scuba at sans souci

Does anyone know how the scuba diving is at sans souci? I am recently certified and looking to do some dives there. Im wondering if its a reasonably easy dive, how far a boat ride, and do they have a dive shop on site ??

We went diving at CSS in Jan. They don't really have a dive "shop", in that they don't have things for sale, but they have their dive hut on the beach where they fill tanks and keep all their gear. All gear is supplied, but if you want to bring your own, or some of your own, at least mask & snorkel, you can certainly do so. We like to bring our own personal gear and wetsuits. They will have weights.
The dive boat is a bit smaller than at CTI, CSA and CN, due to the shallow reefs near shore, but it's fine. You gear up in the centre and basically turn around and do a roll off the side. At the end of the dive you remove your gear in the water and they pull it up while you climb the ladder. It really is an easy boat to dive from.
The sites are not very far from the resort, and you may see the CTI boat as well. There's even a shallow wreck close by which they also take snorkelers to. I think Jamaica is a good location for beginner divers. The diving is typically easy and not very deep. If the water is too rough they won't take you out. The dive staff at CSS are a great bunch of guys. You'll have fun.

Yes they have a dive shop on site. Boat rides are short, you typically dive some reefs and the Kathryn. Expect to see rays, eels, turtles, and every now and then, dolphins. Deepest we went was about 80-90.

Also i forgot to ask, do most ppl use wet suits as protection from jellyfish, or is it safe enough just in swim suits??? the gear takes so long to dry in that humidity...

I typically take just a skin suit, and I wear it the first few days. By the end of the trip I am so over having to hang it out to dry all of the time that I just wear a swimsuit and a tshirt/rash guard.

Probably don't need a wet suit, but word has it that the dive shop (at least at CN) have wet suits for rent. You could probably get by with a relatively low cost rash guard.

I had more problems with the jellyfish snorkeling, not during the dives. That said, we've never worn wet suits, just our swimwear/T-Shirts, although the folks that do wear wet suits usually have shorties. We are bringing rash guards, long & short sleeves this year. I believe CSS also offers wetsuit rental. Ditto on the kudos to the SCUBA staff - they are indeed AWESOME!

I am not certified although my SO is. I took the resort course last year and they were really patient with me as I have flunked out of SCUBA courses in the past for not putting my mask back on and clearing it (followed by panic, pop up to the surface). They got me to relax and get over my fears. The dive was fantastic and I am considering getting certified there on our next trip. My SO was out on the boat almost every other day we were at CSS.

Seeing as I am 60 something I am sure I would need a medical certificate of some type. I am thinking about getting certified here before we return to CSS but I may just take the resort course to see if I want to spend the money or not.
Is there some place on the web site to find this form. I think they had it on the old site but I can't find it on gthe new one. 218 days but whos counting?

Since were on the diving questions, we are returning back to CSS in Feb. and very much looking forward to diving, can someone tell me who the dive shop guys are.
We are wondering if Philip is still there?
Thanks in advance,
Barb

I haven't dived at CSS but I assume it's similar to CN. Easy dives, warm water, no current. Wife and I wore skins while most went with t-shirts and swim trunks. Dives were group dives that lasted 35 minutes or first 1000psi. I would recommend bringing your masks at a minimum. The gear supplied by Couples is good but a mask needs to fit. Enjoy!

The guys in the dive shop are:

Patrick, Leon, Dennis and yes, Phillip is still there.

We were at CSS from 20th to 27th August and I did 4 dives - it was only me and Patrick. Patrick is on a mission to kill as many lion fish as he can - on our last dive he caught at least 12 :)

My second dive of this trip was the best yet - we saw a nurse shark and a turtle :)

We are going back to CSS in February 2012 and I have promised Patrick and Dennis I will do the advanced course with them if they are still there!

Much love to the CSS dive crew

Alli x

My SO got certified while at CSS in Feb. He took the "Book" portion at home through PADI.com costs $125 and saves alot of time while on vaca!
The Dive Master was great, very patient, never let anyone out of the pool till they perfected their exercise, and the dives were great! I dove 5 times, all four of his test dives , then the "Deep" dive, only about 60ft LOL but it was good!
If you need the medical form, just go to www.padi.com and it is on there!
The wetsuits are included if you are taking a course otherwise they may charge $10/day. That said they did not charge me for mine:)

The dive staff at CSS is awesome! We just got back and had a great time with Dennis, Leon and Phillip, Patrick was on vacation so we missed him this time. Patti wore a wetsuit on the first dive and never again, it was too hot. My computer never showed a water temp less than 86 degrees, evern at 90 ft! We also had a awesome dives at CN with Ashrayn (Shrek), Alian, and Richard but missed Craig who was out on his vacation. Brian recently moved on and Carolyn left Thursday for CSA.