Looking for recommendations for a shop to do his open water dives.
St. Croix is a great place for your grandson to be certified. All of the dive shops here have great reputations, so you can't make a wrong choice. If you know where you will be staying on the island, that will help you narrow down your choices as you don't have to choose a dive shop on the other side of the island as you'll have good choices no matter what area you stay in .
St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (SCUBA) has dive shops and boats in both Christiansted and Frederiksted giving you flexibility no matter where you are staying. I've dived with them many times and continue to do so (I live on the east end, so Christiansted dive shops/boats are the closest to me.
Cane Bay Dive Shop is located in Frederiksted, but they have their boat at Salt River which is convenient to some of the best diving on the north/northwest side of the island.
Sweetbottom Dive Center is located at Cane Bay and conducts their certifications via shore dives from Cane Bay right outside their shop. Water entries are easy, as is the diving at Cane Bay, so could be a good choice for a new diver who may be nervous about the experience as its about as easy diving as you can get.
Dive Experience is another Christiansted based dive shop who also has their own boats. I have yet to dive with them yet, but they also have a good reputation and loyal following.
As mentioned earlier, Nep2une Scuba is another good option based out of Frederiksted.
The diving in February is great, as it is pretty much year round here. Water temps will be in the upper 70's and while weather is unpredictable, its generally very nice this time of year and not so hot like it is in the summertime.
If you can, try to dive different parts of the island. When in Frederiksted, I prefer shore diving at the pier as its commonly listed as one of the best shore dives in the world and I can normally see every species of marine life you can find elsewhere from sea horses to large schools of tarpon. Also like shore diving Cane Bay, as its an easy dive and you can swim out to the wall. When diving around Christiansted and the north reefs and walls, its boat diving. Boat rides are generally easy and short (less than 30 minutes). Weather is rarely an issue or consideration when diving. Rarely are dives canceled due to weather and when they are, shops can often accommodate you with diving at another spot on the island the same day.
Since we still live a world of Covid, here is a link to the latest travel requirements to get here -
USVI Update | Your Source of news from the U.S. Virgin Islands. We currently require a negative covid test within 72 hours of travel to the USVI's. Not a big deal, but may take some coordination with some mainland testing sites backed up. We also are still required to wear masks in businesses and when entering/exiting restaurants. We were one of the hardest hit places in the world with the latest strain, but our positive cases appeared to peak a week ago and things seem to be headed back in the right direction.
