended up with a bad upper resp. infection and ended up not diving at all during that cruise. Maybe in a few years when we are back there.