St. Eustatius dive trip?

[tridacna]

Any comments on St. Eustatius as a dive destination? We're looking at new places in the Caribbean and this one is pretty well marketed at dive shows. I have seen scant reviews and would appreciate any input. We are three guys - want to dive at least 3-4 times/day.

 

[Malene]

Hi,
I see your post only now.
St Eustatius (or Statia) is a great dive destination. I have been there twice and really enjoyed both times. The dive sites are never boring, there are some spectacular underwater "landscapes", at least two superb wrecks. You'll see lots of different kinds of fish, from tiny nudibranches to hammerhead (if you are very lucky ;-) ).
I dove with Scubaqua who are very friendly and well organized. The only thing is that I don't think they do 3-4 dives/day.
Maybe there are not so many reviews because it is not so much known yet and it is really for divers. There is not much to do besides diving in this very small island. There are only very few and small hotels (but good restaurants and bars...).

If you have more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them (as best as I can).

 

[Selchie]

Sorry I didn't notice you post sooner, not sure if you've been or are still considering Statia. I was just there in May, my second visit, the first was 10 years ago. This is not a touristy island and the diving is great - healthy corals & sponges, turtles most every dive, some sharks and a nice variety of sea life that was not overly skittish. As mentioned in the ealier post a couple of purpose sunk wrecks too. I dove with Glenn & Michele of Golden Rock Dive Center. They are both originally from the US, but have made Statia their home for 20 years. Three dives is doable, not sure about 4. I'd recommend calling, they seem very accomodating. There is a dormant volcano on the island that makes for a great (and exhausting) hike the last day. I noticed you're from NJ, travel was easy - direct flight from Newark to St Maarten and 18 minute flight to Statia. Since you're looking for some new places to visit I can recommend giving Statia a try, I plan on not waiting another 10 years to return. I just posted in the video section on my experiences with the Intova Sport HDII video camera with a link to my video of Statia diving. I assume it's aceptable to post the link a second time in this thread.

Statia Diving - May 2014 on Vimeo

 

[tridacna]

Great video. We'll definitely consider Statia for early 2015. Much appreciated!

 

[dontaskme]

Statia is great....was there in July.....3 dives a day....Golden Rock was dive shop of choice.
I can not wait to dive there again.....

here is my review from Tripadvisor

This is a GREAT DIVE SHOP - Review of Golden Rock Dive Center, St. Eustatius, Caribbean - TripAdvisor

Make sure you get over to the aquarium dive site