SCUBA diving in St. Maarten

[waterrats]

I will be in St. Maarten and have an excursion in the morning. I am looking to dive in the afternoon and am wondering if anyone has gone outside the ship with a dive shop. Any suggestions on dive shops would be great. Also if anyone has a recommendation of a dive site that can't be missed please let me know.

[gtaylor]

If you're looking for the perfect dive, you may be disappointed in any SXM dives. The island is really not identifed as a dive destination.

 

If you could forego your morning excursion, you might be able to fit in a dive at the neighboring island of Saba, to explore the Saba Deep. This is widely acclaimed as a world-class dive.

 

If you still want to dive SXM, I'd suggest you contact one of the shops I list below with any specific requests:

 

http://diveguide.com/divesafaris/

http://www.stmaartendiving.com/

[waterrats]

Thank you very much for the diving info on St. Maarten. I may try to do a dive in St. Thomas instead. I have heard the waters in St. Thomas are beautiful for diving. My wife will just have to make other plans.

[scuba dad]

I contacted the LDS in Saba to dive there instead of St. Maartin. They advised it is not possible to do it in one day from a cruise ship. The distance to the island is the problem. Saba needs to be a seperate trip.

[gtaylor]

It really depends on the hours that your ship is in port. If the schedule works, you can fly to Saba (about 10 minutes) dive and fly back, as the plane only reaches an altitude of 1200-1500 feet.

 

I've seen fares of $50 or less.