Whenever I am on vacation and I take an organized trip or excursion, my preference is to find one that is operated on a smaller scale. In my experience these trips are often more fulfilling than larger operations due to their ability to cater more for the individual. When I read the TripAdvisor feedback on Eco Dive my attention was immediatey grabbed by the statement that they only ever take a maximum of five people on each trip.
I qualified as an Open Water diver on June 1st 2008 and prior to arriving in Barbados I exchanged E mails with the owner of Eco Dive, Andrew Western. Betwen the two of us we agreed a combination diving and snorkeling trip. The overall charge for this private charter for me and my wife was very reasonable and we were looking forward in keen anticipation to exploring the reefs and wrecks around Barbados.
Andrew comfortably exceeded all our expections. He is very knowledgable on all dive-related matters, plus he is a cultural, social and historical expert on all matters Barbadian. Prior to embarking on the trip he gave a very thorough safety briefing and then described the areas we would be exploring. Additionally he was very clear on behavior that will not be tolerated, such as damaging the reef and a cavalier attutude to safety. I fully agreed with him that being ecologically aware is a good thing overall and it protects his livelihood.
Once we were under the water he ensured that novice divers like myself monitor their breathing and buoyancy while maintaining awareness of what is around us. The consequence of his 1:1 coaching was that my expertise and confidence increased exponentially. The two dive sites he chose on the West Coast allowed us to observe both a wreck and a reef environment. While we we diving around the wreck we could see my wife looking down at us from the surface while snorkeling. I thought the visibility was amazing, though Andrew reckoned it was only average. I think I stopped grinning by the evening.
The next day I contacted Andrew to see if he had any free slots later in the week. Happily he was free on the Friday. This time he took me to two reefs on the South Coast. The visibility was even better than the first day. The abundance and variety of life in the reef environments is amazing. This time we had the added bonus of being able to get very close to three hawksbill turtles. Andrew had his underwater camera with him and took many brilliant pictures. When we surfaced he was grinning like I had been on the first day.
In summary, my two trips with Eco Dive were some of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Andrew Western is a splendid Dive Master. I recommend using Eco Dive if you are going to Barbados. You receive a very personalized itinerary, far more so than the companies who will be taking 12 - 15 divers per trip.
Michael Gaskell
