St Croix dive resort recommendations?

[Ironjock]

Cane Bay, Pavilli.ons 200 to 300 yards .

 

[rmorgan]

drrich2 and Ironjock, thanks to you both. I lived on St. Croix for a few months in 1980 and got certified at Caribbean Sea Adventures, but haven't been back since. No Frederiksted pier then! I'm planning to use it for macro tune-up. Schwob, I've read that the buoy for dive boats at Cane Bay is ~250 yards off the beach, which is a fair amount of finning if you don't want to burn air until you're over the wall--and almost a third of a mile round-trip.

 

[Symbiosis Diving Travel]

Drrich2, did the pier have negatives, other than tight pilings? I’m hoping the pier is teeming after a year with no cruise ships.

Good morning rmorgan,

If you're like me and like to take your time and hunt for critters you could do multiple dives on the pier and "the dolphins" off to the side. We absolutely love this site! Pillers are spaced well away from each other on the main pier, the dolphins pillars are a bit tighter but manageable. Just to give you an idea, here's our pier dive description on our website:

Diving St. Croix’s west coast offers one of the Caribbean’s most famous pier dives, the Frederiksted pier. An easy shore dive off St. Croix’s second historical town, Frederiksted, our 1500′ pier dive is a mecca for critters. It’s also a perfect place for photographers to capture macro and wide-angle. Pilings encrusted with corals and sponges give a home to St. Croix’s macro marine life. In between, you can find a large bait ball of scad, schools of snapper, hunting stingrays, and turtles swimming through the sunbeams dancing between the pillars.

Common Sightings: octopus, seahorse, adult and juvenile angelfish, various crabs and shrimp, mantis shrimp, anemone fish, turtles, stingrays, lobster, lionfish, squid, jawfish (frequently brooding), porcupine fish, eels, and many other types of reef fish and critters.

Possible Sightings: eagle rays, frogfish, batfish, flying gurnards, old Chaney (beautifully designed shards of fine China from the 1800s).

Have a great time on island!

 

[rmorgan]

Symbiosis--thanks very much for the information! Totally counting on seeing some flying guinards now. You're right about the critters; I'm tuning up for PNG in 2022 (which was supposed to have been last fall). You two have a good website and, obviously, a great life. Thanks again.

 

[hilljo88]

Fredericksted Pier is one of the best sites for macro in the Caribbean. Its over 1500 feet long. The deep end is usually accessed as a boat dive. You can do several shore dives and cover different sides of the pier. The dolphin structures to the south are great habitats for critters. The Cane Bay swim out should be done on snorkel so that you can conserve air and still get a decent bottom time. The swim back can be done partly on the bottom and there is stuff to see, so its not completely a slog. When we did it there were quite a few urchins on the entry ramp, so be careful where you step.

 

[baggins_69]

Thank you all for the excellent answers!

 

[jsnyder]

I’ve traveled all over the Caribbean and I’ve found the diversity here at STX to be equal or superior to just about everywhere I’ve been. The ability to see walls, gentle shore sites, and wrecks....all in 1 day if you want is super cool. The healthy mix of shore sites really allows you to control the pricing, too.

There are no true “dive oriented” resorts but it really isn’t a big deal since sites are all over and some are better to drive and shore dive than to boat. You can be anywhere in about 20 minutes depending on traffic. Renting a car is easy. Restaurants abound, and not just the super swanky style. You can find anything you want any day of the week.

For accommodations I suggest VRBO as there are TONS of condos available. Prices are reasonable on most of them, too, and you can pick whether you want to be country quiet or near downtown. That’s how we got started here and ended up buying one 6 months later. The diving and convenience ARE that good!!

Message me if you want more info!

 

[staggsSevin]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to STX...never been. For those that have been there before, or even better live there I was thinking about doing boat dives in the morning...say Cane Bay area and then use the afternoon to hit up the pier or other shore dives.

 

[Ironjock]

200 to 300 yards 15 to 25 minutes

 

[TTPaws]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to STX...never been. For those that have been there before, or even better live there I was thinking about doing boat dives in the morning...say Cane Bay area and then use the afternoon to hit up the pier or other shore dives.

If you are in the Christiansted area I really like using Dive Experience, They have good boat and a really experienced set of guides.