Diving in St Martin/Maarten

Anything good I shouldn't miss? Leaving on the 26th, can't wait. We didn't go anywhere last year -bought a new house & took 2 weeks off to dormer the 2nd floor back of the house

I haven't been but I researched this a couple of months back because my sister is going there next month and she'll be doing her checkout dives. My understanding is that diving isn't all that great there. It's definitely not a place to do a dive vacation, but it's close to Saba, which does have good diving. If you can book a day or two over there, it is definitely worth it.

Browse these threads:

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=1204306

There are a couple towards the bottom of the first page that provide some good information.

My line about St Martin, don't go there to dive, but dive if you go there. It's not great diving, but it's warm and there is some fish and coral. It's not Bonaire but it's a long long way from Folly Cove. There is almost no shore diving although someone will say Dawn Beach. Well there is a reef there but very sandy and not a great dive. Worth doing but the offshore reefs are much nicer.

Some don't miss things on St Martin, the Butterfly Farm, Sebastians (sp), the Sunset Bar, shopping in Phillipsburg and Pinel Island.

Have fun.

Just back from Saba, dove with Sea Saba. We had a bunch of Win Air daytrippers from SXM - there is a flight first thing in the am, and you can go back in the afternoon. (The flight altitude isn't high enough to be concerned about DCS.) There is also a ferry (the "vomit comet"), but it won't get you into Saba in time to do the earliest am dive, generally a pinnacle.

The diving in Saba was beautiful, especially the pinnacles. I highly recommend you spring for a day trip if you can manage it.

When you post about St Martin/ Maarten, everyone will point you to Saba. Ok, that's understandable, and I second Cecil's comments above.
That said, St Martin's offerings are downplayed a whole lot. Last July, we spent a week on St Martin and managed to take two 2-tank trips there. The dive op was wonderful, the waters were fabulous, and the sea life was excellent. The reefs seem "young" to me, and they have a new "wreck" (the Porpoise... I think it's called, I'm sure they'll take you there) which delivers a swim through I heard was really nice. It's true that St Martin's diving isn't Bonaire but we didn't expect it to be. It certainly was not a waste of money time or effort, either. I was pleasantly surprised.
Pick your dive op's location carefully... remember the ones in Philipsburg will be full of cruise ship passengers (not that there's anything wrong with that) and will plan their trips accordingly (that's the problem). We were staying in the Terres Basses, so we dove out of Simpson Bay. Distances to travel by car take some time, as you'll quickly figure out.

You'll love the island. Have a fabulous trip!

Thanks all. This is more of just a getaway then a dive vacation. We are near the Town of Marigot (sp?) - French side. Ocean on one side, lagoon on the other.
Anytime I go anywhere with warm water I dive, always better then home!!
If I could I'd just run tubing underwater to an air pump & stay underwater

I have heard the scenery can be very nice on the French side