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We are celebrating our 20th anniversary and have scheduled our first trip to St Croix.
Looking for recommendations on where to stay, dive operator and a place for our anniversary dinner.
My husband is looking forward to seeing lots of octopus and seahorses
TIA
Any operator in Frederiksted is capable of diving the pier, there are seashores and octopus.
Just checking into Scubaboard after a short break while we were moving and noticed this post. My wife and I recently moved to St. Croix, so if you have more questions or need more input, let me know.
Like most of the world, St. Croix is currently impacted by the virus, but resorts and hotels are open again, dive operators are running daily trips, and restaurants (not bars) are open for both indoor and outdoor dining. Masks are used extensively here and required in all retail businesses.
Both Frederiksted (West) and Christiansted (east) areas have nice places to stay. There are several really nice hotels (The Buccaneer near Christiansted) and The Fred (Frederiksted) are two of the nicer hotels. The Buccaneer is a resort and The Fred more of a boutique hotel. AirBnb’s are also very popular here and have lots of availability due to the downturn in travel worldwide. Some are oceanfront/beachfront and most have ocean views. We personally stayed at The Buccaneer 3 times before we moved here and AirBnb’s several times and they both have their advantages. At The Buccaneer, you feel like you’re at a very nice resort and don’t have to leave the resort unless you want to. Pricey but good service, great staff, and an amazing property. Also rented houses as we’ve also traveled here with large groups and condos for just the two of us. Could recommend each of them depending upon budget and wishlist.
Like others have said, having a rental car will make your trip so much more enjoyable. There are taxis, but they can add up and make logistics a challenge. I’ve used several
Dive op we used was st croix ultimate blue water adventures. not the best experience. the boat captain was not pleasant and pushed my wifr off the ladder by putting his foot on her forehead - for not following their ridiculous boat loading process. where everyone stays on a rope 20" from the boat, you hand your fins the the DM who swims them to the captain, then you drag yourself up with the rope and no fins. I reviewed the even with the owner who fully defended the captain and basically said it didnt happen. my wife skipped the next day because of the event and they almost didnt refund the prepaid dives. I would not use them or recommend them.
the salty captain also ignored divers at the ladder to help a younger woman dive from the captains roost later in the week. seems eye candy was more important than diver safety.
I just spent some lovely time with your trip report. Thank you for helping me to enjoy a vicarious vacation while we are not traveling. I will be looking at St. Croix as a possible destination post Covid.St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017 - St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017
That report's a bit dated now, and the hurricane happened since, but it might give you some ideas. To start with, you'll probably need to pick a region, the Christiansted area of the Frederiksted area, to base yourself. Decide how many dives/day you wish to do. There are some topside entertainments, though it's not a major cruise ship stop (it does get some, though; less likely to be an issue this year I suspect, with the cruise industry so shut down).