St. Maarten

[NJScubaDoc]

Originally I was supposed to go to Costa Rica in March but certain logistical concerns have changed that destination to St. Maarten.

Anyone have any experience diving this location? Is it worth it? Which operators did you use? How were they? What's the non-diving life like?

I am a diver, and hope to be in the water as often as possible, my companions are non-divers, so any info anyone has on St. Maarten would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Scott101]

Greetings,

I have dove on St. Maarten for the last 6 years or so. Its my wifes favorite island so she gets a week there and I get a week in Cozumel. A fair trade I guess.

The diving is fair to good. Quite a few old wrecks, small reefs, a couple of small pinnacles and such. The fish populations are pretty good with lots of eels, nurse sharks and the ocassional reef shark. In March, the temps will be in the high 70's and vis will be around 60-70 ft.

I have always dived with Dive Adventures (Aqua Mania) on the Dutch side in Simpson Bay, partly because we stay next door at the Flaminco and because they have always been great. They have nitrox, relatively small groups (morning dives) and know the island very well. From other posts, it seems that all the ops are good though.

As for the island, like I said, my wife ( a non-diver) loves it. The food is GREAT, the shopping is good and the people are super nice. I haven't spent too much time on the French side so perhaps others can comment on that. For tons of info on the place, check out www.traveltalkonline.com It is a forum with anything you could ever want to know about St Maarten. There has been a recent upswing in crime there but it has effected little or none of the tourists. Take all the comments with a grain of salt. We will be heading down in May and can't wait.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[DaveG]

i always use Fun Scuba Caribes
they are on both sides
We always stay on the french side but visit the dutch
french is slower and more laid back less busy
all the beaches are different
diving seems better on the dutch side
french side has longer boat rides to sites.

 

[ffestpirate]

This is from last May. We are going again this May and I'll use them again:

Saint Maarten-Neptune Dive Center

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My wife and I just returned from a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. We chose to dive in Saint Maarten. We had never been there before and had no knowledge of any operations over there. I did a search on dogpile and located several. We finally decided on Neptune Dive Center on Orient Beach. We waited until the last minute to decide, so I had to finalize our arrangements via internet on the cruise. Sylvie was my contact person and she did a fantastic job. We had a group of 6 divers and finally confirmed everything two days before we arrived. When we arrived, we found out that their boat had mechanical problems the day before we got there. But since they were expecting us, they had arranged a rental to be there for us. Neptune Dive Center is a quaint little cabana on Orient beach. Just what you would hope for on a tropic isle. I forgot our divemasters name, but he worked hard to make our trip memorable.
The first dive was a drift dive through two natural arches with a bevy of wildlife. As we neared the end of the dive, we came across about 30 dolphin. It was the most amazing sight. They were in a formation almost like a wall. Vertical and horizontal rows. Several of them broke away and came and played with us. It was an experience I'll never forget!!!!
The second dive was a wreck. There was wildlife all around and a black ray buried in the sand on the periphery of the wreck almost like a sentry! We were able to do a swim through penetration of the wreck and the divemaster even took a picture of me at the helm of the ship.
The whole operation worked hard to make sure everything went well for us. I have never had a more memorable dive. I reccomend them to anyone thinking of diving Saint Maarten

 

[Celeste]

Hi, I have been diving with Ocean Explorers on my trips to St Maarten. Luciana and Jeferson are the best and they only take out 6 divers at a time which makes it a really enjoyable diving experience. They are located in Simpson Bay on Kim Sha Beach and it is the oldest dive center on the island. You should really give them a try. St Maarten is a great island and has awesome beaches. Just to give you a head start on your plans you can e-mail them at divesm@caribserve.net See you there Celeste

 

[Cecil]

I always say, do not go to St Martin to dive but if you go to St Martin dive. The diving is not that great but I have heard that Saba is out of this world, so you could consider a day trip there.