Planning a trip to USVI - need veteran advice

[Tank601]

Planning a trip to the virgin islands - out of the 3, which is the best for scuba?

 

[RICHinNC]

Well the good news is.....St Thomas and St John is only a 45 minute or so ferry ride away and you can actually dive both. I have stayed on both and dove off of St Thomas. The local dives there are pretty good. If you decide to do the British dives....eg the Rhone....remember to take your passport.

 

[Mayor]

I have spent sometime diving off all three. They all have some really cool dives but St. Croix was the best IMHO.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Dove all three and would have to say that St. Croix is probably the best.

 

[stcroixscuba]

It's tough to say which island has the best diving as they're all somewhat different. St. Thomas and St. John, along with the British Virgin Islands are all volcanic in nature and thus have flat continental shelf type diving. There's also a lot of wreck diving to be done there.

St. Croix on the other hand is tectonic, meaning it was formed by the shifting of the platelets of the earth (specifically the North American plate moving under the Caribbean plate). Thus St. Croix sits atop a 13,300' wall. That wall is topped by the largest living reef of any Caribbean island and the second longest barrier reef in the Caribbean. St. Croix also has a set of wreck dives (five of them within 100 yards of each other) and a pier dive that's easily one of the top macro dives in the world.

Obviously I have a vested interest in St. Croix. The diving is good on all three island just, in my opinion and apparently a few others here, it's better on St. Croix.

 

[Brodydog]

St. Croix also has a set of wreck dives (five of them within 100 yards of each other) and a pier dive that's easily one of the top macro dives in the world.

That pier dive, Fredricksted Pier, is to die for. One of my favorite all time dives. Never would have guessed a pier to be a favorite of mine until I did this one. We did a week of diving around St. Croix on a liveaboard. We enjoyed Fredricksted Pier so much we begged the captain to take us back at the end of the week. He did. I did 6 dives at the pier that week and saw different creatures down there everytime I went. Saw my first batfish, frogfish, and seahorse under that pier.

Cane Bay is also a great diving spot. Looking forward to getting back to St Croix soon. Loved the diving there.

 

[timmyk]

Planning a trip to the virgin islands - out of the 3, which is the best for scuba?

We just got back from St. Croix.......LOVED IT!! Shorediveable wall, wrecks, macro. The Pier was fantastic. Above & Beyond service from Anchor Dive and N2 the Blue. Tons to do above water also. Great place to stay @ Gentle Winds condos. We're going back next chance we get. 12 years and 20+ trips to the Caribbean, this was one of the very best!

 

[Codiak]

So what's the best value all inclusive on St Croix?

 

[stcroixscuba]

There's only one all inclusive hotel on St. Croix and I can't, with good conscience, recommend it. St. Croix is fortunate to have a wide range of very good restaurants that don't have to break the bank. We have everything from 5 Wine Spectator Award Winning restaurants, to McDonalds, and everything in between. You can eat nicely on a budget at a beach bar or locals place, or you can blow it all out on a fantastic dinner you won't soon forget. The prices in restaurants, while somewhat higher than in the states, is still not that bad at all. While I understand the lure of "all inclusive" I would beg you to not consider it for St. Croix as you'd be depriving yourself of some wonderful dining experiences.

 

[mjgoodman]

Hi,

Can someone please recommend a dive shop on St. Criox that they prefer? Besides boat dives, I'm looking for one that offers guided trips to Frederiksted Pier and is particularly good with photographers. Also, any budget accommodations? Thanks.

Matt