Diving in St Thomas

[toonjie]

just curious - is St Thomas considered a good place to scuba (as opposed to other islands)

 

is there a 'best place' to try to learn or have a first experience?

 

As posted above, it's probably right in the middle in terms of good diving, it doesn't have a reputation for good diving, most likely because it's famous for it's shopping. There are some really good dives, especially when you consider the proximity to St. John's and the BVI, wreck of the Rhone, etc. Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Bonaire and Belize are the big diving meccas and are great places to learn as well. Curacao has great shore diving, Cozumel is drift diving, Bahamas has great shark dives, there's a great variety! We're cruising in 2 weeks and I'm diving in St. Lucia and St. Thomas, so I'll post a report. In St. Thomas, I've been diving with Chris Sawyer's Dive Shop since the mid-nineties and never had a bad experience.

[makethegrade]

thanks.

 

I am not sure what would qualify as a great dive.. scenery, guides? water quality, fish? probably a combination of all of them.

[toonjie]

thanks.

 

I am not sure what would qualify as a great dive.. scenery, guides? water quality, fish? probably a combination of all of them.

 

Yes, a good dive operator and all of the above.

[makethegrade]

a novice question... but how do you know you've got a quality guide and good itinerary for a dive? Word of mouth? reputation? luck?

[scubadiver888]

just curious - is St Thomas considered a good place to scuba (as opposed to other islands)

 

is there a 'best place' to try to learn or have a first experience?

St. Thomas is a good place to dive. As others have said, it is not the worst but not the best. The further south you go the better the diving tends to be.

 

What I consider a good dive is:

 

1) warm water

2) good visibility (good viz)

3) wide variety of fish life

 

I also like seeing something new. First time seeing a squid was cool. First time seeing a shark was cool. First time seeing a seahorse was cool. Lately it has been saw 80 different species of fish on one dive, that is cool.

 

Some people like ship wrecks. St. Thomas has ship wrecks, it has fish life, it has barracuda, it has sharks. They are not all in one spot so you probably won't see all of them.

 

The other nice thing about St. Thomas is the type of dive operators. If you go to some of the really pristine dive sites, the boats are not as nice and the staff expect you to handle all your gear. In St. Thomas, the boat I was on was very nice, roomy and comfortable. The staff prepared all our gear. When we came onboard the staff took everything we brought, set up our gear and stowed the rest of our stuff. We did two dive. Between the first and second dive, one staff member feed us while the rest changed our gear to a fresh set of tanks. You are not going to get this type of service in say Dominica.

 

I'd say it is best to start off in a place like St. Thomas. Since it is all new, you'll really like it. If you dive in a REALLY good spot then dive in St. Thomas, you'll be disappointed. If you dive St. Thomas first, you'll enjoy it more. Plus you'll get the support you need from the boat.

[scubadiver888]

a novice question... but how do you know you've got a quality guide and good itinerary for a dive? Word of mouth? reputation? luck?

Word of mouth is usually the best bet. You need to ask a lot of people though. I've had people recommend certain dive shops. After trying them, I was not at all impressed. If the response it, "These guys are great." then be skeptical. If they explain what they like about the dive shop that is better. If they tell you which dive master/instructor they had, that is good too.

 

For example, you want to dive with Imran, Brad or Aaron of Dive Dominica (in Dominica). They know were the best dive sites are based on the current conditions and they are good at finding and pointing out the more rare fish life.

[makethegrade]

all noted and thanks.

 

Like most, we don't travel that much and on a cruise we'd only likely dive once, maybe twice.

 

At this point, it's more for the experience and just trying it. We aren't all the discerning about it.. at the same time, no point wasting time etc.

 

I have to check all the ports on our cruise (IOS April 4 09) and maybe if I list them here, I'll get some feedback on the best bet for a one day trip.

[makethegrade]

any tips of someplace we could get to ourselves with our own equipment to snorkel (or is that a different board?)

[toonjie]

any tips of someplace we could get to ourselves with our own equipment to snorkel (or is that a different board?)

 

Coki Beach and Sapphire Beach are the 2 classic beaches with good snorkeling. Of the two, I'd prefer Sapphire, we were just there and it is gorgeous!

 

Here's some pics of Sapphire:

 

 

 

[scubadiver888]

any tips of someplace we could get to ourselves with our own equipment to snorkel (or is that a different board?)

If you were using the equipment a lot or thinking about using it for scuba diving then scuba diving shops are the place to go. Since you are only an occasional snorkeller, try looking at places like Costco, Sam's Club or Walmart. You can get some reasonably good equipment for a *LOT* less than a pro shop is going to sell it for.

[Scubagolf]

a novice question... but how do you know you've got a quality guide and good itinerary for a dive? Word of mouth? reputation? luck?

 

Check out ScubaBoard.com's travel section. Thousands of postings, including trip reports. I don't dive with any operator, anywhere, without seeing positive, current reviews on ScubaBoard.

 

Luck to ya,

Craig

[makethegrade]

thanks... great site.. it is very helpful.:)

[makethegrade]

is it worth carrying your own regulator on a plane (I would think masks and fins for sure)?

[hicact]

Is there a minimum, age someone has to be to dive?

You can be a PADI 'Bubble Blower" (40' max, no overhead environments) at age 10. You can be fully certified at 12.

[bruce-r]

is it worth carrying your own regulator on a plane (I would think masks and fins for sure)?

 

Carry the reg/computer, check the fins for sure.

[makethegrade]

thanks. we're looking into this. I don't think we're looking for a 200 foot dive... but something more then snorkeling.