Best trip our troop has ever taken. Well organized, great crew, amazing food, awesome adventures, highly recommended.
Wendy White
BSA Troop 10, Limerick, PA
Scuba Diving Scouts
Scouts Dive Experience
For more than 40 years, Blackbeard’s Cruises has been taking high adventure scouting troops to dive sites in the Bahamas. The trips are life-changing – from the first breath underwater to the feeling of zero gravity and from the discovery of marine life to earning the Scuba Merit badge. It’s our pleasure to introduce scouts to a skill they can carry with them throughout their lives … besides it’s fun, too!
Your scout troop will have plenty to do besides diving on this 6-night excursion. We offer daily eco-adventures and shore excursions so you can experience the wonder of the uninhabited and remote cays – hiking, flora and fauna trails, deserted beaches, bonfires and more.
These dive adventures take place on one of Blackbeard’s two 65′ sailboats – Morning Star or Sea Explorer. The scouts will be assigned responsibilities during the week as we make our way through the Exuma Cays. Activities such as doing dishes, tidying the ship, washing the deck and cleaning will be on the list and they can also participate in wheel watches, raising sails or helping in the galley.
Highlights
Scuba Diving Scout Group Rate
2026 – $1,195.00 per person including gratuity plus port fees of $210.00
2027 – $1,245.00 per person including gratuity plus port fees of $235.00
- Affordable and within easy reach of scouting groups
- 18 bunks in air conditioned living quarters that accommodate up to 24 total passengers
- The most amazing diving in crystal clear Bahamas waters
- Surviving at sea skills
- Learning how to sail, snorkel and more
- A trip without electronic devices; face-to-face socializing
- Time for old-fashioned fun, play and stargazing
Get Ready to Walk the Plank for Adventure
Just like scouting, the philosophy behind SCUBA encourages the quest and challenge for adventure, knowledge development and personal growth.
Scouts time will be spent:
- Doing safe ocean dives – walls, reefs, a wreck, a blue hole and a high-speed drift
- All dives conducted with maximum depth of 40- 60-feet (dependent on scout’s age)
- Marine life education
- Valuing and protecting our environment
- Learning opportunities disguised as fun
- Trying out the halyard swing
- Hanging in the horseshoe
- Exploring the islands and cays
- Stargazing under a clear night sky
- Getting 40 winks in your bunk
Sailing with Blackbeard’s is like scout camp but on water. Consider it your sea base for the week. No one cares that you’ve worn the same tee-shirt for 5 days straight. We won’t tell your mom you brushed your teeth every other day or that your swimming trunks are hanging off the side of the boat drying. This trip isn’t about stuff. It’s about diving, connecting with your mates, telling stories, hanging out and being a kid (scout leaders included).
“… staff pointed out electroluminescent plankton activity – which I have also never seen before … “
Dive Sites
Wave goodbye and we’re off to explore a pristine and protected area without cruise ships or city lights.
- Daytime and nighttime dives
- Swim with groupers and stingrays
- Optional passive shark feeding dive (parental approval required)
Marine life:
- Varied species of fish
- Octopus and garden eels
- Large and small coral and sponges
- Lobster, crabs and cleaner shrimp
- Turtles – 5 of the 7 species are found in the Bahamas
Blackbeard's Divers Swim with Sharks
To dive and interact with sharks is often ranked highly on a divers must-do list. There is no better destination in the world to see these wonderful animals where they are protected. A generous population of these apex predators frequent the reefs and walls of the Bahamas.
Visiting the Exuma Cays on a Blackbeard’s Scout trip give young divers the chance to experience viewing sharks in their natural habitat.
Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks are the most common types seen but if you are lucky you may also see hammerheads, lemon sharks, bull sharks, whale sharks and possibly a tiger shark.
If the troop chooses to participate (parental approval required in advance), a highlight of our trip is a passive feed, where scouts can observe sharks and their behaviors. Afterward, finding a shark tooth is great fun and makes an excellent souvenir to bring home along with all of your shark stories.
Fuel for the Fun: You'll Eat Well with Us
Our galley is small but it’s big on prepping food that gives our scouts energy to power through the day.
You’ll get three solid meals a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks. A fruit hammock hangs in the salon so you can dig into it any time. You’ll enjoy coffee and juice in the morning and have water, lemonade and Gatorade-type beverages available throughout the day to keep you hydrated. No alcohol or sodas available on scout trips. Sodas can be added for an additional fee.
If you have special dietary needs, note it on the Trip Application. With advanced notice, chef can prepare special foods, such as vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free, etc.
Dive Equipment Rental
Blackbeard’s is a pretty efficient operation. Take a look at our dive deck. This is where equipment is stored throughout your trip. Nothing fancy but we get the job done.
Provided:
- Dive tanks – 80s, 100s (available upon request) and 63s (limited supply) and weightbelts
Available for rent:
- Regulator – $50.00 per week
- Dive computer – $50.00 per week
- Dive light (torch) – $30.00 per week
- Wetsuit – full – 3mm – $35.00 per week
- Buoyancy compensator – $50.00 per week
How it works:
Complete the Scout Rental Equipment form. Payment will be made on board.
Dive Instruction
Our dive crew is here to help you. You can complete your certification course on board or take a Discover Scuba Diving course with our instructor.
Available courses:
- Open Water Checkouts – $100.00
- Discover Scuba – $125.00
Ask the instructor upon boarding if they have any other specialty courses they can offer you.
How it works:
Let us know if any instruction is needed by completing the dive instruction area on the Trip Application. Payment is made while onboard the boat.
Trip Info
2025 Rates
$1,145.00 per person including gratuity
PORT FEES
$205.00 per person (includes the Bahamas taxes and fees)
2026 Rates
$1195.00 per person including gratuity
PORT FEES
$210.00 per person (includes the Bahamas taxes and fees)
Departs from
Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
Boarding: Saturday, 12:00pm
We can assist with Ground Transfers.
Returns to
Nassau, Bahamas (NAS). Thursday afternoon
Disembark: Friday, 9:00am
Airfares
Included
- Dormitory-style accommodations
- All meals and snacks
- Beverages (coffee, tea, milk, juice at breakfast) water and flavored drink mix the rest of the day
- Up to 13 dives
- Tanks and weight belts
- Crew gratuity
Not Included
- Airfare to Nassau
- Ground transfers to and from the airport
- Dive and snorkel gear
- Spending money on port night (Thursday)
- Pre or post hotel stays
- Fees and taxes
Deposits/Payments
Groups of 18+*
On Booking $1,000.00
By November 1 $3,000.00
By January 15 $3,000.00
4 Months Prior Balance Due in Full
*To guarantee the vessel for your troop exclusively, you must commit to paying for 18 passengers. (There are 18 berths on board). You can bring more if you have kids or adults sharing a double berth. If you have fewer participants, we have the right to put other scouts on your boat.
Method of Payment
To keep the cost of the trip low, all payments must be made by check or wire transfer. There will be a 5% fee for any payments made by credit card.
Cancellation Policy
There is no refund for cancellations after Nov 15 unless space is filled, in which case there will be a full refund less a 5% cancellation fee. We will waive this penalty if you communicate with us and allow us time to book other scouts into your unfilled space.
COVID cancellations: If borders are closed at the time of travel, then a rebooking will be allowed. If a guest tests positive prior to arrival and is not permitted to travel, a rebook will be allowed. A positive test result within 5 days of trip date must be provided. All rebooked trips will be reinvoiced and any difference in fare and fees will be assessed.
Policy for trip interruption due to a named storm: A future credit will be offered for any missed days with no expiration date for using the credit. We understand your busy schedules and the need to plan. There is no refund for cancellations due to weather.
Travel Protection
It is recommended that all passengers purchase travel protection to help protect you and your trip investment. It is also recommended that all divers have diving accident insurance. You can request a brochure from our office or go to:
Diveassure: For annual combination trip and dive accident insurance.
Travelex: Travel protection for a single trip. You may choose the ULTIMATE policy and select the optional ADVENTURE COVERAGE upgrade which waives the policy exclusions for extreme sports such as scuba diving at depths more than 75′. Purchase of Travelex insurance must be within 21 days of your initial deposit date to be eligible for pre-existing medical condition coverage and certain trip cancellation or interruption reasons.
The Vessel
- Dining – picnic-style outdoors in the horseshoe or inside near the kitchen (galley)
- Bunks – beds come in doubles and singles as uppers or lowers
- Bathrooms (heads) – small and shared with your mates
- Showers – hot water and long showers are a luxury- enjoy them before you arrive
- Kitchen (galley) – yes, a compact space where all your meals are prepped. We’re serious.
- Dinghies – our transportation to and from islands and dive sites.
Don’t pack tons of clothes. We’d rather have room to store all the food we’ll eat each trip.