#227
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Scout - 3/10/2013 9:09 AM
OK - just got back from 8 days on OPI. Everything was great, except for a three-day windstorm which made diving the west side of the island impractical.
Here are some things you need to know:
- You have to buy a tourist card ($39 I think)
- Flights from Panama to San Andres are booked up far in advance - try Bogota
- The catamaran service from San Andres to OPI has been temporarily suspended
- Baggage from San Andres to OPI is limited to 10 kilos (more about this below)
- Motorbike rental is 500K to 700K per day
- Get your Colombian Pesos at the ATM in town
- Internet Wi-Fi service is terrible - there are two Internet cafes in and near town at 2500P per hour (about $1.50)
- If you ask nicely, Felipe will charge 60K per dive instead of 100K
Renting scuba gear is no problem, and it’s pretty cheap. If you want to bring your own, you’re going to hit the 10 kilo weight limit pretty fast. My gear bag weighed 15 kilos, but Satena (the flight service) didn’t charge me anything extra, possibly because I told them that it was all scuba gear. Somewhere, I read that sporting gear is exempt from the weight limit. I couldn’t get an answer from Satena about this, but if it is, in fact, true, then you should be able to bring all your gear without being gouged for excess baggage charges. You can book your Satena hop online at Satena.com.
There are three dive operators on OPI:
- Felipe’s is my favorite because I like him and his brothers
- Sonny’s is popular and a few doors north of Felipe
- Sirius is attached to the hotel of the same name in Southwest Bay
I’ll go back again in 2014, probably in May. If you’re interested in joining a group, let me know and I’ll see what kind of package I can put together.
Dive Safe!
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