hello and dominican republic

[kittie]

first of all hello!

I'm going to the DR in two weeks and am going to do my AOW.
Have had some bad dives in Tenerife and Malta so a little nervous - so please no negative comments! I've had a panic attack and some diving with hardcore 'no buddy check' kinda divers which wasn;t so good for a noobie!!!

I've read mixed reviews so am in a way prepared for the worst, but if anyone has any advice about the Dr or getting confidence back it would be much appreciated.

Kittie

 

[bdurrett]

Originally posted by kittie
first of all hello!

I'm going to the DR in two weeks and am going to do my AOW.
Have had some bad dives in Tenerife and Malta so a little nervous - so please no negative comments! I've had a panic attack and some diving with hardcore 'no buddy check' kinda divers which wasn;t so good for a noobie!!!

I've read mixed reviews so am in a way prepared for the worst, but if anyone has any advice about the Dr or getting confidence back it would be much appreciated.

Kittie

Oi vey! Sounds like you got off to a not-so-great start with your Underwater Experience :waterwork

DR and Malta/Teneriffe are WORLDS apart in the climate and diving that they do there. I have been to both (although not diving) and the water in the DR is usually much calmer, warmer, and clearer than that around Malta.

As for the rest, "No Buddy Check" kinda divers are NOT gonna be my Buddy! I am also a relative "newbie," having gotten my OW in 1985 and my AOWD in 2001 but, if I were paired with one of these "screw it, I'm outta here" kind of people, I wouldn't dive. Simple as that.

The AOW course was a blast for me. I hadn't been diving in WAY too many years and was more than a tad nervous but it was great. If I had any advice to offer it would be to relax, remember what you were taught in your OW course/cert and enjoy yourself. I did the Boat, Deep Dive, and Navigation modules.

Panic attacks are one thing that I wouldn't mess around with though. Do you have a chance to do a little pool work before you go? IMO (only), even getting into the water with your gear, in a controlled environment, could help a lot to reduce the possibility of a panic attack. Don't have the slightest bit of evidence to back this assumption up and not knowing the situation that caused the attack in the first place makes it more difficult to make suggestions but, FWIW, that is what I would do.

Bret

 

[Freediver81]

hi kittie!

dont worry about bad experiences! I believe that bad experiences are good experiences as long as you learned a lesson in each of them!

you can regain your confidence by making sure that you go to a good diving club which puts safety on the top of their lists and you should explain to the instructor your situation that he will be your dive buddy!

 

[cdavis]

Kittie,

Haven't been there, but DR should be much like the rest of the Carribbean, warm, clear, and calm, as long as you stay out of the wind. It is "no wetsuit" weather down there right now. Should be much easier conditions than what you have seen so far.


Please post your experiance when you get back, lots of us are curious about DR. It is not well known in the US.

Good luck,

Connor

 

[kittie]

Thank you for the replies - am so looking forward to going. Will let you know how I get on.

 

[virgil]

Kittie,

I'm sure you're going to have a great time in DR! I was there in a work-related trip last summer and managed to take a weekend off to do some diving. All my dives were on the South Coast (Juan Dolio and La Romana area) with an operator called "Neptuno" (out of Barcello Capella resort in Juan Dolio). This shop, as many other on the island, is german owned and operated; security was taken seriously. A guide was part of any group of divers - this certainly reduces the risk of finding yourself abandoned by some crazy buddy.
Warm and generally clear water and nice reefs. If you go on the South shore, take the trip to Catalina Island. From others' saying the North shore has even better diving.
Some basic Spanish will certainly help you in this trip.
Dive safe and have fun!

Virgil

 

[kittie]

Thank you again. I'm staying on the north side and the diving school I booked with sounds pretty good. Sounds like it might be worth taking a trip to the South as well. Thanks for the advice on some basic spanish. That should keep me occupied till I go (only 10 days!!!!)

Kittie

 

[bdurrett]

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Originally posted by kittie
Thank you again. I'm staying on the north side and the diving school I booked with sounds pretty good. Sounds like it might be worth taking a trip to the South as well. Thanks for the advice on some basic spanish. That should keep me occupied till I go (only 10 days!!!!)

Kittie

After-dive trip reports are required, especially when going to such a nice place! Just kidding!! rofl

They are, however greatly appreciated by the general population

Have a great time!

Bret

 

[kittie]

will happily write a travel report when i get back

 

[scubamad]

Hi Kitty

Hope you get this in time. We went to the DR last year and it was great. If your buddy won't do checks with you then ask your instructor. Really there is nothing to worry about.

www.divereviews.co.uk

 

[kittie]

hi guys - update as requested. am still a little jet lagged so hope it makes sense.

I am now an Advanced Open Water Diver - yay!!!!! so pleased to have got there, and a big thanks to the people at the dive centre - Dolphin Diving in Cabarete. They were so friendly and helpful. My instructor was a lady called Leslie and she was fantastic.

The first dive was my deep dive and vis was about 1m - honestly. The weather had just been so bad. But by the afternoon it was clearing and on day two we were up to 15m, later in the week 20/25m. I really enjoyed the diving - it was all done around Sosua bay, we saw beautiful fish - not many big ones - but there was good variety. Because of the conditions we didn't venture too far but I understand there are some good caves to dive, at least one wreck and wall dives to go to. From what was said nobody goes in the summer and the conditions then are perfect.

I'm guessing for people who dived in many of the great dive areas, the DR would seem a little tame. I'm a little spoilt by learning in the Red Sea, but I thoroughly enjoyed the diving and feel so much more confident now.

Thanks again to everyone for the supportive comments, and a big thanks to Dolphin Diving

Kittie xx

 

[x-frog]

Sorry if I'm late:
First there ere a lot diving safari's organized from the hotels. The best place to dive is at the east of the south caribbean coast, souch places like Bayahibe, Catalina island and Saona. Calm clear water, very warm all year.
In Santo Domingo you can go to "Gus divin center" (809)566-0818, they are nice people and will help you find the best divin spot.