Scuba Diver's Travel Companion (Falcon Guide) [Paperback]

Jeremy Agnew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003 | Series: Falcon Guide

Newly certified divers, those getting back into the sport after a hiatus, and casual recreational divers all have one thing in common: They want to choose a dive vacation that matches their skill levels. This practical guide takes the guesswork out of selecting the best dive getaways in the Great Lakes, Florida, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Rather than profile individual dive sites, this guide provides essential information on the types of diving that each location offers, from 30-foot entry-level dives in the Keys to 100-foot wall dives off Saba. Are there divers of different skill levels traveling together? This book can help readers select a vacation spot that everyone can enjoy. The author also includes expert tips on what to bring and how to pack it; helpful hints about proper weighting and buoyancy; an on-board, pre-dive equipment checklist; and a roster of stinging marine life that divers commonly encounter, as well as how to treat their stings or bites. Whether vacationers are currently planning a dive trip or just hope to travel in the future, this handy reference will provide a wealth of indispensible information.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

All divers - whether you are newly certified, only dive a few times a year, or are getting back into the sport after a hiatus - have the same questions: Which dive destination is best for my skill level, time constraints and pocketbook? What type of diving is offered? What do I need to bring? Should I buy or rent equipment?
Scuba Diver's Travel Companion helps you plan a diving vacation suited to your needs and ability. Learn about the most popular dive getaways - from Florida, the Great Lakes, Central America, and the Caribbean, to the Red Sea and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Discover how to choose a destination and lodging, what to bring and how to pack it, how to select and care for your gear, and which accessories you really need, plus a host of helpful tips to make your dive trip safer and easier.
Inside you'll find: pre-dive equipment checklist; proper weighting and buoyancy review; roster of hazardous marine life; guidelines to treating stings and scrapes.
Whether you're planning a dive vacation or hope to travel in the future, this handy reference will provide a wealth of indispensable information.

About the Author

Jeremy Agnew is a master scuba diver with more than eighteen years of active diving experience in the United States and overseas. He has written outdoor articles for Empire Magazine and is the author of two previous books. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; 1st edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762726687
• ISBN-13: 978-0762726684
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,918,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The travel companion for Americans, which you don't really need - 3,5-4 Stars, July 16, 2006

By 

Marius (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scuba Diver's Travel Companion (Falcon Guide) (Paperback)

I was a bit disappointed when I first got this book as I expected something totally different. With that said I'll try my best to make a fair review of this book.

If you watched the movies on your Open Water course and read your books, then you more or less already know what Scuba Diver's travel companion has to say. The author of the book is a master scuba diver with about 20 years of experience. This doesn't help when he has very little to add to the Open Water manual. The book itself is a black and white book with some drawings and no real pictures. In other words, don't expect this book to help you choose which dive site to visit next (it explains each dive site, but it's a bit boring to read). The book contains tons and tons of information that is just common sence. Things like: don't throw up upwind or you might get it in your face, and don't swim to the ladder until the diver in front of you has climbed up or else you might get his tank in your head if he falls down. It's not hard to guess where the author's from, and the book is a bit too much Americanized if you ask me.

The chapters goes like this:

Introduction - X

Tips for dive travel - 1

Worldwide dive destinations - 23

Airlines, packing, and local transport - 49

Masks, fins, snorkels, and exposure suits - 65

BC's, regulators, tanks, weights, and dive computers - 81

Weighting and bouyancy - 95

Dive equipment accessories - 103

Predive equipment checks - 123

Enchancing your dive skills - 137

Breathing gas underwater - 163

Hazardous marine life - 173

Care of dive equipment - 187

Expanding diving opportunities - 201

Appendix A: Resources for divers - 213

Appendix B: Dice checklists - 215

Index - 221

About the author - 227

Like I said earlier, if you've read your Open Water manual, you won't need this book. But it won't hurt reading it, it will probably make you remember thing better since repetition is the best way to remember things. And you'll most likely pick up a few tips and tricks.

The book also have some positive sides. I liked the chapter about hazardous marine life. It will tell you about what to stay away from, and how to treat an "attack" by any of these animals. My Open Water book lacked this as far as I can remember. The book also have some nice checklists for packing, pre-dive, equipment and so on. The book also explains some things a bit more in depth than the Open Water manual, like the chapter that deals with care of dive equipment.