7 blue holes · down to 133 m (436 ft) · 2 suitable for an intro team
Cave diving on Andros
- Blue holes7
- Max depth133 m (436 ft)
- Water temperature~28 °C (~82 °F)
- Dive centres2
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Fill stationSmall Hope Bay Lodge (Central Andros)Air and nitrox ($15 per tank); trimix and O₂ not listed — askRoute ↗
- Fill stationAndros Diving – Andros Beach Club (Kemp's Bay)Not listed — askRoute ↗
Why come here
Andros is the island of blue holes: 178 inland and at least 50 in the ocean. Many are layered, with murky fresh water on top (3–9 m visibility) and salt water below, often with more than 30 m visibility, and at the halocline sometimes a toxic layer of hydrogen sulphide. The levels range widely: at Small Hope Bay near Andros Town the lodge takes open-water divers into an ocean blue hole and caverns on the reef, while Stargate and Guardian are full cave dives with deep shafts (to ~-104 and ~-133 m: plan your gas for the depth). Ocean blue holes breathe with the tide, so plan around slack water with a guide. Never touch bones, and the Black Hole of South Andros is for science only.
Don't miss
- Stargate Blue Hole: through a freshwater lens and a pale haze of hydrogen sulphide at ~-15 m into a cave rich in draperies, straws and stalactites, home to blind fish and Barbouria shrimp.
- Guardian Blue Hole: below the murky freshwater layer the visibility suddenly opens up to more than 30 m, in 28 °C water between walls with a white bacterial coating.
- Ocean Blue Hole (Small Hope Bay): an ocean blue hole off Small Hope Bay once singled out by Jacques Cousteau, with soft corals and tube sponges near the top; you follow the guide and stay within 30 m.
- Diana's Dungeons (Small Hope Bay): cavern dives on the Andros reef, which borders the Tongue of the Ocean, more than 1,800 m deep.
On a rest day
- Captain Bill's Blue Hole: Swim in a blue hole about 100 feet deep in Blue Holes National Park near Fresh Creek, with a jump platform and stairs.
- Androsia Batik Factory: The workshop in Andros Town where Androsia, the island's brightly coloured handmade batik fabric, has been made since 1973.
All 7 blue holes
1 closed not shown ·
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conch Sound Blue HoleNot known yet · Full cave | – | Not known yet | Full cave |
| Diana's Dungeons (Small Hope Bay)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Open water / no overhead | – | Backmount | Open water / no overhead |
| Guardian Blue HoleBackmount · Full cave | 133 m (436 ft) | Backmount | Full cave |
| Ocean Blue Hole (Small Hope Bay)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Open water / no overhead | 30 m (98 ft) | Backmount | Open water / no overhead |
| Stargate Blue HoleEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave | 104 m (341 ft) | Backmount | Full cave |
| Uncle Charlie's Blue Hole (Little Frenchman Blue Hole)Not known yet · Full cave | 37 m (121 ft) | Not known yet | Full cave |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Map
Dive centres and fill stations
2 dive centres, fill stations and instructors
Dive centre
Small Hope Bay Lodge (Central Andros)
Small Hope Bay, Central Andros
- Air and nitrox
- Ocean Blue Hole (Small Hope Bay)
- BCD, regulator and wetsuit ($35 a day)
Dive centre
Andros Diving – Andros Beach Club (Kemp's Bay)
1 Way of Life, Kemp's Bay, South Andros
- Not listed — ask
- Stargate Blue Hole
- BCD and regulator ($40 a day)
Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Andros Town (Fresh Creek) and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.
On this list, or should you be? Get a free partner card →Where to stay
Find a place near Andros Town (Fresh Creek), Nicholls Town, Kemp's Bay
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- Andros Town (Fresh Creek)Booking.com ↗
- Nicholls TownBooking.com ↗
- Kemp's BayBooking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 911 or 919; ambulance also +1 242 323 2586; BASRA +1 242 325 8864; air ambulance AAS Life-flight +1 242 377 1606. Nearest hyperbaric chamber: Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, Western Road, Lyford Cay, Nassau — +1 242 362 5765 / 422 2434. DAN America +1-919-684-9111.
Access and rules
- Rules: Blue Holes National Park (BNT, since 2002, 40,000 acres, 22 inland blue holes; Captain Bill's Blue Hole is a free swimming spot with a jump platform and stairs; BNT guides by arrangement). The AMMC protects all blue holes and caves: research needs a Bahamian research permit plus AMMC approval. Lucayan remains were found in Stargate and Sanctuary Blue Hole — never touch bones. The Black Hole may only be dived for science.
- Operators: Small Hope Bay Lodge (Central Andros, since 1960; +1 855 841 6966, info@smallhope.com): boat at 9:00 and 14:00, 1 tank $125, 2 tanks $150, 'Ocean Blue Hole' and the Diana's Dungeons cavern dives, nitrox $15; in 2010–2011 the lodge guided dives in Guardian and flew divers to Stargate — ask whether that is still possible. Andros Diving at Andros Beach Club (Kemp's Bay, South Andros; +1 242 554 0411 WhatsApp): inland blue holes including Stargate $200, ocean blue holes, 2-tank boat dive $220, max. 6 divers per boat. Andros tourist office: +1 242 368 2286.
Water and season
- Tides: ocean blue holes 'breathe' with the tide — plan around slack water with your guide. Conch Sound has a net outflow (1.57 m³/s measured in 1981).
Safety
- Accidents: blue holes and caves are overhead environments. On Abaco three divers without cavern or cave certification drowned in Big Boil Blue Hole in April 1994, on Grand Bahama two divers without cave certification drowned in a blue hole in May 1994, and in January 2003 two divers went missing in King Kong's Cavern on Andros. Go only with cave training and a local guide.
Getting around
- Getting there: flights from Nassau take 15–25 min to San Andros (Nicholls Town), Andros Town (Fresh Creek; port of entry), Mangrove Cay (Clarence A. Bain) or Congo Town (South Andros). Wikipedia mentions the Sea-Link ferry to Morgan's Bluff and Fresh Creek and mail boats; Openferry shows no current sailings to Fresh Creek — check.
Rest day
- Rest day: swim at Captain Bill's Blue Hole (free) or Uncle Charlie's Blue Hole; a ~2-hour walk past blue holes and a bat cave near Caerula Mar Club (South Andros).
Good to know
- Blue holes: Andros has 178 inland and at least 50 ocean blue holes (Wikipedia; Caribbean Beat counts 164 and 110). Many are layered: fresh water on top, salt water below, often with H₂S at the halocline (Stargate ~15 m, Guardian ~27 m) and sometimes a bacterial layer (Stafford Creek at 6 m, the Black Hole at 17.8 m). The fresh top layer is often murky (3–9 m visibility) from decaying plants; below the halocline >30 m.
News
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