After much talk about this we have finally put together a dive trip to the Isle of Man. The diving around the island is some of the best in UK waters with plenty of life, a good number of wrecks, playful seals but above all the visibility is nearly always excellent at around 10-15m (famous last words). This trip allows for 8 dives in total spread over 5 days ie. 1 on the first and last days plus 3 pairs in the middle. IOM 1

 

Dates:

The plan is to depart Liverpool on Thursday the 20th of August and return on Monday the 24th. The ferry ride from Liverpool (Depart 11:15) normally takes around 3 hours but should allow us to sneak a dive in that afternoon. Arrive back in Liverpool on the 24th at around 19:00.

 

IOM 4Location:

The dives shall all take place on one of Mikes excellent dive boats out of Port St Mary.

Most of the dive sites are 30 mins or less on the boat which allows for a return to port between dives for refill / lunch / sunbathe……whatever you like really.

Accommodation consists of a 5/6 bedroom house around 5 mins drive from the port. All bedrooms are twin share with the exception of one room that has a double bed. There are 3 bathrooms a good sized kitchen, dining room, lounge room and an outside area with a BBQ.

You can check out Mike’s website which gives you more information about his boats, the dive area, the house and generally what to expect at: Isle of Man Diving Holidays

Logistics:

To keep the costs down it would be best to buddy up somewhat in the vehicles. The price biom 3elow allows for 4 vehicles and 10 people. Paul Searle intends to take a small van which can fit a quite a bit of equipment in the back which will be leaving from Kingston early doors on the 20th. If you wish to put your equipment in the back of the van to free up some space for passengers this should not be a problem. You will need to meet at Aquanauts at around 6am on the Thursday morning if you wish to offload your kit into the back of the van. Once we have a list of the people coming we shall email out again to try and work out who is travelling with who.

Skill Level:

Advanced Open Water diver with at least 20 UK dives desired. Most of the dives are less than 30m in depth with little or no current. There is however, conditions permitting, a rather fast paced drift dive from a wreck that may or may not suit some people.

IOM 2Equipment:

You are more than welcome to bring all of your own gear but the ferry operator insists that any cylinders must travel with the valve fully open. Our host Mike on the IOM has very kindly included cylinder hire, refills and as much lead as you need in the price. He has an air fill compressor on site but any Nitrox fills will have to be done via a local store and therefore will attract a small charge for this. There is a local dive shop in town and Mike has limited equipment for hire. Of course you can always hire anything you need from Aquanauts and this can be brought to the IOM for you. How’s that for service !!!

The water temperature should be around 16° making it pretty comfortable in a drysuit.

Cost:

The cost for the trip is £450.00. This price includes:

  • Return ferry from Liverpool
  • Boat hire
  • Cylinder, weights + air fills
  • Accommodation for 4 nights based on twin share in a local house
  • Bacon, eggs, toast etc on a self catering basis at the house

The ferry crossing can vary slightly in cost depending on exactly when it is booked. Therefore there will be some money left over from the cost of the trip which can be used towards food or beverages at the local pub.

A non-refundable deposit of £150.00 is required to guarantee your space on this trip with the remainder settled 1 month prior to departure.

Note: We appreciate that sometimes genuine reasons pop up that require people to cancel trips. If you wish to cancel after you have paid your deposit we can only refund this in the case where the spot is filled by someone else.

If you wish to book your place on this trip please contact The Shop