I’ve been bragging about the diving in the Bahamas to SVV for years. Though I had already been diving for a year without being certified (oops), he and I got our open water certification at the same time back in 2008; only, he did his checkout dives in Monterey while I flew to meet Angie in Abaco. But until our trip to Deep Water Cay, we’d never gone diving in the Bahamas together.

The waters of the Out Islands are some of the most thriving, pristine marine turf I’ve ever explored, and I’ve now been diving in more than 30 countries and Caribbean isles. To say I was excited to get back out to neighboring terrain and submerge is an understatement; it had been since 2010, after all, when I’d last stepped foot in this Atlantic island nation.

As a fishing resort, Deep Water Cay is not known specifically as a diving destination, but a change in ownership and a serious dedication to renovating the private island resort means that they have also started ramping up their other offerings. While it will always first and foremost be a haven for bonefish lovers, Deep Water Cay now has plenty of other offerings for those (like me) who aren’t really the angling type. And let’s be honest: Diving in the Bahamas is dreamy no matter where you choose.

The thing about diving in the Bahamas, though, is you are fully dependent on Mother Nature. And she’s often a tempestuous, angry sort of force to reckon with. On our week-long trip to the Bahamas in October, we were blessed with sunny days and perfect temps, but the winds were downright pissy. We were supposed to dive on our first full day there, but that was quickly canceled when we saw the weather report.

But no bother, we were on island time. We could always save it for another day.

We tentatively scheduled our two-tank dive for the next morning, Sunday, but even that wasn’t looking good, according to our divemaster Phillip. Still, our days were running out given that you aren’t allowed to dive within 24 hours of taking a flight and we were scheduled to hop a charter plane on Tuesday.

We would go diving in the Bahamas that day, come Hell or high water.

The water was a perfect 78 degrees, but I shimmied into a full wetsuit nonetheless—fire coral three times in one year does a cautious diver make—and hopped in, with my husband alongside me to protect against any sea monsters and jellyfish.

I had really hoped to see sharks—I know, who have I become?—as nurses and reefs often prowl these waters. Alas, on that particular day we didn’t encounter much big life, though we did spot a couple of massive sting rays!

This area of the Bahamas, specifically, is known for its blue holes, cavernous black openings that seem to descend into the earth, and swim-throughs, and SVV and I had a blast playing cat-and-mouse in this underwater playground.

We were even surrounded by thousands of silver-sides as we floated through the openings.

So many fish, as far as the eye could sea see.

Some might call this a nightmare; I call it a dream come true!

Our second Deep Water Cay dive was a more mellow descent and marine life was a bit more scattered than the first dip.

No sharks here! 🙁

Still, sharks or no sharks, it was still the perfect day. Any chance I get to spend underwater with this guy is a good afternoon indeed!

Have you ever gone diving in the Bahamas? Did the underwater landscape surprise and delight you?

This post was last updated in November 2019.

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