DETAILS & ITINERARY
All trips include 4 nights hotel, 3 days of 2 tank guided lionfish hunting dives, Nitrox tanks/weights, use of polespears/zookeepers, snacks/drinks on the boat each day, chef-prepared lionfish dinner on Sat. night, and an amazing time on a great trip!
SCHEDULE
Our lionfish hunting eco-trips are typically three days of diving over a long weekend. You will need to be in Pensacola, Florida before 5pm on Thursday of the trip to sign waivers, pick up any rental gear or last minute items you need, and show Nitrox cards for Nitrox. We will then typically meet at The Oar House (home of the best Mahi fish tacos in the world) for a trip meet-and-greet and dinner. Then it’s off to the rack for a good nights sleep.
Diving will consist of two tank dives on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We will typically start out at an easier shallow dive (60-80 feet) so we can evaluate all the divers skill levels, and get everyone used to diving in the ocean again. Most dives are typically around 80-120 feet. Depending on conditions and skill level, we prefer to do “live boat” diving, where we do not use an anchor, but the boat follows us and picks us up when we are finished hunting. This alleviates the “where’s the anchor?” problem.
What Should I Bring
All you need is your personal dive gear (you can rent from the dive shop if you do not own your gear), transportation to and around Pensacola, and a great attitude. We provide all lionfish specific hunting gear, including a zookeeper and polespear. You might want to get some gloves with nitrite palms. This gives you a better grip on the polespear underwater.
Where do we stay
Accommodations are provided at the Cottages on the Green, which has amazing 4 bedroom cottages. Each room has 2 queen sized beds, private full bath, desk, tv, coffee maker, microwave and mini-fridge. The rooms have a lockable door to the common area which includes a large kitchen, living room and covered patio. All trips are prices double occupancy. You can request a private room for an additional $200. Please let us know as soon as possible so we can book the additional rooms. Pensacola is a resort destination, so the closer to busy season, the harder the rooms get to book.
Can I bring lionfish home?
We will make every effort to let you take lionfish home with you. This depends on the number of lionfish we remove. If there is extra after the lionfish dinner, you are more than welcome to bring some home with you. Please provide your own cooler for this.