S. Carib cruise in Jan. Which ports for diving?

[staylor]

We are sailing from San Juan in January. Our ports are Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Guadaloupe and Barbados. Does anyone have any recommendations for really good dive spots? Hubby dove once in St. Kitts.....there was no reef....just a submerged van and bulldozer. It was not a great experience and we were wondering if we should mark that port off the list. We've read some good things about San Juan diving and were considering a dive or two there precruise. Also wondering if anyone has been to the Jacques Cousteau Marine Park in Guadaloupe. Any advice or opinions greatly appreciated! :)

[alex12_3]

I did a beginner's dive in St. Maarten in a wide open, not very scenic area, so I'm not speaking from experience, but the dive shop did have some pictures from their normal dives. Many of them looked like absolutely awesome areas to dive. Definitely look into St. Maarten.

[alex12_3]

Also, again no personal experience here, but the wreck of the RMS Rhone off Tortola is said to be an awesome dive as well. Personally I'd definitely go there.

[mermaid diver]

We are also sailing in Jan 2013. I have heard that St. Maarten is very choppy that time of year. I emailed Octopus Diving, which I read many good reviews for on this site. Here is her response:

 

"The diving in St. Martin is great, although you are here in probably the choppiest and most windy time of year. This can mean that the visibility is reduced. Right now it is about 100 - 200 ft, but in the winter is can get down to 40 ft. We normally try and visit the best sites available on the day to provide the best experience. Also, for me, any dive is better than no dive!"

[CaribKng]

We are sailing from San Juan in January. Our ports are Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Guadaloupe and Barbados. Does anyone have any recommendations for really good dive spots? Hubby dove once in St. Kitts.....there was no reef....just a submerged van and bulldozer. It was not a great experience and we were wondering if we should mark that port off the list. We've read some good things about San Juan diving and were considering a dive or two there precruise. Also wondering if anyone has been to the Jacques Cousteau Marine Park in Guadaloupe. Any advice or opinions greatly appreciated! :)

 

We dove in St. Kitts and it was a great dive. We used Pro Divers St. Kitts. Margot worked with us and the dive master made sure everyone experienced all the wildlife around us. I would definitely recommend them. Hope this helps.

[belaqua]

none of those ports are very good for diving..tortola wrecks are boring,and almost all gone..st.maarten,don`t bother..the only one i`d recomend,would be barbados...and try for a dive on the stavros nikita...be aware...this is an advanced dive!! it`s deep...but good..done it a few times..best places for diving?? cozumel,st.lucia,bahamas,saba

[debsea]

Tortola! The wreck of the Rhone is a magnificent dive - two dives, actually, as you dive the bow and stern on separate dives. There is a large resident green moray named Fred who is very camera friendly. We dove with Sail Caribbean Divers, contracted through the ship. We walked down the dock to their diveboat. I would definitely dive with them again.

[Capt_BJ]

I've dove most of these locations multiple times (nice to have a job that takes you to these places with some time to spare) and I can say one thing with certainty: location location location. Any place can be good one day and poor the next. A good guide, who knows local conditions is a requirement to find the good stuff. But IME good dives are possible at each of these places except ....

 

I've spent more time in San Jaun then the rest of these places totalled and if there is good diving around San Juan I never heard of it, much less experienced it. Other parts of Puerto Rico, yes .... but around San Juan?

 

Googling San Juan diving I find the best described as 10 to 20 foot visibility. A day trip to the east shore or even out to Desecheo is possible I suppose . . . Fajardo is only 35 miles east

[Motorcycle Gma]

Tortola! The wreck of the Rhone is a magnificent dive - two dives, actually, as you dive the bow and stern on separate dives. There is a large resident green moray named Fred who is very camera friendly. We dove with Sail Caribbean Divers, contracted through the ship. We walked down the dock to their diveboat. I would definitely dive with them again.

 

I see you liked Tortola and the other poster said it was "boring". Is an Open Water dive license good enough or do you need to be an official wreck diver?

[Motorcycle Gma]

I've dove most of these locations multiple times (nice to have a job that takes you to these places with some time to spare) and I can say one thing with certainty: location location location. Any place can be good one day and poor the next. A good guide, who knows local conditions is a requirement to find the good stuff. But IME good dives are possible at each of these places except ....

 

 

I have basically the same question as the other person -- which itinerary. We're tired of Western Carribean, Grand Cayman, Belize, Cozumel. We want to try Southern. Are we best going to Grand Turk, Curacao and Aruba vs. St. Thomas, Antiqua, Tortula or Nassau? Appreciate any opinions. Thanks

[rickm21]

"Grand Turk, Curacao and Aruba vs. St. Thomas, Antiqua, Tortula or Nassau? "

 

Curacao and Aruba are excellent diving locations. That is my choice.

[staylor]

I've dove most of these locations multiple times (nice to have a job that takes you to these places with some time to spare) and I can say one thing with certainty: location location location. Any place can be good one day and poor the next. A good guide, who knows local conditions is a requirement to find the good stuff. But IME good dives are possible at each of these places except ....

 

I've spent more time in San Jaun then the rest of these places totalled and if there is good diving around San Juan I never heard of it, much less experienced it. Other parts of Puerto Rico, yes .... but around San Juan?

 

Googling San Juan diving I find the best described as 10 to 20 foot visibility. A day trip to the east shore or even out to Desecheo is possible I suppose . . . Fajardo is only 35 miles east

 

Any dive operator recommendations for Guadaloupe? We are having trouble making connections with an English speaking shop. Thanks in advance. :)

[CaribKng]

"Grand Turk, Curacao and Aruba vs. St. Thomas, Antiqua, Tortula or Nassau? "

 

Curacao and Aruba are excellent diving locations. That is my choice.

 

I agree, Curacao and Aruba are great, but I also enjoyed the diving I did in St. Thomas and Nassau. If I had to chose, I would probably pick Curacao and Aruba over the other two though.

[debsea]

Hello Motorcycle Gma:

 

For the wreck of the Rhone, you only need an open water certificate. The divemaster will take you through the bow section, so you will need to be able to control your buoyancy well, but I only consider myself an intermediate level diver (80 dives), and I had no problem. If you prefer to dive around the bow section, and meet up with the group at the other end, that would be doable. Next to the wall dives I've done in Turks and Caicos, this was probably my favourite Caribbean dive.

 

I take it you're a biker, so are we. We have a Honda Goldwing.

 

D.

[jimw]

The wall dive at Grand Turk is not to be missed. Very impressive!! One of the better dives in the Caribbean. We looked into staying there a week and it's expensive enough that relatively few divers go. There are a few small hotels and some other accommodations. We would do it again on a cruise in a heartbeat.

[Motorcycle Gma]

Hello Motorcycle Gma:

 

For the wreck of the Rhone, you only need an open water certificate. The divemaster will take you through the bow section, so you will need to be able to control your buoyancy well, but I only consider myself an intermediate level diver (80 dives), and I had no problem. If you prefer to dive around the bow section, and meet up with the group at the other end, that would be doable. Next to the wall dives I've done in Turks and Caicos, this was probably my favourite Caribbean dive.

 

I take it you're a biker, so are we. We have a Honda Goldwing.

 

D.

 

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately, I chose the other cruise so won't be going here this time. Goint to Aruba, Curacao so if you have any advice, I'd appreciate it.

 

Yes, I drive a Yamaha Vstar, candy apple red. You ever ride on your curises? We did once in Hawaii, very cool!

[snorkelgirlca]

We are sailing from San Juan in January. Our ports are Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Guadaloupe and Barbados. Does anyone have any recommendations for really good dive spots? Hubby dove once in St. Kitts.....there was no reef....just a submerged van and bulldozer. It was not a great experience and we were wondering if we should mark that port off the list. We've read some good things about San Juan diving and were considering a dive or two there precruise. Also wondering if anyone has been to the Jacques Cousteau Marine Park in Guadaloupe. Any advice or opinions greatly appreciated! :)

 

I was in st Martin in April creole rock sports has a dive shop. On the French side of the island. The man who runs it speaks English and French call him for suggestions there as he has lots of knowledge of the island. At one time he worked for costeau's son so he probably could also tell u about the marine park we went snorkeling with him to creole rock but he also puts together dive trips