St. Maarten, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts: Firsthand opinions?

[highdesert]

Greetings all, and Happy New Year (almost)!

We're thinking of getting aboard the Explorer Ventures boat and doing the islands listed in the title in early March. Has anyone dived these islands? We're looking for good, high quality diving ... not just getting wet. So ...

Good fish populations?
Healthy reefs?
Sharks, turtles?
Macro vs. pelagic?
Anything else special come to mind?

Thanks!

 

[marcaumarc]

I've been diving on Saba and St. Martin. Saba is very unique. The island is a mountain jutting out of the water and it gets deep very quickly as soon as you get offshore. They also have a number of undersea pinnacles, that are probably the most mentioned feature. St. Martin is generally considered a mediocre location, but I think there is actually quite a lot of variety that people probably don't realize unless they dive both sides of the island and the various surrounding areas.

I would say that both places have a lot of fish, Saba has more protected reefs. I haven't seen too many sharks in either place, but loads of turtles in St. Martin. There are about a dozen wrecks in St. Martin that are commonly visited.

Here are a couple links with photos and descriptions of St. Martin dive sites:

http://www.octopusdiving.com/diving-st-martin/top-dive-sites/
http://www.lesfruitsdemer.org/guides/locations/st-martin/

 

[lldives]

I've been to Saba and it was wonderful Very dramatic formations and sites, many varieties of healthy coral, and beautiful topside as well. We didn't see sharks, but there were turtles, lots of eels, and it was one of only two places I've ever seen a snake eel.

 

[razzle]

Did that trip about 2 years ago. Ranks in my top 5 dive trips!! When we showed up at the boat (which was parked next to QE2 in St.Kitts) we thought oh my god - this thing floats!! After the initial shock (we normally do Aggressors) we got in the groove and loooved it. What a fantastic trip. Do the land tours. It breaks up the dive day and are a lot of fun. Wish they would have spent more time in Saba and less on St.Kitts but the diving in all was fantastic. The pinnacle in Saba is a photographers dream! It is definately a unique trip as it ends in a different island. Also wish we would have stayed overnight in St.Maarten. Not to dive but to enjoy the topside!! Highly recommend it! They will help you with the air logistics so no worries there!!

 

[jphelps9196]

I dove St. Maarten with Octopus Diving a couple of years ago before they changed ownership. There were plenty of turtles, and a lot of sea urchins, but the coral is in really tough shape. Conversely I've heard nothing but amazing stories regarding the diving in Saba, though I haven't made it there personally.

 

[caymaniac]

I thought St. Martin was good, I didn't say the best in the Caribbean by any means but it is good. I've only made several dives there but we saw some good reefs that were a little on the sparse side when you count fish life, but still good. I did a wreck off the south side as well and enjoyed it, the visibility was good.

 

[divedadepths]

I go to st. maarten every year and have been visiting saba for the past three years. Saba is amazing. The reefs are all protected with the marine park and the marine life is quite abundant. A really cool place to say the least

 

[ggilway]

Hi went to st. marten 2 years ago the diving was ok. very limited some wrecks no walls . we took a day trip to saba and did three dives and they were incredible. can't say enough about them. walls and pinacles that were really cool. hope this helps. geoff

 

[lldives]

We should mention the best non-diving Saba feature as well - Mount Scenery! Anyone else climbed it? What a feeling to be up in the clouds . . .

 

[jlbdiver]

I've been to Saba several times. I'm surprised at the posts of no sharks. Man, the pinnacles have been shark city when I've been there. A lot of turtles, almost got ran down by one. A pod of probably 50 dolphins on our last dive my last time there. Mt. Scenery is a hike but well worth it too. Great island, great restaurants so stay away and don't mess it up for me

Going back this year but also looking at Statia for a week before going to Saba. If anyone has info on Statia drop me a line. jlbdiver@comcast.net