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I would leave 1 star but I will award an extra one, considering how the dives themselves were actually amazing: I will never forget the moment when I peeked into the Baron Gautsh wreck, through a low stern porthole, and saw light coming from another porthole on the opposite side of the ship, with wood remains, beams and internal structures being lit by the sun. But why is my score so low? Logistics and pricing.
I reached the dive centre, which actually has an amazing and super well-equipped base, to discover that our daily dive plan (2 boat dives) would take 2 hours to reach the 1st spot (i.e., the Baron Gautsch wreck, which is slightly south of Rovinj). Given the large selection of dive sites I was expecting they would be served by fast rhibs, instead the dive centre uses a 13 m boat, comfortable but very slow (10 kts). I was also shocked to discover that 1. water and drinks were charged separately; 2. no fruit, biscuits or snacks were offered throughout the day (which is fairly common practice in well organized centres, also local ones) and 3. there was no freshwater on the boat. As I am a recreational non-tec diver and the 2 planned wrecks were at 30-35ish mts, I was forced to stick to a "square" profile with a ca 35' minute run time. This means, slightly more than 1 hour in the water (totaling up the 2 dives) at the cost of 4.5 hours of boating. Basically killed the whole day, starved, got a light ear infection for not having been able to rinse myself for 3 hours and spent 168 € for this "marvellous" experience (only rented tank and regulator). I'm really sad to be giving this review (my 1st bad dive centre review ever) but these are the facts, and the resulting conclusion is that I will probably never come back. It's also a shame because the location is very strategic with many wrecks that could potentially be reached in a short time with lighter boats. If you really want to dive here, make sure to triple check the plan and timing in advance. One of the few upsides is that guides are competent and flexible towards tec/ccr divers who want to execute their own dive plan, even if their run time is longer than the one of other recreational visitors (i.e. up to 50' - 70')
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In response to the owner's reply:
-Noone on my boat used freshwater (I mean rinsing water), nor it was indicated that it was available
-Noone made me aware of the duration of the trip, despite multiple email exchanges ahead of my visit
-Noone suggested me to bring food and water while finalizing my booking via email
-I am offering you this feedback exactly because I was expecting a dive centre service and not a bad day-long excursion service: having tried 6+ dive centres in Istria I have enough reference points to make an objective comparison. No free drinking water on a 5+ hr trip surely puts you below the average bar
-I chose the Baron trip when suggested via email, again, with no indication at all about the trip's duration (otherwise I would have surely chosen something else. I was told about the duration while my gear was on the cart towards the boat, hence too late to change)
-Overall I still think that the price-duration-service proposition of this specific trip does not make it appealing and competitive versus other local providers. - via 