Diving in St. Maaten and St. Thomas

[dolfn55]

I have 200+ dives and have never been diving in the Caribbean. I am going on a cruise in September. Can anyone give me an Idea if the diving in St. Maarten and/or St. Thomas is good/bad /ugly.

 

Thanks

[10X]

St. Maarten is not known for its snorkeling or diving. If I were you, I'd opt for St. Thomas. There are many good dive ops there to take care of you, some of which cater to cruisers. You might try Admiralty Dive Center, Chris Sawyer Dive Center, or Coki Beach Dive Club. Enjoy!

[CruiseLunatic]

Hi Dolf,

I have been in both St Maarten and St Thomas. St Maaren water can be a bit choppy and the dive was certainly OK. St Thomas tends to be a bit better . You say you have dived a good deal- so be sure to do a boat trip rather than a shore dive. As noted by 10X, many good dive shops there. Check on -line as here are those mentioned by 10X and two or three other good ones. Try to get one to some wreckage.

Neither place rates as best in the Caribbean. Western Caribbean is better for diving (Cozumel, Belize, etc) and even lower in the Caribbean in places such as Barbados, Dominica, etc. Good Luck.

 

Matt

[DiveCruiser]

In St Maarten, I dove with the dive shop @ Little Divi Bay. There was a little current on the second dive but enjoyed both. I St Thomas I dove with Blue Island Divers. They pick you up and drop off at the end of the cruise peir. The last time I was there only 4 on the boat. almost like a private dive and no cattle boat!!!!

 

Bob ;)

[green27]

I signed up for snuba in St. Thomas and they take 4 people attached to a raft, and we had 5 in a group, so i ended up doing scuba! paid for snuba, did scuba@!!!!!!! The reef(what reef?) wasnt great in St. Thomas, its just a bunch of plans,, and the ocasional fish. Then again, we swam out from shore. I'm not sure what it would be like frmo in the middle of the ocean, but thats my best bet. Dont go in the from the shore, have a boat take you out. ENJOYYY

[Loves_Dogs]

In St Thomas we went with Coki Beach Dive Club and had a great experience. The people are so helpful and professional and the diviing is spectacular.

Here is their web site, they have a specific link for cruise ship passengers:

 

http://www.cokidive.com/about_us.htm

 

Have a good cruise, and happy diving!

[scottydawg]

+1 for Blue Island and/or check Sawyer Diving. Both are great and will be very helpful in pickup from a cruise. I wouldn't bother diving in St. Marteen.

[scottydawg]

Sorry about the duplicate post... second time CC has done that to me this week.