Diving on Carriacou

[Ironborn]

Has anyone been diving on Carriacou?

I just heard of this island, which is part of Grenada, for the first time as I was researching potential destinations for a Caribbean diving trip in November. It is well off the beaten track, even for most divers, and there is not much information on it. Since it is so small and out of the way and has relatively little diver traffic, it reportedly has unusually pristine reefs and abundant marine life, according to the little bit of information that I have found – even richer and healthier than the well-known, top-tier destinations in the Caribbean (e.g. Bonaire, Belize, etc.) Appropriately enough, the island's name means “island of reefs” in Arawak, the language of the island's indigenous inhabitants.

If you have been there, how would you rate the quality of the diving, underwater environment, and marine life, compared to the well-known, top-tier Caribbean destinations? Do you think that the quality is high(er) enough to justify the greater hassle and risk of going to a smaller, more remote, and less well-known place (e.g. it is a bit harder to reach than Grenada, it has only three dive shops)? Are there any practical or logistical factors that I should consider, e.g. seasonal differences, strong currents, etc.? Which of the three dive operators did you use, and would you recommend them?

 

[Damselfish]

We did some dives around there in Jan 2009, but from a liveaboard that was doing the area at the time. I'd have to dig out an old dive log to see if I made any notes. I'm sure it was fine but it didn't land on my mental list of places that I needed to take the trouble to get back to. But a local op may do better as they will tend to know all the local sites better. I do remember conditions being pretty rough at some sites in the area - which probably isn't a surprise in the winter, without the protection of a larger landmass.

(Our favorite diving of that trip was St Vincent, where we spent a few days - boat voted for it. We've been a number of times before and since. St Vincent is also a bit of a pain to get to, hopefully their new airport will help but it hasn't yet. Diving from a liveaboard there was great as we got to dive more further north, where the day ops don't go often. Bequia is another interesting off the beaten path place to dive.)

 

[BobSporle1706]

Hey there!

I’ve been diving on Carriacou as a conservation volunteer and now for work since August 2017. I have over 100 dives on the island’s many dive sites and I can tell you all rumours are absolutely true! We have incredible pristine reefs very clear of any pollution or signs of bleaching. I would highly recommend Deefer Diving in Hillsborough, or if you’re in Tyrell Bay speak to Dive Carriacou. Both very professionally run centres and will bend over backwards to suit the needs of the diver in terms of equipment or any specific diving requested. These are two of just three Dive operators on the island meaning all dives are diver traffic free. Frequent sightings are beautiful Spotted Eagle Rays, Blacktip and Nurse Sharks, Green/Hawksbill/Leatherback Turtles and a wide abundance of fish species. I really hope this post has been helpful, and I hopefully I’ll look forward to diving with you on our magnificent island

 

[drrich2]

Interesting stuff. I've heard of Carriacou before, with the diving praised, but wondered why it's not better know. You could argue it doesn't have as much modern upscale touristy 'stuff' as Cozumel, for example, but that hasn't stopped Saba or Bonaire from being better known.

Did a little quick searching. Simply Carriacou has a discovering page with useful particulars; they speak English (I believe some Caribbean islands are French-dominated, so good to know), U.S. dollars widely accepted, there are banks with 24 hour ATMs, and the electricity is 220 volt/20 Hz (also good to know).

WikiTravel has a page with interesting info.; there's a ferry service between it and Grenada, and it and Petite Martinique.

Any thoughts on the value of someone on a 7 or 8 days island hopping via ferry? If it's a hassle to fly there, does it make more sense to fly to/from Grenada & ferry to/from Carriacou?

Any other practical info. a non-well-travelled U.S.-based dive tourist would benefit from advance notice of before coming?

Richard.

 

[Gary_Ward]

Hi Guys. I'm Gary and one of the owners of Deefer Diving based in Hillsborough, Carriacou. I'm not intending to over-sell the diving here, or profess that its the best diving in the Caribbean. You'd expect me to say that afterall. What I would say though is that we have a couple of sites here which I would personally rate as in the top 5 in the whole Caribbean (and Jill Heinerth agrees with me - Eight of the best diving experiences).

In terms of why has no one heard of us (vs some of the other regional locations). We don't have the budget or support to be able to have an adequate share of voice in the market. The Tourism Authority is for Grenada and they tend to spend their money promoting the main island. We're generally a well hidden foot note. That is true also for tourism development - there are very few concessions for construction of a hotel (say) compared to the main island.

What we do have though is probably one of the last remaining truly genuine, friendly islands in the Caribbean. Small family owned hotels and guest houses, which are basic but really allow you to feel the flavour of the island. There are many up-market villas available too. Karen at Simply Carriacou is a great source for villa bookings.

Getting here is a challenge - its our biggest challenge to growing the tourism market from the US. Grenada is serviced from London, Frankfurt, Miami, Atlanta, JFK and Toronto. The flight schedules into Grenada mean its often too tight to be able to get a flight direct from Grenada to Carriacou on the same day (SVG Grenada is the hopper airline). Which means an over-night and either the ferry/hopper in the morning. The ferry is a 2 hour ride up. On the way here it has about 7 miles into a north-easterly... so it can get a little bumpy during the winter. The way back is fine.

Another option that we suggest to people who perhaps have more funds available than time, is to fly into Barbados (more major hub from the US) and then catch the short SVG Air flight from Barbados to Union Island. Union Island is 5 miles from us and is the southern-most island in the St Vincent Grenadines. We will often take a boat over to Union Island to pick guests up and bring them to Carriacou. What this means is that we can generally do the travel from most places in the US within a single day. The flight is pricey (c$450 rtn), but saves you a nights accommodation in Grenada and a day either end in travel. Many guests on tighter time schedules like the option.

As others have mentioned elsewhere, as we're an 'off the beaten track' destination we tend to be a lot more flexible and try to work a schedule that can fit around your needs. We can organise pickups, flexible dive schedules, mixing of groups and some very different types of diving (gentle shallow gardens to deep ripping drifts). All of our diving is guided, as there is very little options for shore diving, and we maintain a very low 4:1 diver to dive pro ratio. I like high service standards and try to deliver this with our guests too.

As I mentioned at the top of this spiel, I'm not doing a sales pitch, but if you or anyone is interested in knowing more about Carriacou or how to get here, reach out to me via Deefer Diving and I'll be more than happy to see what we can help you with.

Kind regards

Gary

 

[drrich2]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to provide just the sort of info. people need to consider. From the U.S., 7-day dive trips seem very popular...and that's about what many working people can take off at a time. Destinations that take 2 days to get to & from are at a significant disadvantage; I've seen that brought up in the past about Dominica, though I don't know the current status with it.

There are people looking for what it sounds like Carriacou offers; a more low key, 'authentic' experience.

Richard.

 

[Akcharger]

Grenada is a super fun place...charming!