With 20 years of Dive Travel experience and over 6,000 tropical dives logged, our Directors, Ron and Christine Blake, have personally inspected all the dive resorts we recommend and their dive sites. Not just once, but on numerous occasions.
We have developed the following rating system so you, our valued customers, can have an unbiased and objective comparison, not only between resorts but for diving as well. These are based on our Directors personal opinions and may differ from your personal standards. Therefore use this as a guide only to give you a basis of comparison between all the resorts we recommend to you on this website.
ResortsMany resorts have two or three grades of rooms, as detailed in our information. We have given the resorts an overall grading, but have also tried to indicate the type of rooms they have available as well. If you are unsure please ask us.
| D | Budget or Eco Resort - with basic facilities. Generally thatched accommodation with limited power supply, basic but wholesome food, often buffet style. Expect the odd thing to break down, spiders to be in the room. You’re on “Island time so not everything happens on time. Generally rooms are fan cooled, and have wooden slat beds with foam mattresses (linen supplied), share shower and toilet facilities. It could do with a good scrub or tidy up. If the resort doesn’t represent value for the money you are paying, or we feel your safety is at risk, we won’t offer it to you. But if you prefer to spend your money on the diving and not the accommodation, this is a good place to stay. |
| C | Economy Resort – nice location but could do with a little TLC. In most cases the Resort has a nice beach and good facilities such as a swimming pool, a nice restaurant/bar, 24 hour power supply. Rooms are fan cooled with good ventilation, will have an ensuite, older but comfortable beds, and rooms are serviced daily. They’ll have helpful staff, even if they are on “island time”. |
| B | Standard Resort - as above, but newer or modern resort with better fixtures, fittings, well presented tropical gardens, staff who are well trained/educated and your requests will be actioned. Rooms are bigger and brighter with better ventilation: some may have air conditioning, all have fans, fridges, nice beds and furnishings. Individual rooms usually have their own veranda or deck with nice views. Equipment around the resort is well maintained. |
| A | Well Run and Maintained Resort - (by dive resort standards). Generally quite new, premier location. You can expect top service and your every request, within reason, to be catered for. Great cuisine, bars and nightly entertainment. They have large modern rooms and the Resort is well maintained with well educated staff used to the western way, ie they don’t operate to island time or standards (within reason). By giving a resort an “A” rating, this doesn’t mean that it is a 5 star resort; more like a good 3 or basic 4 star resort operating in a remote location. If you require a 5 star resort, please ask – our staff will know one that is most suitable for you! But note that 5 star resorts are not always where the best diving is located. |
| + | Dive Fish Snow Travel rate the staff and management of the resort as having a professional attitude who will go out of their way to be helpful, and have a well run operation for the money you are paying. |
| - | Dive Fish Snow Travel rate the staff and management of the resort as being adequate, but there may be room for improvement. |
Please note, an " –" symbol
This does not mean that things will go wrong and your holiday will be spoilt. If this was the case, Dive Fish Snow Travel would not recommend the resort at all. It is simply a means to assist you in making your comparisons between excellent and good or average service and facilities.
Dive Operators GUIDE
This is a hard one to rate. All the operations we use are run by well educated operators and their safety standards are all good. They are all nice people to work/holiday with, so the rating is more on the overall operation, and the reliability of, and investment in, the equipment and boats they use.
| C | Long boat, generally 7m x 1½m (21’ X 5’), with two 40-50hp out board motors and little or no sunshade. They’ll have radio and oxygen on board. Generally you set up your dive equipment before you depart, put on your wetsuit and off you go. Maximum of 8-10 divers in a boat, and it is often a little cramped and wet: not always the best for cameras. Entry back into the boat is up and over the side. There is little dry area for towels, land cameras, etc. |
| B | Larger boats, generally 9-11mtr (30-36’) with half or full cabin sunshade, generally with reliable twin 100-150hp outboards, or a big diesel jet unit. Lots of dry storage, with excellent entry/exit ladders. Gear up at the dive site. Overall a more comfortable, faster boat. |
| A | In general, very much like a B grading, but purpose built as a quality dive boat, often only a few years old. They have even more space, they are newer, faster and cater to your every need. Lots of dry space, special area for cameras and sunbathing on the roof or deck. They have good electronic equipment on the boat; GPS and depth finders so you find the exact dive site quickly. |
| + | Means dive guides/masters who go that extra mile to help, ie provide fruit and drinks between dives, help you with handling your equipment (such as carrying it for you to and from the boat or cleaning it at the end of the day). They listen to what you want, and give you diving at your level. They are very reliable for always offering good service. |
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