At the northern parts of the Great Bahama Bank, crystal waters and silky sands encircling New Providence Island attract holidaymakers from around the world. Below the waves, it’s just as beautiful, where diving includes vibrant reefs, sensational drop-offs, plunging walls, eerie shipwrecks, tantalizing tunnels and caves and heart-pounding shark dives.

 

The capital, Nassau, is where most of the dive centers and dive resorts are based, though there are operators all over the island. Liveaboards also roam the island and include some of the best sites in The Bahamas, including the Out Islands. Plus, not only diving suitable for all levels here, it’s the perfect place to take dive courses, as there are a myriad of diverse training sites available, from beginner, all the way to professional levels.

 

Named, “Underwater Hollywood”, New Providence has been used in numerous Hollywood films over the years, thanks to ideal subaqua conditions and exceptional reef systems. Many sites used in historic James Bond movies are popular diving spots, where divers can experience a piece of Hollywood for themselves.

 

Countless species thrive in these waters in varying sizes, from macro to large pelagics. You can see blue tangs, wrasse, eels, anemonefish, octopus, the Bahama sea star, snappers, sea bass, spiny lobster, angelfish, butterflyfish, and the Nassau grouper. Schools of silversides and barracudas are seen, while turtles and stingrays fly across reefs. Caribbean reef and silky sharks are common, and lucky divers could spot tiger sharks and dolphins.

 

Scuba diving in New Providence is good year-round, though the best time is the dry season from November to May, when the weather is sunny and stable, and ocean conditions are ideal. Water temperatures fluctuate between  27°C-31°C.

The James Bond Wrecks are a must when visiting New Providence. The Vulcan Bomber rests on the seafloor and was built as part of the set for the iconic James Bond “Thunderball” movie. The Tears of Allah wreck seen in Bond’s “Never Say Never Again”, is also available for all to explore.

 

The Lost Blue Hole features a large crater, that serves as a stable habitat for numbers of species, while Trinity Caves is an adventurous cave system along a large wall, housing crustaceans and enormous groupers.

Thunderball Reef, another Bond movie set, is an unmissable photogenic reef with mind-blowing amounts of kaleidoscopic species.

 

Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas Shark Arena, aka Runway Wall, promises exciting encounters with Caribbean reef sharks, while ambient lighting illuminates vibrant species at Southwest Reef.