Grenada or US Virgin Islands ?

[JohnN]

I'm planning/plotting a diving holiday for next spring in the Lesser Antilles. Two couples are involved, one half of each dives, so topside "stuff" is of some importance. This is a group decision and we're down to the US VI's or Grenada. My research says Grenada has quite a bit more Caribbean culture, history and 'ambiance' than the US VIs, but I can't find much comparison between the two for diving.


Can anyone weigh in?

 

[Damselfish]

We found Grenada really interesting above water. We weren't all that excited about the few dives we did (just on the last day of a liveaboard that used to be based there, and the viz was lousy.) But I don't know that we really saw the best of the diving, and I do think it's a good choice for a mixed group. I wouldn't mind going back sometime.

USVI - which island? They're very different. Most people seem to consider St Croix the best of the 3 for the diving. I've only dove St. Croix, short trip maybe 4-5 nights. A tropical storm passed and and viz wasn't what it's reputed to be there, but even taking that into account we thought diving was just ok. Same thing we thought about topside, just ok. So not a huge amount of experience with the place, but all things considered we've never been interested in going back.

St. Thomas sounds way too touristy for my taste, but maybe it's a good choice for some non-divers depending what kind of stuff they want. St. John sounds very pretty and more appealing, though still not very high on my list of places to go (since everyone I'm traveling with dives.)

 

[divesergeant]

We loved Grenada and its people. The diving was nice too, although not as spectacular as we found in Bonaire. The people of Grenada were some of the friendliest people we've found and we never felt unsafe.

St. Thomas was fair on land. Embarrassingly, this U.S. Possession was the worst Caribbean island we've visited. The diving was fair and there were places where we simply did not feel safe. We've not been to other of the US Virgin Islands so I can't comment on them.

 

[reghunnicutt]

St Croix has excellent diving from shore and boats. You can get as deep as you want in the local culture.

I always got out of my way to be respectful to the locals and I get treated well.

Reggie in NC


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[seahorsingaround]

Grenada can be quite lovely, both above and below water. We have lots of beautiful dive sites and the visibility definitely can vary. Seems pretty good lately, we shall see if that lasts come spring time (I expect it will get better as the summer comes as it was phenomenal over the summer). Lots of critters to stare at. Lots of hiking and local culture to enjoy - the Americanized bit comes from the US based university in St. George's.

 

[Stoo]

I'll echo the comments above about Grenada. Mrs. Stoo and I got hitched there years ago... Loved the island... lush, interesting, friendly. However the diving was less than spectacular.

There are some great wrecks mind you. I was almost late for my wedding ceremony as I was on an extended hang on the Bianca C., which was a spectacular dive. (Which begs the question: If I had actually been late for the ceremony, the future Mrs. Stoo would surely have beaten me half to death with her boney Irish-Sicillian knuckles... Would that have qualified as a "near miss" worthy of discussion on SB???)

Anyway, no idea about the USVI, but considering you are from the US of A, wouldn't a trip to the USVI be like a trip to, I dunno, Ohio? Only warmer?

 

[reghunnicutt]

Just like Ohio, except clear warm water, dreadlocks, coconut trees, mountains, Reggae music, running rum in the sink, white beaches, no highways, trade winds, with chickens and goats roaming. Otherwise, exactly like Ohio.

Reggie in NC


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[ScubaDubaDave]

Don't know about Grenada but I think STX diving (wall, wrecks, pier) is far better and diverse than STT. But I have done much more STX diving than STT. Not a lot of shore diving on STX but Davis Bay and Cane Bay are great for shore diving the wall and of course there's the pier. Not too many places to do that sort of thing. STT is definitely way more touristy than STX. STT and ST John are on top of each other so can be lumped together. The beaches on STT and ST John are definitely nicer than STX.