Snuba in the Bahamas

Annual trip to the Bahamas. January is always a nice time to go, since everywhere else in the world is quite chilly at this time of the year. The sight from our balcony is a welcome change of scene.

But don't be too jealous, the weather was stormy most of the trip. Hurricane season, they say.

I checked into the Atlantis, a massive hotel complex in Paradise Island of Nassau in Bahamas. We chose the Reef which is more like a small apartment with a small kitchen setup. Most of the food in Bahamas is fried and oily at restaurants that fill up to max capacity every lunch and dinner, so being able to cook was great for me.

Up until last year it had no other hotel competition and prices were outrageous, but with other massive hotels starting up they made the wifi and gym, which they used to overcharge, complimentary. Rooms are still ~$500 per night and food costs still twice as much as they would in the US, but still an improvement. The interior/exterior decorations are still top notch, I have to admit.

I wasn't able to do much outdoor activities thanks to the storms. The one thing I could not skip on was diving. Last year I did the scuba without the certification, but this year I opted to do Snuba since it doesn't require a certification course at the Stuart Cove.

Snuba is a mix of snorkeling and scuba, where you are tied up to a breathing device and an instructor. I personally don't like snorkeling since you rely on just a mask with a straw and I tend to panic every time the water gets inside the mouth piece, which happens every 5 seconds. You also just float and watch the aquatic life from afar. Scuba is great, but it requires a few days' worth of lessons to have a certificate, which I don't have.

My major concern was timeframe, though, and this offered the least time explaining how to dive and more time actually diving. Only downside is that the company is about 45 minutes away from the Atlantis. They offer free shuttle service, but keep in mind they will stop at every hotel before they reach Atlantis.

It took us about 15 minutes to reach the dive site, which has coral reefs, wreckage, as well as the largest underwater statue in the world. After about 20 minutes of explaining the dive and equipment, you simply ease underwater and begin the descent. You're immediately swarmed by all sorts of fish since they know divers carry a bag of fish food with them. I didn't take photos, only videos, but here are some stills.

Fish swarm

Eerie wreckage of a crashed plane. The fish and corals took over, though. 

Even eerier statue. 

The dive is only ~20-30 minutes, but you can snorkel for much longer. They also took us to a shark infested area where you could snorkel with sharks. They only allowed it from a distance, distracting them with fish bait. Later they let the sharks come up to the surface where you could see that most were bigger than we were.

I highly recommend to partake in an underwater experience, at least once!