Anyone dove in St. Lucia?
- Thread starter MEDICJOJO
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We went in December,2008. Diving was so-so. We stayed at Anse Chastanet and dived with their dive operator, Scuba St. Lucia. They're organized and dive boats were ok. Nitrox was offered for an extra fee.
Your first dive is a shore dive, which is a checkout dive - mask removal and putting it back on underwater. Dive sites are all within a 5-10 minutes boat ride. Visibility was not as good in the winter, when we were there. A couple of divers,who'd been there before, said that the diving is so different in the summers with better visibility. They do offer night dive 2-3 times a week. We did one and this was a shore dive - right in front of the dive shop, where you also do your checkout dive.
Here is a link to a few pictures I took; copy and paste it in your browser to work:
Picasa Web Albums - Tita
As you can see, I did not take that many photos. I've been to Bonaire, Grand Turk, Little Cayman....just to give you an idea of where I am coming from. I thought the diving in St. Lucia was so-so; although another couple we met loved the place and been returning there the last 5 years.
Another dive operation that several divers mentioned is Dive Fair Helen. I don't know much about them but you can probably google them. Hope this helps.
Your first dive is a shore dive, which is a checkout dive - mask removal and putting it back on underwater. Dive sites are all within a 5-10 minutes boat ride. Visibility was not as good in the winter, when we were there. A couple of divers,who'd been there before, said that the diving is so different in the summers with better visibility. They do offer night dive 2-3 times a week. We did one and this was a shore dive - right in front of the dive shop, where you also do your checkout dive.
Here is a link to a few pictures I took; copy and paste it in your browser to work:
Picasa Web Albums - Tita
As you can see, I did not take that many photos. I've been to Bonaire, Grand Turk, Little Cayman....just to give you an idea of where I am coming from. I thought the diving in St. Lucia was so-so; although another couple we met loved the place and been returning there the last 5 years.
Another dive operation that several divers mentioned is Dive Fair Helen. I don't know much about them but you can probably google them. Hope this helps.
firstdive2005
Contributor
I dove St. Lucia Dec./08. We dove at Anse Chastenet also. The op I really enjoyed, a lot of fun. The diving like already said was soso. The reefs look like they are dieing from the pollution of the older resorts as they are not as restricted on their disposal of waste to the ocean. Also the runoff from the water when raining silts out the water quite a bit.
But for sure Scuba St. Lucia is the op to dive with. If you do dive with them, tell Felix, the senior boat captain that Kevin from Edmonton says hi. He is a wealth of knowledge for island fun also. Renting a car is a blast on the island. Drive real slow and have your hand on the horn as you go around the corners or bends on the roadways. Go sit in the volcano mud too, kinda neat. have fun kev
But for sure Scuba St. Lucia is the op to dive with. If you do dive with them, tell Felix, the senior boat captain that Kevin from Edmonton says hi. He is a wealth of knowledge for island fun also. Renting a car is a blast on the island. Drive real slow and have your hand on the horn as you go around the corners or bends on the roadways. Go sit in the volcano mud too, kinda neat. have fun kev
bonaireorbust
Registered
Just got back from St. Lucia last Saturday. Overall the diving was so so. It basically rains every day making the overall clarity poor IMO (30-50 feet at best). The quality of Coral is magnificent because the island hasnt been hit by a strong hurricane in 15 years. Overall marine life is small but plentiful. It took me two dives before I saw a parrot fish. Only saw one Queen Angel on he trip.
Definately wear a 3M wetsuit. There are numerous thermaclines and small jellyfish to beware of (I heard it was their mating season) so a full 3mil will give you protection on both extremes
The best dive IMO was SuperMans Flight. It is right at the base of the PITON and has a ripping current making you feel like superman flying throught the water.
Dove with Scuba Steves and Eastern Carribean Divers
Scuba Steves (Pro)-all about saftey and on time (Con)-Small boat and IMO expensive fuel surcharge
Eastern Carribean (Pro) Have a good fleet of boats that have plenty of room for divers (cons) Probably not good for new divers Dononvan was on time for pickup and good quality opp. If I had to do it again I would probably go with Eastern Carribean
Have fun and bring a raincoat
Definately wear a 3M wetsuit. There are numerous thermaclines and small jellyfish to beware of (I heard it was their mating season) so a full 3mil will give you protection on both extremes
The best dive IMO was SuperMans Flight. It is right at the base of the PITON and has a ripping current making you feel like superman flying throught the water.
Dove with Scuba Steves and Eastern Carribean Divers
Scuba Steves (Pro)-all about saftey and on time (Con)-Small boat and IMO expensive fuel surcharge
Eastern Carribean (Pro) Have a good fleet of boats that have plenty of room for divers (cons) Probably not good for new divers Dononvan was on time for pickup and good quality opp. If I had to do it again I would probably go with Eastern Carribean
Have fun and bring a raincoat
Well just got back last week from St. Lucia. And had a great time diving their dove through Sandals Resort they offer 2 free boat dives a day water was super clear and did run into some of those jelly fish that was talked about above but really no big deal. The dive masters were really nice guys and very informative and safety conscious. Cant wait to go back.
editmojo
Contributor
We'll be at the Halcyon in 2 weeks. Did you have to do a checkout dive? How was the gear? Any Pics? What was your opinion of the resort?
My wife and I had a great time this was our first trip to St. Lucia and a Sandals resort. Very Nice. The food was great make sure you eat at the Italian Restaurant at the resort great food. This is not a very crowed resort like the other Sandals on the island and ty quiet especially at night. But one of the good things you can do at Sandals is visit they call “play” at their other resorts. A bus that’s free comes by every hour and gives you a ride to the Grand and Regency, The Grand has a bigger pool and grounds a lot more activities in the day and at night and the food is also great their. The Regency is also nice more night life and a little fancier, and of course great food as well. At the Halcyon the dive shop is at the end of the resort the Dive Masters are very nice you get 2 free boat dives a day except on Sundays and I think another day but can’t remember. We didn’t have to do a check out because we had a recent dive but they never even looked at my dive log only my card so how would they know? Although I did go on a check out dive with some people that just arrived and it was still a good dive. You actually are bussed like 10min down the road to a private dock to the sandals Dive Boats their nice and the equipment was all Scuba Pro a little old and you can tell has been used a lot but worked well we only have our BC’s and masks and only used their regs. Had no problems on any of our dives. The only thing my wife didn’t like were the fins she didn’t pack hers and theirs are foot fins and she got a blister. I had a really good time with them we did 7 dives with them and all were great,visibility was 80-100 feet lots of coral and fish, big lobster and a few huge eels. Some of the other divers said they weren’t very impressed with the sea life but my wife and I loved it, and met some really nice divers as well. Did run into Jelly Fish on 2 of our dives their little but pack a punch. But worth the 3 stings we received each. Have a great time don’t know if you have a Face Book profile or not have some pics their.
Jody Bryant
Medic_jojo@yahoo.com
Jody Bryant
Medic_jojo@yahoo.com
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