St. Thomas / St. John Dive Shops Recommendations?

[periwinkle888]

Hi there,

Headed to St Thomas later this month and I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good dive shop.

My friends and I are staying on the East End of St. Thomas on Sapphire Beach near Red Hook. We'd obviously prefer a shop close by but are willing to drive or take a ferry if we need to.

I'm an experienced open water diver, but my 3 friends will need to do their 4 referral open water dives.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Jim Ernst]

I have a very good friend that has moved and teaching there after running out of work here in Sacramento CA.

Admirality dive charter is out of the Holiday Inn in Saint Thomas, and I would very strongly recommend them as My Friend Brian Laforce is running with them!!

 

[diversteve]

Admiralty is in Charlotte Amalie. Probably 20-30 mins. from Sapphire Beach on a good day.
Chris Sawyer's recently pulled out of the East End, I'm not sure if someone else took their place.

What about Dive-In? They're the on-site operator at Sapphire Beach, their shop is in the lobby and their boat is a short walk away in the harbor - even with gear. Nice boat, the day we dove with them it was 5 divers + DM. It's not a big boat so I'd guess 10 is about the max. The dives we did off the Cays were relatively shallow, you'd have to work to break 60'.

A short drive away is Coki Beach, while it's not a great dive, it's a beach entry out to the reef in about 40', might be a good shoredive for your new divers. Some of the cruiselines take divers there. There's a kiosk on the beach for tanks etc.

Red Hook is only about 10mins. by ferry from St. John also. A friend's nephew owns a restaurant there, he said there's a few good dives there also. I believe Chris Sawyer's is over there now also.

Gotta go to Molly Malone's in Red Hook. Best Irish bar in the Caribbean. And about the only nightclub in the area is across the street - Duffy's Love Shack. It's a "parking lot" bar, one of the best clubs on St. Thomas.

 

[Roguewarrior2]

St. Thomas Diving Club, Scuba and Snorkeling in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

 

[Rhone Man]

I think Chris Sawyer's old shop in Red Hook was bought out by somebody (I heard management buy out?) and now operates as Red Hook Divers or something similar.

On a related topic, not long ago I was hunting around websites of dive shops in St T for operators who offer Nitrox, and only the websites of the Red Hook operation and Blue Island divers seem to mention it; are there others?

 

[wreckchick]

Admiralty offers nitrox.

We are happy to get it for anyone, we just need advance notice as we don't blend onsite.

Rachel

 

[DivingPrincessE]

I can recommend a shop NOT to go to

Blue Island Divers

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/228144-trip-review-st-thomas-dominica-st-kitts.html

 

[Antietam]

I dont think I would let a year old post, by a self admitted inexperienced diver, who buys their life support systems over the internet be a determining factor on who I say NOT to dive with. News flash, sometimes the water gets rough in St Thomas!! If you read into this link it's obvious this guy belongs on a golf course, not underwater.

I have dove with Blue Island Divers several times and have had nothing but good experiences with them. They are very concerned with safety, and their briefings are thorough. Their boat is roomy and uncrowded. They offer dive trips to the best possible spots in St Thomas. I have even had the opportunity to dive with several locals while there. They tell me it's the only place to dive on the island for "fun" dive trips. I would trust a locals opion anyday over an inexperienced cruise ship diver.

That being said, they are not that close to Red Hook. It would be a long drive and from what I've heard Chris Sawyers old operation, I believe Red Hook Dive Center is very good.

I would also appreciate no more private messages from dive shop owners on St Thomas. Your last private message was forwarded to PADI and to Blue Island Divers. I'm sure glad they don't play that type of game.

 

[bplummer]

We just returned from St. Thomas and dove with the former Chris Sawyer outfit now known as Red Hook Dive Center - web site is redhookdivecenter.com and email is info@prodivestt.com. Our immediate family of 5 did 4 days of diving and was joined by extended family on 2 days. My mother-in-law (almost 70) has not been diving in a few years and they took exceptional care of her. We particularly enjoyed Russell and Wayne as both were knowledgeable and funny yet vigilant with regards to safety rules and awareness. I would highly recommend this dive center.

 

[wreckchick]

St. Thomas Diving Club, Scuba and Snorkeling in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Thank you!!

As far as Blue Island Divers is concerned, it has been sold and is under new ownership and new management. I haven't heard anything one way or the other as far as how they are operating now, in fact the only thing I've heard about the new owners is that they're new to the industry. What that means I have no idea. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Rachel