Tobago dive travel -- lessons to be learned...Rae - Instructor / Medical
March 6, 2008 at 08:31:16I find it hard to believe that any experienced diver, ESPECIALLY an instructor, would not do more research on their intended destination and dive shop
options before they travel, let alone pay money! As someone who has dived frequently in Tobago and several other caribbean islands, I happen to know a few of the dive operators there, but even a simple Google search will show a couple of websites that give reviews of pretty much all the operators and had you done that, you would quickly have identified that the people you chose to dive with are possibly the worst rated in the island. In Tobago you will not find crystal
clear waters 24/7/365, but what you will get is a great array of marine life (unlike other carribean islands that have been all but fished out) and the chance of amazing drift dives. The price you pay for those is sometimes bad viz and sometimes strong currents. The dive industry is not over-developed - if you want luxurious boats and fawning customer service stick to the Caymans and Barbados. However, MOST of Tobago's dive operators seem to keep a reasonable standard, assist their divers
with gear and have at least ladders to get into the boats. Yes, the boats are generally small, but personally I would rather have 6-8 people in the water than have to jump in on a site with 30-40. And a little research would also have told you that Tobago is a developing country, not a developed one or even one of the more developed caribbean islands. Some of it's charm lies in that very fact.
I think had you done a little research before your trip, you would have made some better decisions. | 
