What a pleasant surprise it has been to dive in Puerto Rico. In planning our trip to Puerto Rico we were, of course, excited for a dive trip but, as with any destination we had our concerns about how much we would really enjoy the diving. To our delight we found the four dive sites we experienced to be filled with life and topographies that offer many exciting scenes to enjoy while you are clocking bottom time.
If you are planning your own adventure to Puerto Rico, the first thing to consider is the size of the island. We were staying with friends on the East side of the island in San Juan. It is a beautiful city filled with great restaurants and active outdoor city life. We would definitely recommend staying a night or two so you can experience the energetic city and take in some beach time during the day. There are many beach front bars and restaurants to enjoy, so you can just leave your towel on the beach and go grab a tasty lunch or cocktail. The most important thing to know is, that almost all of the Puerto Rico’s diving is located on the West side of the island, a two-hour drive from San Juan. If you are planning on diving multiple days we would recommend staying on the West side of the island to avoid spending much of your day in the car.
There are many hotels, restaurants and beautiful beaches on the west side of the island. In fact, if you are diving with Taino Divers they have cottages right next door to the dive shop just steps from the beach. Taino Divers offers trips to Desecheo, beach dives around Rincon and other local dives. You can also take trips out to Mona Island if you book in advance (we recommend calling them directly for Mona Island bookings). Conditions and currents around Mona Island can be challenging and it takes good timing to be able to dive there. We dove with Taino Divers for one day and had a good experience.
Some divers will have reservations when they learn that they will be loading and unloading everyone’s gear, but it is necessary as there is a long stretch of sand that the gear needs to be carried across before it ends up on the boat. So line up and start passing gear. Once you are done diving for the day, Taino Diver’s has a great restaurant with an extensive menu including some of the best fish tacos we have ever had. Also located in the restaurant is a fun island style bar that even Jimmy Buffett would be happy to belly up to.
Our dives with Taino Divers took us to Desecheo where we enjoyed two spots called Candyland and The Aquarium. We agreed with the locals that visibility at Desecheo is 100+ feet and to be honest we were amazed because the winds were high and the swell was four to five feet. Despite the conditions on top, we enjoyed a whole day of 100+ foot crystal clear visibility. The fish life at Desecheo is abundant, with loads of surgeon fish, trigger fish, nurse sharks, eels, wrasses, turtles and a healthy population of small reef fish that add to the beauty of your dives. The corals at Desecheo are also healthy and abundant with sea fans, whips, button corals, xenia and many colorful variations of rock encrusting coral. The gently sloping topography at both spots in Desecheo is covered with a white sand bottom and large bommies filled with nooks and crannies to explore, many times housing lobster and small shrimp. Over all the dive sites at Desecheo are a must see if you are diving more than one day in Puerto Rico.
Most scuba divers would agree travel is the part of our sport that makes it so interesting. Very few sports take us to the corners of the world most people have never even heard of, let alone, have the chance to see, in a lifetime. We tend to search out the road less traveled, the reef less seen and the places on the planet that are so biologically diverse and filled with beauty that it is hard to put into words. While it is by no means undiscovered, for us North Americans one of those places is Sipadan, an island located off the east coast of Sabah, and a seemingly “fabled” destination in diving circles.
Hours of internet research in 2006 steered Lana and Tim to read about Borneo Divers as a pioneer in Sipadan diving and an easy selection for anyone looking to visit on a moderate budget. Leading up to this 2012 trip, Lana and Tim had been to Borneo Divers on four previous occasions and their enthusiasm for the dive operation is what spurred their selection once again. In this first part, though, we will endeavor to peel the onion back on the resort operation to see what is working and what needs to improve.
View of the Chalets at Borneo Divers
While many online tour operators can assist you in booking your dive holiday, we communicated directly with the Borneo Divers headquarters in the Sabah capital of Kota Kinabalu. Lana and Tim have always booked directly with their office staff and this time would be no different. Communication is always punctual and thorough from Borneo Diver’s booking staff Ursula and Nora and with their expertise we always rest assured our dive holiday will be seamless.
We started our journey from Kota Kinabalu, where the Borneo Divers team arranged a prompt and complimentary shuttle pick up from our hotel to the airport. Checking in for the 45 minute flight was easy enough and the excitement brewed as we soared into the sky enroute to Tawau. Tawau Airport is the access point for Mabul and Sipadan Islands, which is served by Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia via Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. Unrelated to the rest of the story but valuable information for planning a dive trip, we selected Malaysia Airlines to fly into Tawau as they provided us with the ability to check our scuba gear to our final destination from our originating carrier and take advantage of less restrictive North American baggage allowances. This provided both convenience and cost savings. Malaysia Air’s predominantly 737 fleet offers comfortable seating and the cargo hold should accommodate your scuba gear without any delay. (Note: With the exception of North American allowances, Malaysia Airlines normal baggage restriction is to 20kg / 44lb).
At the Tawau Airport, baggage claim is easy and the Borneo Divers crew eagerly awaits your arrival with your name visible on their sign. Hop in their van and you are off for a one hour ride to the Port of Semporna before you make a quick transfer to a smooth and relaxing 45 minute boat ride (weather dependent) to the resort on Mabul Island.
Upon arrival to Borneo Divers Resort, the reception on the resort jetty is always warm and inviting as staff members personally greet you and from that moment on, they make a commitment to remembering your name for the balance of your stay. A cool drink is placed in your hand and relaxation sets in immediately as the porters handle your luggage by delivering it to your dive locker and/or your room, as you choose. The transfers, porters and reception are truly 5 stars as we are settle in for the fun filled relaxing week ahead.
View Upon Arrival
Once the initial euphoria wears off, a briefing of the resort was conducted by our dive master, Eljer, followed by a walking tour to quickly showcase the facilities. There are two arrival times for Borneo Divers. If you arrive in the late morning, there is enough time to set up your gear in your assigned locker, grab a quick bite to eat and then take on your first of two afternoon guided dives. The second arrival time varies based on guest arrival times, but generally, does not allow sufficient time to dive that day, however it does allow enough time to prepare your gear and get excited about the diving ahead.
Borneo Diver’s Mabul Island Staff is all about getting you in the water as much as possible while you are on your holiday. If you are ready to dive, they are ready to guide and the beautiful thing is that you can see almost anything you want while you are with the experienced local dive staff on the island (more on that in our next blog post).
As we settled in our rooms, the four of us agreed it is evident that some of the chalets are a little tired from excessive diver wear, but the staff is attentive in keeping the rooms clean and the grounds surrounding the rooms well-manicured. Inside, the chalets may be Spartan with limited amenities, but they are definitely comfortable with A/C and fans to keep you cool. Despite a water supply that can be slow to move through the system, electric water heaters provide ample warmth for a nice hot shower. The bathrooms could use a little sprucing up but, generally, everything is clean and comfortable.
According to Lana and Tim, attention to the restaurant and bars seems to have been forgotten in the past couple years. While the resort now sports four bars across the property, (jetty bar, beach bar, pool bar and lounge bar), the pool bar was never staffed (in fact the fridge was removed) and the jetty bar closed far too early to enjoy the late afternoon trade winds and sunset in a sand-fly and mosquito free zone! The beach bar seemed to be the best appointed bar and provided a comfortable atmosphere with music, waves, cool ocean breeze and some sand flies. The lobby bar was adequate but it seemed more utilitarian than inviting, with inexperienced (albeit smiling) serving staff and a limited selection to choose from. With just a little training and a better focus, Borneo Divers has a potential to be “The Place” to hang out on the island of Mabul.
Pool Bar was Non-Operational
The restaurant is mostly buffet style. The serving staff was friendly and served with a smile, but the food quality seemed to frustrate our Western palates. We need to preface this by mentioning our love for Malay, Indochinese and Thai food. But each meal seemed to have whitebait or anchovy in 50% of the dishes and when fish would be served, it seemed like the chicken dish and vegetables would be complemented with whitebait. It sometimes seemed like we were left with only white rice and fruits to choose from. We initially thought this was to appeal to one of the larger groups visiting from Taiwan (which would make sense), but the meals persisted (breakfast, lunch and dinner) to have a whitebait taste long after they had departed. Some of the more enjoyable meal choices we experienced during previous visits to Borneo Diver’s Mabul like an “egg station” and “pancake station” for morning breakfasts were not offered on this visit leaving us with bountiful, but somewhat uninspired meal selections.
Dining Hall at Borneo Divers
However, we must mention that WE HESITATED TO SAY ANYTHING DURING OUR ENTIRE STAY! Had any one of us said something, we are certain the staff would have accommodated our dietary needs and requests without question. Case in point, we did make one special request on day two of our stay for afternoon French Fries and chili sauce following our dives and without further requests this became a daily offering.
Aside from the rest of our experience, the food and beverage component turned out to be such a gap in our resort experience that Tim reached out to the Borneo Divers office upon our return. We could have cowardly posted this blog, but we felt it was necessary to give them the opportunity to respond to our concerns. What did we receive? Prompt (multiple replies in less than 24 hours), courteous, attentive and apologetic, with a fierce determination to improve, and a guarantee of quality the next time we return. While the email response is too long to share, the Borneo Divers Team successfully incorporated the LAST principle: Listen, Apologize, Solve and Thank! Quite encouraging!
Scuba Dive Advisor with our Divemaster, Eljer at the Beach Bar
With all of the pros and cons mentioned above, and based solely on the resort experience, we were generally pleased with our last visit to Borneo Diver’s. But, based solely on the hotel operation, only three out of the four us would return to Borneo Divers. However, before you rush to your own conclusions, follow our blog post next week when we complete our review of Borneo Divers by focusing on the dive operation. You will not want to miss that!
As I was thinking about a topic to share this week, past travels came to mind, and I thought I would share a glimpse into one of our own adventures throughout this wondrous world. A few years ago, upon setting foot on our 100th country, Lana and I attained an unusual status as members in the eclectic Travelers Century Club. We have been blessed to travel extensively throughout this incredible world with a voracious appetite to continue our search in pursuit of the unusual or lesser known destinations.
With so many places to talk about, where do we begin? How do any of us begin to map out our strategy for sharing the experiences that tap into our own thirst to plan for the next trip? Do we trace our way through each continent or do we follow a chronological order? The answer is… There is no right way. Basically, our personal compass has pointed us in a direction of getting others excited about the destinations that have made a lifetime impression upon our soul. We aim to highlight the character of the people, the beauty of the land and try to showcase any diversity underwater.
Four years ago, guided by the mention of unique islands on the Traveler’s Century Club’s website, we made the journey to Mauritius, and traveled even further to the tiny island dependant, Rodrigues. Located smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean as you draw your eye away from Island nation of Madagascar, Rodrigues appears to be completely isolated. You may ask, “What brought you here?” Good question. As Lana and I reside in Calgary, we have always aimed to travel to the furthest places away from our home base and it seemed to be an interesting and inaccessible location in the world to explore. Let’s face it, few Canadians ever make it to Mauritius and looking at most travelers who arrive in Mauritius, few seldom consider the extra 1.5 hour flight to Rodrigues.
Our flying journey is not easy, as we must connect through Frankfurt, Kuwait, Dubai and Mauritius to get to Rodrigues. But arrival in this tiny Creole island takes you back to an era of travel most of us yearn for and the exhaustion from 26 hours of pure flying time is completely forgotten as the island’s warmth envelopes you in their own unique hospitality.
When we travel as a couple, Lana and I will quite often fly to a destination without a reservation. Sometimes, our version of “pre-planning” will involve us phoning ahead from the airport we are departing from to tee up some sort of reservation. We know this may be too whimsical for most, but we enjoy the challenges this strategy presents. We like to think it keeps our minds fresh and it is part of how we manufacture some of our adventures. We eventually settled on the Cotton Bay Resort.
Upon arrival at the airport in the SW corner of Rodrigues, it was easy to gain our bearings on the island. We realized most roads filter through a network of three tiny towns at the top of the mountain and they spider off in a structured NW, NE, S, E & W direction. To give you a sense of the island’s size and remoteness, one of those tiny towns held the island’s lone ATM bank machine and the only gas station was located at the end of the NW road in Port Mathurin. Something you would need to pre-plan if you have a rental car to drop off at the airport. Unusual? Certainly! That is part of the appeal to this fantastic place.
The Cotton Bay Resort seems isolated from the rest of the island with few services around the hotel area. While it is only a two-story low-rise, the hotels’ green-hued, corrugated iron roof punctuates the skyline and it follows the perimeter of the bay for which it is aptly named. Arriving at this hotel, the staff is warm and welcoming. Guests are familiarized with the hotel services and amenities and the free appetizers at happy hour was the one feature that seemed to resonate with us and the hotel includes a half-board option (breakfast and dinner) which simplifies your food options. The rooms are well-appointed and divers will definitely benefit from a room on the floor level, especially if you will be moving your equipment back and forth from the on site dive shop or your vehicle. While diving is offered, the resort only offers that as a component of many other outdoor pursuits.
It appears the three dive operators on the island have divided up the various dive zones (north, south and east parts of the island) due to access and convenience. During our first couple days on the island, we explored the dive sites along the channel to the south that empties the lagoon into the Indian Ocean. So we paid a visit to Bouba’s Dive Centre. The owner was distinctly French and had us laughing non-stop for two days of diving. Benoit’s rental gear was in great condition as he used a European favorite, Beuchat. Our favorite dive on the south side of the island was the “Canyon” dive site. The topography was unbelievable as we literally swam through vibrant canyons and in the words of our fearless divemaster, Benoit. “Bwahhhh” (We think it is French for something really awesome). Keep in mind that diving times may be adjusted by Benoit based on the tides. Definitely check out Benoit and Bouba’s Dive Centre.
The Cotton Bay Dive Centre serves the East side of the island. Fantastic in their own right, they are set up with good equipment to rent and storage facilities for those with their own equipment. Most of the incredible dive sites we read about “La Passe St. Francois” and “Le Canyon” were located on this side of the island and they were absolutely stunning. Diving on this side is not for the beginner (as we were at the time), but we were so excited to dive these sites that my enthusiasm got the better of me and had me running from our room one day with Lana’s wetsuit (Lana sat out due to a cold) and my determination together with Fabio, our divemaster, and two other “buddies” helped me squeeze into her 3mm. And for all you girls out there, Fabio, is still the prettiest divemaster Lana has ever seen during our diving escapades. I can still hear Lana to this day, “It’s his eyes.” Definitely check out the diving on this side of the island.
The day before we departed, we kept this as a non-dive day and explored the topside of the island. We went for numerous hikes and found some completely untouched, white sand beaches. There were spectacular views at every turn. The island’s land based activities equally matched the wondrous diversity we had read about below the surface in the surrounding lagoon. The Francois Leguat Giant Tortoise and Cave Reserve is a place to see the tortoises from the hatchery up until the one hundred year old big guys. This place was absolutely fascinating and the combined tour with the cave system was a well-spent half day of activities.
Rodrigues is blessed with wondrous diversity at every turn. We had only planned to stay for three days as a notch in our travel stick, but we enjoyed it so much that we sacrificed the island of Reunion from our trip to stay on Rodrigues for two more days. Borrowed from their website, the Mauritius Tourism and Promotion Authority sums up the island of Rodrigues the best: “The secure waters of the lagoon and the trade winds that gently buffer the island provide many opportunities for the adventurous. Rodrigues is a wonderful playground for scuba divers who quickly fall in love with the diverse coral reef eco-system and its colourful assortment of sub-aquatic flora and fauna.”
Our first impressions validated our decision to make the Siladen Resort & Spa our vacation destination. The assistant manager, Annalisa, and her team, were gracious in greeting us with a cold towel, familiarizing us with the resort (spa, diving, dining and lounge facilities) and set the tone for the week by nourishing us with a quick meal. Lunch and dinner service is excellent and the influence of Italian ownership is evident in the presentation and quality of food. Simply amazing for the scuba enthusiast. The only “white elephant” we saw that needed to be addressed by the resort is the pool and the pool bar. They appear luring on the website but it was never staffed and left the guest feeling confused about when, and if, it was open. It seemed more decorative than functional. The new boat bar is a great addition to the property and was the scene for many good times. For the scuba diver who plans to dive every day, better value will be found in the Garden villas. We highly recommend this resort to anyone.
The Fairmont Singapore is probably a better choice than the celebrated Raffles Hotel across the street, but it still did not feel like a 5 star hotel. However, it certainly exceeds in comfort and service and the gym is definitely well-appointed. Wow! Central to everything in Singapore, The Fairmont will make a good prelude to a memorable vacation.
