The Lodge: Small Hope Bay Lodge is an informal holiday resort that focuses around the central lodge built of coral rock and Andros pine. Comfortable couches and throw-pillows create a friendly home-like atmosphere. The Lodge houses a dining area, lounge/bar area, game room and reading room.

There is also a small boutique on the premises, a separate building for office administration and guest services and a staffed laundry facility. There is an outdoor patio bar and dining area for summer-night barbecues.

There are no phones (one phone/fax for guest use in the office), no newspapers, no TVs, no keys. Emphasis is on a natural environment with relaxing, low-impact lifestyle. There is no dress code -- bare feet, T-shirts, sarongs, anything (except neckties) is acceptable.

Rooms: Twenty cottages located directly on the beach, each handbuilt of coral rock and Andros Pine with overhead ceiling fans, locally made furniture, decorated in Androsia Batik fabrics, and all with a view of the sea. Each has private toilet/shower facilities and is fully tiled. King-size beds and single beds are available. There are four two-bedroom cottages for families, as well as a special "honeymoon cottage." All are shaded by palms and located on the Bay. To the north of the cottages is a separate swimming beach.

The Owners: Small Hope Bay was built by Dick Birch, who left the snows of Canada for a new way of life. Dick opened Small Hope Bay Lodge in 1960 with four cottages and started a diving legend. His record for deep diving on compressed air to 462 feet remains unbroken.

Many great names, from prime ministers to photographers, learned to dive at Small Hope Bay. The Birch Family continues to operate Small Hope Bay Lodge as a small hotel with just 20 cottages on the beach.

Andros Island, some 2300 square miles in size, is perhaps the largest tract of unexplored land in the Western hemisphere. A coral limestone formation, Andros is dominated by thick inpenetrable bush, sliced in pieces by inland waterways, and edged by mangrove swamp. To the north are hardwood and pine forests--including Andros Pine, Mahogany (Madeira), Horseflesh, and Lignum Vitae; along the east coast are the fishing and diving grounds of the Andros Barrier Reef. On the West Coast are the pristine fishing flats of the Great Bahama Bank.

The Andros Barrier Reef, the third largest in the world and the second largest in the western hemisphere, stretches 140 miles along the east coast of the island and rims the Tongue of the Ocean, with its 6,000-foot drop-off. Additionally Andros abounds in Blue Holes (underwater cave systems)--which have been the scene of some of the deepest underwater cave explorations in the world.

There are more than 40 known species of wild orchids on Andros, as well as endemic and migrating bird and butterfly populations. Other wildlife includes iguanas, wild boars and land crabs. Andros has a population of approximately 10,000 people, most of them residing in small towns located on the eastern coast. The island itself is the great provider, with the main occupations being fishing and farming. In addition, the island has long traditions in boat building, straw work, and wood carving.

Diving on Andros

The Bahamas Andros Barrier Reef is the third longest reef system in the world and Small Hope Bay Lodge has been exploring it for over forty years. No one knows it better! What makes the reef so unique is not just its size -- but its variety of formations. Small Hope Bay Lodge has over 60 different dive sites in its dive schedule.

We've been taking divers to the best sites along this incredible barrier reef since 1960, when double-hose regulators were state-of-the-art and before BCs were invented.

The Diving Facility Small Hope, with just twenty cottages, has three dive boats, four instructors and two divemasters on staff. Average boat time is 15 minutes; average water temperature is 24 degrees C / 78 degrees F.

Dive boats visit three sites every day, four if there's a night dive. With over 60 different sites, very seldom would you get a repeat dive during your stay.

For beginners, the Lodge offers complimentary introductory lessons, as well as complete Open Water Certifications. Divemasters accompany every single dive, and our videographer accompanies most dives. Both the PADI Open Water Course and Advanced Open Water are offered regularly. We also offer SDI and NAUI training and referrals are gladly accepted from all certifying agencies.

Small Hope's Dive Program:
Small Hope Bay Lodge offers two kinds of diving: 1. Regularly Scheduled Dives: Our boats go out twice a day, every day, and visit three sites. Depths range from 15-foot shallow reef dives, to 50-foot coral gardens, to 90+-foot wall or cavern dives. Dive site selection is geared to participants' abilities and preferences and aim to show the widest variety of sites. Depending on our guests we run a seperate boat usually in the afternoon for snorkelers and shallow divers. Divemasters plan and accompany all dives. All divers must demonstrate mask and regulator clearing skills before diving with Small Hope Bay Lodge. Costs are $45 for a one-tank dive, $55 for a two-tank dive (morning option) and $50 for a night dive.Specially priced all-inclusive dive packages are available.

2. Custom-tailored Specialty Dives: This option affords the individuals or small groups the opportunity to have their own boat and divemaster to explore the reef and walls of Andros. Participants can choose sites and work with divemaster in planning the dive. Ideal for computer diving. Also available are one-on-one advanced dives to some of the best blue holes and wall spots on Andros. Due to the nature of some of these dives, participation is limited to two divers maximum. Cost is $125 per person; $85 each for two or more. Custom-tailored Specialty Dives are not available as part of a regular dive package. A videographer accompanies most dives, custom-tailored and specialty dives upon request. Nightly viewing of the day's adventures are shown after dinner.

Snorkeling
For snorkelers Small Hope offers daily boat trips to the reef, visiting different sites each day at depths ranging from 10-20 feet. The Lodge also offers a special excursion called a Snorkel Safari on Fresh Creek, where often wild dolphin are spotted, and there exists a chance to swim with them in the water. Small Hope also offers snorkelers a chance to join divers on the Shark Observation Experience. In addition, one can find enjoyable and varied snorkeling from shore-ranging from the hiding areas around the dock to patch reefs off the beach to creeks through the mangroves. Maps are provided, outlining the best areas, and Dive Propulsion Vehicles are available for rent. Small Hope Bay Lodge offers weekly slide shows and has a reference library for marine identification. Small Hope Bay Lodge is a participant in the Jean-Michel Cousteau Out Island Snorkeling Adventure and the Cousteau Ambassadors of the Reef Program. Click here for more information about "Snorkeling From Shore." Snorkel with Dolphin in the Wild; Small Hope's Safari on Fresh Creek A chance to snorkel with wild dolphin highlights a most popular excursion at Small Hope Bay Lodge called "A Safari on Fresh Creek." In addition to playing with dolphin, participants get an opportunity to view the inland wilderness of Andros, called by some the largest unexplored tract of land in the western hemisphere. It is a true outback--home to a wealth of bird life, the famed bonefish and the mysterious blue holes. "This excursion gives us a chance to show guests another part of our island, so they can better appreciate the complexity of our ecology. It is an unique and informative outing that the whole family can enjoy," says Jeff Birch, manager of Small Hope Bay Lodge. The boat trip travels from the Small Hope dock via the sheltered lagoon into the mouth of Fresh Creek to journey part way up this 20 mile waterway, past the Fresh Creek Lighthouse and Marina, and the Government docks where the mail boats deliver supplies. The boat heads west under the Fresh Creek Bridge, to enter the shallow water home of the world famous bonefish. If you have "the eye" you'll spot the schools of these gray ghosts, as well as needle fish, southern stingrays and eagle rays. The boat cruises past the Monadnock, a sunken New York ferry. The half submerged barge now provides nesting grounds for owls and other birdlife above the water, and mangrove snapper below the surface. Accessible only by shallow draught boat, and with absolutely no hint of human development, this pristine tidal river is an important building block of the Andros Barrier Reef. It is a maze of channels and mud flats, a true outback, home to heron and hawk, schools of bonefish, eagle ray, and even wild dolphin.

Says Jim Sollars, former divemaster at Small Hope: "If we are lucky, we will spot them and even have the opportunity of snorkeling with them. It is an incredible experience. These dolphin are wild, but they seem to enjoy the company of humans and happily swim with us. They spin and roll and come very close... "We respect them and do not pet, touch or feed these wild animals. We simply enjoy swimming with them for as long as they are here," he says. Small Hope offers the afternoon excursion once or twice a week, depending on demand. Cost is $45 for adults, $15 for children under 12.

Want to know more? Want a price quote on a package or a flight?
Contact Us!