Diving in The Abacos

The diving and snorkeling is excellent all through The Abacos, with several protected underwater areas such as Fowl Cay National Reserve and Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park, massive reefs with swim-through caves that are seasonally filled wall to wall with silver baitfish, and even dive spots at the edge of the reef where you’re almost guaranteed to see Caribbean reef sharks.

The only time being shallow is a good thing

Directly exposed to the Atlantic, the reefs of The Abacos take a different form from much of The Bahamas. Many sites are relatively shallow, 60 feet or less. Subjected to slightly cooler temperatures during the winter, they are just on the edge of what hard corals require to survive. The general form of the fringing reefs is an ornate, extinct coral base with a healthy top growth of star and elkhorn corals. The base reef has been etched out by tidal flow to form a maze of interconnecting tunnels and cathedral-like caverns.

Dive in

Professional dive services are a given in The Abacos. Walker’s Cay, the northernmost island, has been an Out Islands of The Bahamas diving tradition for decades. In addition to myriad mazes of shallow and complex caverns, an abundance of fish and some deeper sloping walls, Walker’s Cay features one of the most unique shark dives in The Bahamas. Groups of up to 150 sharks gather at the sound of the dive boat’s engines in a coral arena to feed on the bait, while divers mingle with them. Some refer to this as an underwater cocktail party.

Green Turtle Cay features shallow reefs as well as superb fish life, one of the earmarks of The Abacos. There is a huge selection of sites for snorkeling and diving at Marsh Harbour. Maxi-Caves is an historically great spot for comfortable cavern dives where you’ll find friendly groupers and barracuda. Treasure Divers has a full, PADI-certified dive operator located at Treasure Cay Marina.

Top Abaco Dive Locations

Key: R=Reef; C=Cave; W=Wreck; L=Wall; M=Unusual marine life

The Abacos Diving Operators