DIY diving at Eden Rock Questions

[amandaepperson21]

I want to walk over from the tender and just hop in. Do they allow this? I'm assuming yes. DH will be diving and I want to snorkel. Paying $40 to walk with a group 100 yards away just doesn't make sense to me (I don't need equipment). I'll be sipping on drinks from their bar later in the afternoon as well as probably renting a locker, but are they going to have a problem with just lil ole me hopping down the ladder?

 

Also, I've seen several pics and it looks, well, scary. It seems like boats are super close to where you'd be diving. Maybe it's the camera angle, but do the boats come dangerously close to snorkelers?

 

And what exactly is this vest thing? Are they referring to a floatation vest/life jacket thing? I have a mask and dive shoes and don't want fins. It'd be great to not have to rent anything.

[drew sailbum]

It is free to get in the water. If you have your own gear then you can jump right in to snorkel.

 

The area is marked off with buoys which act as warning to boat traffic that snorkelers are in the water. Still, on occasion Eden Rock does bring their dive boat to shore through the snorkel area - they know to be aware.

 

Snorkel vests are often required by tours sponsored through the cruise ship. Eden Rock does not require vests to snorkel from their facility.

 

Moving around without fins is tiring. You would be well advised to rent some fins.

[amandaepperson21]

Thanks for the info. I've never snorkeled with fins, they drive me insane. Since I'll be alone, maybe I should if it makes it easier. I'm a wimpy snorkeler, though. I don't let my snorkel go under the water... I just hover around the surface lol.

 

Moving around without fins is tiring. You would be well advised to rent some fins.

[bookbabe]

You're going to want the fins.

 

My DH is a frequent and skilled snorkel/dive addict who NEVER uses fins, and the first time he tried Eden Rock he came back to the shore to put on his fins after a couple of minutes. The actual reef is quite a distance from shore, and it's a long, tiring swim without fins, even for an experienced swimmer.

[IPA region 30 member]

We did the dive off of the shore and it was GREAT!!! We didn't have our own equipment with us (didn't want to take up the baggage space.) but it was inexpensive and the dive master was WONDERFUL. They took us out, fed the fish and brought tons of them out. It was a fairly shallow dive but a lot of fun. I will say though, be on the look out for George and Georgina... I met up with Georgina and gave me the start of my life. She is a 5.5 foot Morray. I was swimming along and felt something soft on my hand which was clasped in front of me. Looked down and didn't see anything, swam further on and then felt it again, looked down and again nothing. Swim a bit further following the other two and then I feel something coming up my chest. I look down and see this green head with a LOT of teeth grinning at me <sigh>, I rather bugged out and did a full reverse and got my fingers away from her head (didn't want her to think that they looked like bait <G>), got a little separation and then belined to the dive master who is now sitting on the sand near a coral head. Here I come at all ahead FLANK and Georgina right behind me swimming along. As soon as I get a few feet from the dive master, she breaks off and goes head first into the food container... Come to find out when back on the surface that she sees divers and automatically comes out of her hole and thinks, free food... The other one named George does the same thing and he is even bigger... :eek:

 

regards

 

Scott