The Dominican Republic is good value for your
money. More than 45,000 hotel rooms are located throughout the length
and breadth of the island. The competition keeps hoteliers
on their toes,
and the traveler benefits from great vacation prices. There are small beach inns
to small hotels atop hills colonial city hostels to adventure traveler hotels,
all-inclusive beach resorts to deluxe metropolitan hotels.
- St. George.
The St. George is a large freighter, about 200 feet in
length, sunk in early 1999 as a dive attraction. Now she sits upright along a
reef slope with her bow at 140 feet and her propellers in the sand at 100
feet. The wheelhouse and stack remain very much intact.
- Hickory.
The Hickory was purposely sunk as a dive attraction in 1986
and now sits perfectly upright on the sand seafloor at 65 feet. The 135-foot
freighter got hammered by Hurricane George, but still hosts a massive amount
of fish, particularly sergeant majors (obviously used to being hand-fed) and
Blackbar Soldierfish. The sponge encrustation and marine life make this a
must-do for underwater photographers.
- El Limon.
El Limon is a 120-foot tugboat sunk near the Hickory. Given
their proximity and reasonably shallow depth, both ships can be easily visited
on the same two-tank dive trip.
- La Sirena Cave
. This particular site can only be dived with Treasure
Divers as they have an arrangement with the landowner, but it's an example of
the numerous freshwater caves and caverns that are found throughout the DR.
Here, an iron spiral staircase leads to a cavernous opening in the jungle
canopy. Stunning water clarity washes a cave system decorated with perfectly
intact stalactites and stalagmites. This dive is not done as a deep
penetration and avoids long overhead obstructions, so it is safe for those
without cave certification. But make no mistake; there is world-class cave
diving in the Dominican Republic that is yet to be explored.
- Tanya V.
Purposely sunk as a dive attraction by the owner of the
nearby Coral Costa Caribe Resort; the Tanya V is a 120-foot cargo ship sent to
the bottom Oct. 22, 1999. Already the stern is home to large schools of grunts
and Goatfish. She sits in 110 feet of water.
Facts about Wrecks