Amazing!!! summarizes our afternoon spent snorkeling with Andrew in Barbados. This was definitely the highlight of our trip. My husband and I were thrilled to share this experience with our kids (aged 6 & 9). We first snorkeled the shipwreck, then went on to snorkel with the greenback turtles. We appreciated Andrew's knowledge of the island and its history, as well as his relaxed style (we never once felt rushed or "on the clock"). Andrew took a ton of photos to commemorate our visit. Do not miss this...or the delicious rum punches that follow. Thanks Andrew!

We dived several time with Ecodive in July 2008. The owner, Andrew, is an excellent dive leader with extensive knowledge of local dive sites and strong concern for diver safety. Rental equipment is of good quality and is well maintained. Andrew was also willing to accommodate requests to visit specific dive sites. The diving in Barbados is excellent, with good coral growth and extensive fish life. The island is also a breeding location for hawksbill turtles, and we saw several over the course of our dives. Overall, our experience with Ecodive was excellent and I would recommend that anyone considering diving in Barbados contact Ecodive.

I spent a week in Barbados on a business trip, along with 30 other people towards the end of June 2008. A few fellow travellers expressed an interested in giving Scuba Diving a go for the first time. A colleague and myself, both qualified divers, decided to visit Eco Dive and go out with Andrew and Mikey 'test the waters' so to speak, before letting 14 eager people have a go.

After our initial dive, we felt happy and comfortable introducing 14 new divers over 2 days to Eco Dive, knowing that they were going to be well looked after and shown some fantastic sites and wrecks, especially on their very first dive.

Over the 2 days of intro dives, all 14 new divers felt very comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed the dive, some saying they wanted to come home and complete a PADI course in the future. Andrew and Mikey had a wealth of knowledge of the area and the local sealife. During all dives, we were lucky enough to see turtles, rays and masses of fish around and in some purposely sunken wrecks.

EcoDive is a small outfit and have a small boat, however this works in its favour. You are not crowded with other people and Andrew and Mikey are almost like personal guides. An absolute pleasure, both Andrew and Mikey were great fun, but serious when it mattered.

As we return to the same location each year for our business trip, Eco Dive will feature in all future planned trips. Thanks for a brilliant time.

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