Best USVI diving

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

DivingKDawg

Registered
Messages
45
Reaction score
7
Location
New York, NY
# of dives
100 - 199
Heading to USVI with my wife and another couple. We dive, they snorkel. St John’s was the first suggestion but wondering where the better diving is. St Croix. St John, (heard st Thomas was very touristy ie: cruise ship ports). Thoughts ?
 
We were in St Thomas back in June, very few people about, no cruise ships at the time, not sure if they have resumed. While St Thomas had what looked to be 'cruise ship tourist port' shops, these were closed at the time we were there and we spent most of our time at the resort diving.

We stayed at Secret Harbor which was may be a good option as has an on-site dive shop as well as a beach with good snorkeling options for the non divers. A few others have posted about their experience there too on various threads. You can read my wife's write up here on our June '21 stay:

I have also heard that St John has nicer diving but St Thomas was easiest for us in terms of direct flight, entry etc. I think some folks have ferried over for a day from St Thomas too. We did not.

Enjoy your trip
 
Heading to USVI with my wife and another couple. We dive, they snorkel. St John’s was the first suggestion but wondering where the better diving is. St Croix. St John, (heard st Thomas was very touristy ie: cruise ship ports). Thoughts ?
I can only speak about Saint Croix, but that would definitely fit your requirements. Many sites such as the pier or Cane Bay would be perfect for diving and snorkeling at the same time with shops close by. Direct flights out of MIA with America. The island itself was not very crowd when we went in August. Do a search for Saint Croix on the board and you will find a lot more information and trip reports. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
 
St. John's has a strong rep. for snorkeling but not diving. St. Croix is the largest, with a diverse topside. St. Thomas has a lot of topside excursion options and shopping because it's a major cruise ship port.

St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017 - Trip Report - St. Croix Research Report Aug. 2017 This is dated; I'm told there's now a zip line option, N2TheBlue has a new name, Cane Bay Scuba and Sweet Bottom Dive Center's locations have changed some...you'll want to read some of the more current St. Croix threads, but my overview can help get you started.

I have a question; when I click New Posts, this thread comes up in the listing under Member's Picks, which if I understand correctly, means it's being recognized as particularly valuable and worthy to call attention to. But I open it and see only the original post, no replies. Is that typical for this new forum section, or did it get put in the wrong section?
 
I have dived all three and I feel that the best diving was in St. Croix. The wall is awesome and you get a good combination of reef with the deep water pelagic (sharks). St. Thomas will get you a good number of wrecks, along with the reefs. St. John is good shallow reef diving, but not spectacular.

From a topside point of view, I love St. John.
 
I will say that I enjoyed diving St Croix so much we bought a house and live here full time.
 
I will say that I enjoyed diving St Croix so much we bought a house and live here full time.
Same. Sorely tempted by that idea.

Edited to add: "Same" as in we really enjoyed the diving and the island, and have been fantasizing about retiring there.
 
I'm on the Saint Croix train. Less commercial and touristy than St, Thomas when considering the topside. Wouldn't turn down a diving trip to St. John's, but topside, there may be just a little less to do than on StC or StT. StC offers enough to do in the way of attractions/excursions (on your own or with a vendor) to keep busy for at least a week when not diving/snorkeling.

Heading to USVI with my wife and another couple. We dive, they snorkel.
Diving wise, St. Croix gives one variety: the famous Frederiksted Pier for multiple dives, mostly done as a shore dive - day and night, wrecks, walls with varied topography/features, and reefs. I haven't heard or read that there is such diving diversity around StT or StJ. Snorkeling can be done near the pier by non-divers while divers shore dived the pier or even went out on boat dives, assuming you dove with an op on the west side (Frederiksted) such as Nep2une Scuba. Cane Bay offers the same snorkel/dive (shore or boat) options while offering a nice beach for everyone to relax after getting wet. FYI, the west side is generally calmer water and offers those amazing sunsets some people like to see.

I have a question; when I click New Posts, this thread comes up in the listing under Member's Picks, which if I understand correctly, means it's being recognized as particularly valuable and worthy to call attention to. But I open it and see only the original post, no replies. Is that typical for this new forum section, or did it get put in the wrong section?
I think my issue is different - when I click New Posts from either the menu at the top or the drop down menu of What's New, I get a list of threads but don't see one I may have just looked at. Found that every time I open the page with New Posts, it has a default of "Unread" showing. When I click the x to get rid of it, everything, including already read posts show back up.
 
St. Croix is my pick. Awesome diving at the pier and Cane Bay, though they are on opposite sides of the island. If you schedule your trip around the new moon cycle, kayaking in the bioluminescent bay is a must!

Now is the time to dive in USVI. Recent approval by the St. Thomas and St. Croix governments will allow dredging the reefs for mega piers for the mega ships of Royal Caribbean:mad: No timeline has been set but the wheels are in motion.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom