St Croix diving

[tarzana]

Has anyone recently been to St Croix diving? Have you used the Divi resort and dive shop?

 

[Rob9876]

There are some St. Croix trip reports here in the Lesser Antilles section, and then the latest St. Croix trip report was posted in the Greater Caribbean & Bermuda section -- here's that link: Trip Report - St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, March-April 2021

I have not used the Divi resort or dive shop. Seems like most of the popular dive sites are on either the northern side or western side of the island, though the island is not that big -- so you could drive to either in a fairly reasonable amount of time. Perhaps others know more about Divi and any diving near there.

Edit: I see now that the Divi resort is pretty far east on St. Croix, so about 45 minutes from western-side diving in Frederiksted, and about the same to Cane Bay (known for shore dives); however, only about 20 minutes to Christiansted, where most of the north side boats depart from.

 

[GoinDivin]

Has anyone recently been to St Croix diving? Have you used the Divi resort and dive shop?

Good day Tarzana,

I live and dive on St. Croix. STX has one of the largest fringing reefs of any Caribbean Island and we are on the Puerto Rican trench (the deepest trench in the Atlantic). We have great wall dives, wrecks, good shallow reefs and one of the best pier dives in the Caribbean. We had a fantastic dive Sunday on the Northshore. We did a one-way dive from Willies Wish to Cane Bay and saw 7 reef sharks (cruising around with us), 2 turtles (1 Hawksbill, 1 Green), southern stingray, 1 Lobster, 1 Lionfish (-1 now), 2 juvenile spotted drum fish and lots of other various reef fish. Water temp was 81 viz was 70'+.

Rob9876 is correct regarding drive times from the Divi Resort. When the Divi was open before they used to have a local dive shop run the dive concession. However, I'm told they have not agreed on which dive shop will operate the concession and/or if they will have it in-house with their own staff. Either way, you will need to either rent a car or be transferred to whichever area the operator has their boat moored at. There are no boats that go out of the Divi.

Hope that helps. PM me if you have any questions. We've posted a few videos on FB and working on stuff for last Sunday's dive.

Cheers

 

[tarzana]

There are some St. Croix trip reports here in the Lesser Antilles section, and then the latest St. Croix trip report was posted in the Greater Caribbean & Bermuda section -- here's that link: Trip Report - St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, March-April 2021

I have not used the Divi resort or dive shop. Seems like most of the popular dive sites are on either the northern side or western side of the island, though the island is not that big -- so you could drive to either in a fairly reasonable amount of time. Perhaps others know more about Divi and any diving near there.

Edit: I see now that the Divi resort is pretty far east on St. Croix, so about 45 minutes from western-side diving in Frederiksted, and about the same to Cane Bay (known for shore dives); however, only about 20 minutes to Christiansted, where most of the north side boats depart from.

There are some St. Croix trip reports here in the Lesser Antilles section, and then the latest St. Croix trip report was posted in the Greater Caribbean & Bermuda section -- here's that link: Trip Report - St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, March-April 2021

I have not used the Divi resort or dive shop. Seems like most of the popular dive sites are on either the northern side or western side of the island, though the island is not that big -- so you could drive to either in a fairly reasonable amount of time. Perhaps others know more about Divi and any diving near there.

Edit: I see now that the Divi resort is pretty far east on St. Croix, so about 45 minutes from western-side diving in Frederiksted, and about the same to Cane Bay (known for shore dives); however, only about 20 minutes to Christiansted, where most of the north side boats depart from.[/QUOTE

Rob

Thanks so much for the info and the trip report!
Chrisse

 

[tarzana]

Thank you for this info!

Good day Tarzana,

I live and dive on St. Croix. STX has one of the largest fringing reefs of any Caribbean Island and we are on the Puerto Rican trench (the deepest trench in the Atlantic). We have great wall dives, wrecks, good shallow reefs and one of the best pier dives in the Caribbean. We had a fantastic dive Sunday on the Northshore. We did a one-way dive from Willies Wish to Cane Bay and saw 7 reef sharks (cruising around with us), 2 turtles (1 Hawksbill, 1 Green), southern stingray, 1 Lobster, 1 Lionfish (-1 now), 2 juvenile spotted drum fish and lots of other various reef fish. Water temp was 81 viz was 70'+.

Rob9876 is correct regarding drive times from the Divi Resort. When the Divi was open before they used to have a local dive shop run the dive concession. However, I'm told they have not agreed on which dive shop will operate the concession and/or if they will have it in-house with their own staff. Either way, you will need to either rent a car or be transferred to whichever area the operator has their boat moored at. There are no boats that go out of the Divi.

Hope that helps. PM me if you have any questions. We've posted a few videos on FB and working on stuff for last Sunday's dive.

Cheers

Thank you GoinDivin for your info.. so this nixes my travel to there. We tried to go St Croix before but living in Panama none of us have a US driver's license and therefore insurance for the vehicle so we could not go. If staying at Divi requires a car then we are out again.. but thanks anyway for the info.
Tarzana

 

[GoinDivin]

Thank you for this info!
Thank you GoinDivin for your info.. so this nixes my travel to there. We tried to go St Croix before but living in Panama none of us have a US driver's license and therefore insurance for the vehicle so we could not go. If staying at Divi requires a car then we are out again.. but thanks anyway for the info.
Tarzana

The Divi used to operate a free shuttle service, on a limited basis, maybe they will again. Of course, taxi's are an option, but you'd be looking at approx. $45+ (1-2 people) roundtrip to downtown Christiansted (more at night). Unfortunately, if you are looking for all-inclusive that's the only one. However, if the casino is an attraction there is one in Christiansted and there are some newly renovated accommodations w/in walking distance to restaurants and dive shops.

 

[Rob9876]

Yes, Hotel Caravelle (Historic Downtown Christiansted Hotel - Caravelle Hotel & Casino) has a casino and is right on the boardwalk in Christiansted -- you can easily walk to dive shops and a good number of restaurants, shops, etc. (pretty much all of Christiansted). If I were not renting a car, I'd probably stay there or somewhere nearby. Would probably still be worth it to take a taxi to the west side for a day to get a couple of dives in at the Frederiksted Pier.

If you are specifically looking for a resort to stay at most of the time, then Carambola Resort (Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix, US Virgin Islands) might be of interest to you. I believe either Sweet Bottom Dive Center or Cane Bay Dive Shop may have an arrangement with the resort. There is nothing in walking distance to the resort.

If you only wanted to relax and dive, and didn't need a resort, a lot of restaurants or other activities, then it would be possible to enjoy a week staying near the water in Frederiksted (perhaps somewhere like The Inn on Strand Street). Then you could rent tanks whenever you wanted and dive the Pier (really a very impressive macro site) and also catch boat dives too. Frederiksted is pretty quiet, but has a beach right there, enough restaurants to suffice, and an extremely laid back vibe. I could see doing this by myself or perhaps with a really good friend/dive buddy who is very laid back, but not for my family of 4. Please note with cruise travel starting again you may want to confirm if any ships are going to Frederiksted during the time you would be there, as you cannot dive the Pier when there is a cruise ship docked there.

 

[drrich2]

It's been awhile (Aug. 2017), but my old trip report and research notes might be of some help.

 

[tarzana]

Yes, Hotel Caravelle (Historic Downtown Christiansted Hotel - Caravelle Hotel & Casino) has a casino and is right on the boardwalk in Christiansted -- you can easily walk to dive shops and a good number of restaurants, shops, etc. (pretty much all of Christiansted). If I were not renting a car, I'd probably stay there or somewhere nearby. Would probably still be worth it to take a taxi to the west side for a day to get a couple of dives in at the Frederiksted Pier.

If you are specifically looking for a resort to stay at most of the time, then Carambola Resort (Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix, US Virgin Islands) might be of interest to you. I believe either Sweet Bottom Dive Center or Cane Bay Dive Shop may have an arrangement with the resort. There is nothing in walking distance to the resort.

If you only wanted to relax and dive, and didn't need a resort, a lot of restaurants or other activities, then it would be possible to enjoy a week staying near the water in Frederiksted (perhaps somewhere like The Inn on Strand Street). Then you could rent tanks whenever you wanted and dive the Pier (really a very impressive macro site) and also catch boat dives too. Frederiksted is pretty quiet, but has a beach right there, enough restaurants to suffice, and an extremely laid back vibe. I could see doing this by myself or perhaps with a really good friend/dive buddy who is very laid back, but not for my family of 4. Please note with cruise travel starting again you may want to confirm if any ships are going to Frederiksted during the time you would be there, as you cannot dive the Pier when there is a cruise ship docked there.

Thank you! All good info to put under my hat since the car rental companies do not accept drivers with our licenses! Am searching actually all around the Caribbean now that my Divi timeshare may not be the best option. Gracias!

 

[tarzana]

Yes, Hotel Caravelle (Historic Downtown Christiansted Hotel - Caravelle Hotel & Casino) has a casino and is right on the boardwalk in Christiansted -- you can easily walk to dive shops and a good number of restaurants, shops, etc. (pretty much all of Christiansted). If I were not renting a car, I'd probably stay there or somewhere nearby. Would probably still be worth it to take a taxi to the west side for a day to get a couple of dives in at the Frederiksted Pier.

If you are specifically looking for a resort to stay at most of the time, then Carambola Resort (Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix, US Virgin Islands) might be of interest to you. I believe either Sweet Bottom Dive Center or Cane Bay Dive Shop may have an arrangement with the resort. There is nothing in walking distance to the resort.

If you only wanted to relax and dive, and didn't need a resort, a lot of restaurants or other activities, then it would be possible to enjoy a week staying near the water in Frederiksted (perhaps somewhere like The Inn on Strand Street). Then you could rent tanks whenever you wanted and dive the Pier (really a very impressive macro site) and also catch boat dives too. Frederiksted is pretty quiet, but has a beach right there, enough restaurants to suffice, and an extremely laid back vibe. I could see doing this by myself or perhaps with a really good friend/dive buddy who is very laid back, but not for my family of 4. Please note with cruise travel starting again you may want to confirm if any ships are going to Frederiksted during the time you would be there, as you cannot dive the Pier when there is a cruise ship docked there.

Thank you! All good info to put under my hat since the car rental companies do not accept drivers with our licenses! Am searching actually all around the Caribbean now that my Divi timeshare may not be the best option. Gracias!

It's been awhile (Aug. 2017), but my old trip report and research notes might be of some help.

Your link does not open but thanks anyway!