Traveling to St Thomas in February

[SDiverJim]

My wife son and I are traveling to St Thomas for a week in February. I am the only diver and I am looking for recommendations on dive operations and of coarse places to eat and drink. From the searches I understand St Thomas is not the best dive location but Ill be happy to be in the water for a few days. Thanks in advance!!

 

[mzap]

Hi SDiverJim,
My wife and I just came back from a week in St Thomas over Thanksgiving, our second trip there. Dive shops depend on where you are staying as boats leave about 8:30 and travel from one end of the island to the other while not far does take some time. Don't want to miss the boat! We stayed at Secret Harbour Resort on the east end close to Red Hook. The resort has a great dive shop there, Aqua Action. Check-out AADivers.com for more info. Most dives in their area are reef so it was tough to get a site that allowed my wife to do a deep cert. Max depth we did then was 70' but most dives were 40'-60' so you have lots of bottom time. Ask to go to Cow Rock which has several nice swim-thru's. The resort has a great harbor for snorkeling. We saw a turtle, ray, and octopus all within the harbor! Resort patio restaurant has good food, try the pizza, but the fine dining there is pricy. Several nice places in Red Hook most with live music especially on the weekends. Try Latitude 18, Fish Tails, or Duffy's Love Shack.
We also did one day with Blue Island Divers on the west end nearer the airport, cruise ship docks, and downtown area. They have more wreck dives and deeper dives. Check-out blueislanddivers.com for their info. I would not try and stay on east end and then dive with them on a morning dive as you would have to go thru downtown morning traffic which is very heavy at that time. We did an afternoon dive. But there are several large chain type hotels in that area.
I am also from Shelton CT we might meet at Capt Noels place!

 

[SDiverJim]

Thanks mzap. We are staying at Frenchman's reef a little west of those spots (~4mi) so I will look into it. Thanks for the food suggestions as well. I made a few dives with Noel over the summer. I generally dive with Oceanblue (formerly Rex) down at Dutch Springs. I live in Milford.

 

[diver 85]

Dove ---for 1 day, off cruise ship, with Admiralty Dive....good op but in general the diving was very mundane---IMO....see UW pics /videos I took from there---May of '12 I believe.....

St Thomas 2012 - a set on Flickr


EDIT(from below post):the day I dove(May of '12), it was me & 1 other paid diver----almost 1 on 1 with DM...lol

 

[luscioman]

I have dove several times from a cruise with underwater safaris. One of the 2 dives has always been navy barges. Of you dive with them you will be heavily babysitted due to all the divers from the cruise ships.

 

[HenryG]

Just back from a week in St. Thomas. We dove with Duane and Admiralty Dive Center for four days and had a great time. He does choose the dives based on prevailing diver ability, weather, sea state and where they feel the best chance of seeing something cool is. They do a great job and are fantastic dive valets. My son and I were fortunate enough to have our own gear with us and after each dive they took care of it like it was their own and the next day it was on the boat ready and waiting for us. Unfortunately, the weather didn't allow for a great sea state during our stay and we didn't have much more than about 75' viz max on any dive, with most about 30', but the macro life and what we did see was fantastic. They are very accomplished divers and know the waters and the life in them and are great at explaining what you are seeing. Sort of got a little bit of an education in marine biology. We are already trying to figure out when we can get back.
We stayed at the Frenchman's Reef Marriott as well, you can expect to pay between $12 and $20 for the cab to the dock and it takes about 5-8 minutes to get there. Duane is good about trying to arrange a ride back to the hotel, but if that doesn't work out, you can always walk down the road past the post office to the Seaplane / Ferry dock and grab a cab there. Consistently $12 from there. (Price was for two of us)
The M2R DUCK is set for about 10 divers, but rarely goes out full from what I saw, fewest was 4 most was 8. (Caution: there is a lot of diesel smoke blowback onto the deck, so if that is something that triggers a little green around the gills for you, as it does for me, a little scoplomine patch may be what the Dr. ordered) They do have NitrOx if you want and from what I saw all the rental gear was fairly new and of higher quality, might want to bring your own wetsuit if you can, some of those looked a little sporty. I would say that you will not be disappointed if you give them a try.
Duane and Laura are very good about communicating with you. I called a few days prior to arriving on the island to arrange the dives and received an e-mail that night confirming all the diving that we had discussed. We got skunked on the weather one day and had to redo a dive site, Duane approached the site from a different angle in order to explore different sections and make a familiar dive something completely different. If you go with them, which I can't recommend enough, be ready for a REALLY COOL time!

 

[SDiverJim]

Thanks Henry!! What was your opinion of Frenchman's reef? Restaurant recommendations? I spoke with a few shops and they all commented that diving can be questionable based on weather. As always Ill try to make the best of it. I luckily do have my own gear.

---------- Post added January 8th, 2014 at 09:49 PM ----------

Nice photos diver 85!!

 

[diversteve]

I might go the other way (NE) and dive with someone that works out of the East End. Might be a little farther drive but they go farther east into the Cays and dive around St. John. Red Hook Dive Ctr. is based in the American Harbor in Red Hook. I don't have any personal knowledge of diving with them - I did look around the shop once. If conditions allow, Carval Rock is maybe the best dive out there. If not (not always known till they try) they'll probably drop back to Congo Cay another good dive. http://redhookdivecenter.com/

Molly Malone's across from their entrance is a good pub to hang out at post-dive - or anytime. About 5-6 miles from the Marriott. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molly-Malones-St-Thomas/101561983231887

Coki Beach is one of few shore dives in that area - just a little farther north with Coki Dive on-site. http://www.cokidive.com/

There's also St Thomas Diving Club at Bolongo Bay - that's probably the closest dive operator to the Marriott. Maybe 2-3 miles. St. Thomas Diving Club, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, a PADI 5 Star IDC

Nice food, excellent harbor view but pricey is Room with a View at BlueBeards Castle in town. ROOM WITH A VIEW | Welcome Look for the red tile roofs on the hill to the east of the cruise port - it's up there. It's a timeshare complex so doesn't look like a regular hotel.

One other thing you could do is drive over to Red Hook early in the morning then take the pax or car ferry to Cruz Bay on St. John. Cruz Bay Watersports runs an all day trip over to dive the RMS Rhone in the BVI's from there. It's the signature wreck in that area. (where they filmed The Deep) There's also some shore diving on St. John - IDK much about that.

Cruz Bay Watersports - Scuba Diving Programs
Virgin Islands Ferry Schedule

 

[HenryG]

Frenchman's Reef is a fantastic resort. There is a wide range of dining options on the property from the very expensive Aqua Terra to buying a Starbucks Sandwich at the Gift Shop, you really never have to leave the resort. (The breakfast buffet can be a bit pricey, but opting for a la cart menu is a less expensive option.) However, if you do decide for a nice night out I would recommend Grande Cru at Yacht Haven, Also for a less expensive meal and a cold beer with a chance to mix with some of the locals I can recommend Hook, Line and Sinker which is the land mark for the dive boat. I'm sure that there are many other options available and the taxi's are quite reasonable, and safer. The rooms are typical Marriott, clean sheets, clean rooms and great servicing. The maids will leave extra bottles of water each day if you ask them to (a couple of buck tip in the beginning ensures this daily) and they are great to take with you while exploring. I would say that the folks at the activity desk are a good source if you are trying to figure something out, but often times I just use them as a reference, then search out activities on my own. The beach and pools at the hotel are very nice, there is a designated "Spa Pool" that is reserved for Spa users only, Nice place to send the wife to get spoiled while you dive. The only downside to Frenchman's reef is time share sales pitch, but I was able to avoid it.
On another note, my son has decided to take a semester off from school :shocked2: and get his divemaster certification. He looked around at some of the dive operators that he had used in the past, specifically in Bermuda since we have family there that he could stay with, and he will be going back to St Thomas to do his training with Duane at Admiralty. Duane is a very good educator as well as a fantastic dive operator and my son felt comfortable enough with him to make a commitment to stay in St. Thomas for at least a month to do his training. Duane has set up a lot of training to be completed prior to his arrival in STT and they communicate with each other on a regular basis to review the progress. He will not be staying at the Marriott or eating at Grande Cru this time!!
Hope you have a REALLY COOL time in St. Thomas.

 

[SDiverJim]

Frenchman's Reef is a fantastic resort. There is a wide range of dining options on the property from the very expensive Aqua Terra to buying a Starbucks Sandwich at the Gift Shop, you really never have to leave the resort. (The breakfast buffet can be a bit pricey, but opting for a la cart menu is a less expensive option.) However, if you do decide for a nice night out I would recommend Grande Cru at Yacht Haven, Also for a less expensive meal and a cold beer with a chance to mix with some of the locals I can recommend Hook, Line and Sinker which is the land mark for the dive boat. I'm sure that there are many other options available and the taxi's are quite reasonable, and safer. The rooms are typical Marriott, clean sheets, clean rooms and great servicing. The maids will leave extra bottles of water each day if you ask them to (a couple of buck tip in the beginning ensures this daily) and they are great to take with you while exploring. I would say that the folks at the activity desk are a good source if you are trying to figure something out, but often times I just use them as a reference, then search out activities on my own. The beach and pools at the hotel are very nice, there is a designated "Spa Pool" that is reserved for Spa users only, Nice place to send the wife to get spoiled while you dive. The only downside to Frenchman's reef is time share sales pitch, but I was able to avoid it.
On another note, my son has decided to take a semester off from school :shocked2: and get his divemaster certification. He looked around at some of the dive operators that he had used in the past, specifically in Bermuda since we have family there that he could stay with, and he will be going back to St Thomas to do his training with Duane at Admiralty. Duane is a very good educator as well as a fantastic dive operator and my son felt comfortable enough with him to make a commitment to stay in St. Thomas for at least a month to do his training. Duane has set up a lot of training to be completed prior to his arrival in STT and they communicate with each other on a regular basis to review the progress. He will not be staying at the Marriott or eating at Grande Cru this time!!
Hope you have a REALLY COOL time in St. Thomas.

Thanks Henry! Really looking forward to our trip. I booked my Dives with St Thomas Diving Club. Ill report back when I return. Heck..anything to get to the warm weather and in the water.