We Did It! We are on a Dive Vacation in 2020!

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Lucky you!!! Details when you get back, please. I'm interested in the flying experience, getting through security, what measures are undertaken on the island, the boat (if you did any boat diving), temperature of the island >how they responded to non-locals, as well as the diving, . Feel like I'm shriveling up from lack of salt immersion (not that I could dive right now, broke an ankle).
 
I can give you some answers:

Masks are required whenever you enter a closed space (store, restaurant, etc.) No mask - no service. I would estimate that 80% of the folks wear masks when walking around town.

Temperature has been upper 80's during the day and upper 70's to low 80's at night. There is almost always a breeze at 10-20 mph. We sleep with the AC on but turn it off during the day/evening. During Jan-March we rarely use the AC.

Water temperatures are currently mid to upper 80's. It will drop in the 80 deg range in the winter (3 mm recommended)

Locals are friendly and welcoming but remember to greet them with "Good Morning", "Good Afternoon" or "Good Evening" - as appropriate. If not, you tend to be ignored (or service is slow). Greetings get you big smiles even through the masks.

We rarely do any boat diving (but there is plenty available) - we switch between shore diving at the Pier or at Davis Bay. I prefer to do a single hour and a half dive around the Pier to 2 x 50 min deeper boat dives (I don't feel as worn out at the end). To me the best boat dives are the Salt River Canyon/Wall, the far end of the Pier or any dive on the wall on the North side.

Hope that helps.
 
Lucky you!!! Details when you get back, please. I'm interested in the flying experience, getting through security, what measures are undertaken on the island, the boat (if you did any boat diving), temperature of the island >how they responded to non-locals, as well as the diving, . Feel like I'm shriveling up from lack of salt immersion (not that I could dive right now, broke an ankle).


I will respond when we return but I can tell you that it’s all great!
 
I can give you some answers:

Masks are required whenever you enter a closed space (store, restaurant, etc.) No mask - no service. I would estimate that 80% of the folks wear masks when walking around town.

Locals are friendly and welcoming but remember to greet them with "Good Morning", "Good Afternoon" or "Good Evening" - as appropriate. If not, you tend to be ignored (or service is slow). Greetings get you big smiles even through the masks.

We rarely do any boat diving (but there is plenty available) - we switch between shore diving at the Pier or at Davis Bay. I prefer to do a single hour and a half dive around the Pier to 2 x 50 min deeper boat dives (I don't feel as worn out at the end). To me the best boat dives are the Salt River Canyon/Wall, the far end of the Pier or any dive on the wall on the North side.

Hope that helps.

That does help a lot thank you so much! By temp, I was referring to the way locals feel about tourists. We were in Bonaire when CoVid hit, and my favorite proprietress of my favorite Italian restaurant said 'my staff sees you walk through the door, thinks you are all a big virus and they are going to die'. They wanted nothing to do with us. Like we had the plague. Very uncomfortable situation. I'm fine with the mask thing.

Having worked on St. T for a year, yes, EVERY interaction starts with 'Good [insert time of day]' and then you wait to be acknowledged before proceeding or you will be called out as rude girl or boy. This is the best piece of advice you can give anyone travelling to the USVI. Been home 4 years and I still do it. Hard habit once you start it.

Good to know & hear about shore diving. We like to mix it up, as photog, yeah I can spend 45 min on 1 coral head. But some days I want to fall off a boat. St C has been on my list and if I can't get to some of my favorite places, may do an island hopping junket .
 
...I was referring to the way locals feel about tourists. We were in Bonaire when CoVid hit, and my favorite proprietress of my favorite Italian restaurant said 'my staff sees you walk through the door, thinks you are all a big virus and they are going to die'. They wanted nothing to do with us. Like we had the plague. Very uncomfortable situation...

Just to let you know, we didn't encounter any signs of discomfort with tourists on St. Croix - perhaps because it is a part of the US? Everyone was gracious and welcoming and they seemed genuinely glad to see us.
 
KV,

Congrats on getting the trip in! We were there last year and dove with SCUBA. Wonderful folks! We wanted to go back this fall but couldn’t affords to take the chance of having to quarantine before I could go back to work.

Post up some pics when you can.
 
Would love to hear all the details in a dive report. We are considering a quick trip next March and Saint Croix is very high on the list. Be safe

I'm sorry, I got a trip report half-drafted but haven't finished it yet, but I did post some information about our trip at the the link below:
US Virgin Islands Diving Recommendations
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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