Dive Review of Diving Planet/Casa Indias in
Colombia/Islas de Rosario

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Diving Planet/Casa Indias, Sep, 2006, by Carl Scott, TX, USA ( Contributor 16 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 2745.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	As for the dive operation, safety was always a demonstrated priority, and the guides did provide good service, once you were on the island base. However, novice (as in just finshed the resort/Discover Scuba course this morning) divers were put in the water with the most experienced divers. This did not present much of a problem, except that the dive sites may have been selected differently, as an extra guide was provided to accompany the newbies. This operator offices in Cartagena, and all divers meet at the shop in the morning. From there, they grab a taxi or two, depending on the number of clients, and take you to the pier for a boat ride to the island. If you ride in their boat, or in Dolphin Divers's boat, it's a 30 minute ride. However, if they take you to the day tour boat, you pay and extra $3.50 or so and ride for 50 minutes. I didn't consider this an appropriate way for them to deal with the fact that they only had 1 diver for the day, but that's just my opinion. Lunch may be a delicious fried fresh fish or chicken, with coconut rice and fried plantain and cole slaw at the minimalist "hotel" on the island, or the same, but previously frozen, fair in the nice hotel. One day, they sent sandwiches and chips, for reasons I never picked up on. This is not a destination to be praised for its abundance or diversity of marine life, though I thought it was on par with Belize in that regard, for what that's worth. Visibility was never great, but the huge sponges and dense corals made for some eye-popping landscapes. Otherwise, there are a few large (1 to 1.5 meters) grouper and an abundance of queen angels to break the monotony, along with a sample of the usual parrotfish, wrasses, triggerfish, etc. As for the hotel, it is a very cozy and economical ($62.50/night) place in the charming old central part of town (think Bourbon Street, Spanish style). Breakfast is included and was great. However, there is no hot water!!! People there seemed stunned that a warm shower was important to me. Apparently, they think it's just fine to shower in 80 degree water. I survived, but I'd opt for a different place, if I could do it all again.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Caymans, Cozumel, St. Croix, St. Vincent, Belize, Costa Rica, Palau, Thailand, Philippines, Bali, Sulawesi
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	80-86°F / 27-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All dives were fairly strictly limited to 45 minutes, plus a safety stop. However, the guide was occasionally convinced to stay in up to an hour without complaining. NDL were typically reached on every dive.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	No rinse bucket was provided, except one day when the guide brought one for his camera. I'm sure they would have provided one each day, had I asked. Boat rides were 5-10 minutes, minimalizing the need for it. Other than a few huge grouper and queen angels, there wasn't much to photograph, except the landscape, which was quite impressive. The abundance and diversity of coral is matched, in my experience, only by Palau's Oolong Channel. My suggestion is, leave your strobe in the boat, slap on a red filter, and shoot landscapes for the most part. They really can be spectacular here.

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Dive Review of Diving Planet/Casa Indias in Colombia/Islas de Rosario

Diving Planet/Casa Indias, Sep, 2006,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Diving Planet/Casa Indias in
Colombia/Islas de Rosario