Scuba Diving The Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic is home to countless All Inclusive Resorts sprinkled along beautiful white sand beaches. It has long been a hot spot for tourists looking for a nice, affordable, tropical vacation. What it hasn’t been as well known for has been it’s diving. That is beginning to change with some new purpose built dive centers popping up around the island. In the past, the diving would mostly consist of resort staff doing Discover Scuba courses in the pools and taking the customers for quick intro dives in the ocean. Now with PADI and SSI Certified dive shops in the Dominican, divers are being treated to many new and different dive sites which the resorts typically wouldn’t have visited.
What divers are finding during these trips is very impressive. There is a multitude of fish with a number of nice reefs in the area as well. Finally, there are a number of very nice wrecks for diving near the area of Punta Cana which make for some great scuba diving exploration. If you stay in the Punta Cana area, dive shops will also offer trips to Saona Island and Catalina Island, which will both offer very high quality diving.
The price of diving in the Dominican is also a reason many people will go. While it is true that you can save even more money by diving with a resort based operator, we are going to focus on dive excursions through non-resort affiliated dive shops which specialize in diving. 2 Tank dives will start at around $109 and go up to about $200 depending on the location you are going. Catalina and Saona Island dive excursions are certainly a bit more expensive, however, they are full day trips which include lunch, snacks, and water.
Conditions For Scuba Diving In the Dominican
One thing you won’t have to worry about in the Dominican is the conditions. For the better part of the year they experience favorable visibility as well as warm temperatures. The visibility in the Caribbean is typically very good and the water quite warm. You will want to pack atleast a shorty wet suit to have in case. The late summer and fall months, you should certainly look at the weather before going, as the Dominican can be prone to hurricanes and tropical storms which blow through the area seasonally.
Let Us Know Of Your Experiences
Have you been diving in the Dominican? Who did you dive with? How would you rate it in comparison to other Caribbean destinations? Leave your comments below! We would love to hear from you!
