cooksing3

We are going to the Hayman Islands,Australia, in December, 2006. There is an all day cruise with diving and snorkeling. I have seen several comments on the boats being too big and crowded and the reef not being in good condition. Would it be better to wait until we get there--would we be able to find a guide to take out just a few of us. If we hire our own guide, would he take us to the barrier reef? That's our goal is the dive and snorkel at the barrier reef.
Any help is appreciated.

lizF

I am sure that anything Hayman Island does will be to your liking and I would wait till you are there before making any arrangements. You can always get a flight out to a coral cay where there is no one else anyway so you will have a variety of options.

maryfc

Hi cooksing3:

My husband and I stayed on Hayman in 1999 and enjoyed a terrific 2 tank dive complete with a buffet lunch and a clean, comfortable boat that also had snorkelers and first time divers. We are heading back to Australia in a few weeks and will be heading back to Hayman for 5 days as part of our vacation. Will let you know recent updates about diving and snorkeling.

24Lisa

We were in Hayman Island in 2002 and took the dive/snorkeling boat to the reef. At that time, we were not certified to dive so we did the resort course. The boat had maybe 15 people on it and about 6 went diving (those who were already certified) with one guide and my boyfriend and I had our own guide which was very nice. We also did a 2 tank dive. Since some went diving and some snorkeling, we were spread out so it didn't seem crowded at all. It has been 4 years so I don't know the quality of the reef now, but when we were there it was amazing. I couldn't imagine a better experience.

Also, we booked the trip once we got there.

Have fun!

maryfc

Update on Hayman Island Diving etc.

We are back from our trip and here are our Hayman findings:

The hotel was sold to a big resort chain around 2004. There have been some changes that are not ideal especially relative to diving. After the resort was purchased, the new owners sold the old dive boat. They shut down the dive shop for about 6 months and eventually contracted with "Cruise Whitsundays" for outer reef dive and snorkeling trips. This boat is HUGE. It can accomodate 300 people. We were very disappointed. It was like a 3 ring circus. The outfit docks on the outer reef to a pontoon. Out of the hundreds of people on the boat, only 6 of us were certified divers. The first dive was very disappointing. It was roughly a 40 foot dive (at most). We opted not to pay/go on the second dive. We felt it would have been a waste of money. Many people on the boat had no intentions of even setting foot in the water. They were there for the sunning part of the trip and the buffet lunch and the cash bar. While that is fine, we missed the focus on the diving. A few of the people from the Hayman dive shop offer inner reef dives, but they are marketed as "intro dives only". Based on who is signed up for the dives can determine what will happen. In addition, if there are only a few people signed up for the inner reef dive, they have been known to cancel the trips the night before.

In our opinion, Hayman is in a state of transition. Some employees are unhappy. There is a new push for luxury condos that they will be selling as well.

Employee turnover is something that was more pronounced than the last time we stayed there. As a result, we spent a lot of time waiting for things such as laundry pickup, mini bar refreshing (i.e. coffee), dinner to be served (one night it was over an hour for one dish, while the other one was served and sat cold while we waited for mine - evidently the chef was new). After awhile we came to accept that the high standards and consistent quality of service that we were used to in our first visit were no longer there.

A few highlights included the sunset beach drop off, the still impecaable motor yacht service to and from the Island, the candlelight/butlered dinner outside your room, and while the Captain's Table dinner was interesting in concept, the cost was quite high and the food was marginal at best.

I commented to my husband that Hayman is running the risk of losing diving clientele. His comment back was "they have already lost them".

All in all, we will probably head to Lizard Island or Dunk Island on our next visit to the Great Barrier.

Betsy

Take a look at Orpheus Island Resort before you make a decision.

bombasticlife

I was on Hayman last month and was extremly disappointed. The resort was sold a few years ago and I think they are using it's good name while they run it in to the ground. I have more info about the resort at http://www.bombasticlife.com/psp_aus...an_island.html I'm sure the resort used to be Bombastic but now it's turning into a bomb.