St Nickolas Beach Diving School - (Diving in Zante)

Lindsay C

how many different scuba dive schools are there on the island- so i can see how much the prices vary, and the experiance of the 'masters'? please e-mail me the web sites for the schools, as it will determin if i holiday on the island, or not. i can see for my self what they have to offer. thank you.

St Nickolas Beach Diving School - (Diving in Zante)

Lindsay C

sorry re below. my e-mail address is lins1234@ntlworld.com thanx

Euro Divers (Laganas) - (Diving in Zante)

Lindsay C

a web site address would be good so i can see how much the dives are, and what types of dives are on offer! does anyone know any address, or could they send me info on diving in laganas? my address is lins1234@ntlworld.com it would be a great help. thanx

Zakfari Jeep Safari - (Zante Excursions)

Lindsay C  (26 September 2004)         

"WATER-WORKS" (on 13/9/04). Oh what a brilliant day. The off road was real good fun- dodging all the olive trees. When we got to the highest point of Zante one of the jeeps engines (radiator) blew up- so everybodies bottled water got poured into the jeep so we could at least we could get to lunch!! the sulphur bay was smelly- but deffinatley worth a swim.
If your visiting Zante and only have one day to do anything- this is the one thing you have to do. Its just tremendous fun. You get to see all over Zante from the comfort of a jeep.

Euro Divers (Laganas) - (Diving in Zante)

Lindsay C           

What is the fuss about? What a waste of time, money and effort! Ive got my Advanced Open Water Diver qualification and persuaded my friend to do a Try Dive. That morning we got to dive school, the three try divers had thier brief, and got there tanks on to do the 'skills' in the bay. Hubby did his ok, Wife wasn't weighted down enough and was swaying around with the current under water, the Junior Dive Master (JDM) lost interest and told the lady she couldn't do it, and told her to get on the boat. (Im size 12/14 (and 5"9') and dive with 6kgms, sorry Wife is say size 20 and they gave her 8kgms- the more fat/bigger boobs you have the more weight is needed because fat is bouyant and will keep you afloat). My friend (MF) went into bay for her skills, and we were loading the boat, the JDM was getting more inpatient and in the end MF started to panic- and was also told to get on the boat.
We loaded the boat in water which was deep as my neck, and eventually set off. We got to the first dive site- Marathia Bay. Had our brief and went diving, the dive was good, I saw most of the same fish I see when I dive in minorca, but enjoyed as its a place i've not dived before. We dived to about 20m for 40mins, and I took some photos underwater. We had an hour surface interval where we changed dive site for a Reef dive- Baracuda Reef.
The JDM explained all the regular things during our brief, then to the actual dive- we were going to swim out along the reef, to a rock and come back. We would dive OUT WITH the current to the small rock, swim round it, and RETURN to the boat swimming AGAINST the current, (which you never do as a diver). I explained my worries, but she said everything would be ok, and that we would swim back with at least 130bar (we start with 200bar). Into the water and down we went, going there was lovely saw some fish (as you do, and took some photos!), and before i realised it we were swimming round this rock. Then it hit me- the current- it was like a ten tone truck BANG, i wasnt going any where, I swam a bit harder NO, swam harder again NO i still wasnt going anywhere- I couldn't swim directly to the surface for fear of Decompression Sickness, so i started to panic and sink- thats when the Master Diver (MD) who was following us grabbed my tank and dragged me back to the boat, pulling at the rocks at the bottem of the ocean.
We surfaced about 25meters from the boat, and I thanked the MD for saving me, and we swam on the surface back to the boat. On the boat they had wondered what had happened because they could see bubbles separating into two directions, and you dont normally separate, so I explained. The JDM then did her final rescue for the Rescue Dive course and- lets just say i woulnt want her rescuing me! Task complete, all on board we came back to shore and that was that.
When i got home i realised i could have drowned that day and if that had been my first dive i dont think i would ever get back under the water and dive again, but as my regular DM is more professional than here, i know where i'll be diving in future.
I booked this myself- not through the tour rep, but its the dive school (our rep uses) that they take you to if you book with them.

Perkes Hotel - (Accommodation in Laganas)

Lindsay C           

i stayed at this hotel because my friend stayed here in june (when the fottie was on) and had a great time. well, i had a fantastic time when we came out in september. the room was plenty, what more do you need on holiday than a clean, comfortable bed and a working shower? good food was served, with cold beer/cider in frozen glasses, hmmmmm.
nick, rachel, talia and baby tom- what a lovely family. so friendly and welcoming. barman nick is such a comedian!!! and, i hope vasili plays with other girls toes, or is it just me?(HA HA)
this is great place dont listen to the bad reports- who are they kidding? complex pools are always a little bit 'scummy' (as you all call it!). the 3rd bed in any 2bed room is always a camp bed- how else would you fit a 3rd bed in the room, and still have space to move? AND its greece, this is a Country where you cant put your paper down the tiolet- because the drains cant take it, what do you expect the Hilton? come on, where's your adventure- your on holiday!!!
The Loud, Repetitive Welsh Girl xxx
(hi to all who stayed for wk 9-16/9/04)

Syrtaki - (Restaurants in Laganas)

Lindsay C  (06 October 2004)         

we hated it, all that lovely fresh cooked food, nice cold drinks, and a lovely family to run it all- it was so hard returning night after night for our evening meal...! we even made some friends- and got them to eat there.
you can eat there every night of your holiday and still not eat all on the menu, so i'll just have to go next year to try the things i didnt have time to taste.
the lamb kleftico just melts in the mouth, the mushroom saganaki is so nice my friend stole the recipe!
if you eat anywhere-eat here, its really nice.

Bar crawl with your reps - (Zante Excursions)

Lindsay C           

Awfull. what a waste of time, money and effort. i knew exactly what i was getting into- but pathetic. a bar crawl is that what you'd call it, or did i miss something?