Trip Report Dive Sint Maarten - St. Maarten
- Thread starter Wants2divemore
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PACKRMAN
Contributor
Wants2divemore, what was their rental gear like? I'm considering not dragging my gear down for just 4 dives.
OP
All I can remember is that they were jacket BCDs with integrated weights (can't remember what manufacturer). I don't remember what the regs were other than standard second stage with yellow right-sided octo. I didn't hear anyone complaining about the gear or having any problems with it. I brought all my own gear so I didn't pay much attention to the rentals.
how was the diving? anything to write home about??
PACKRMAN
Contributor
Just gonna chime in here because I've dove all those places (minus BVI) and also St Maarten (last summer). Of course opinions vary, but mine is that the diving in St Maarten is decent but not even close to any of those other locations, unfortunately. The island is super chill and fun, and the food is AMAZING because the French influence is off the charts, but the diving is just "okay". I consider it one of those places to go on vacation and get a few dives in while you're there, versus it being a dive destination.
jonhall
Contributor
I'll chime in also. In St. Maarten, one is likely to see grouper, coral crab, burrfish, lion fish, slipper lobster, barracuda, the largest lobsters I've seen anywhere, and some pretty big reef sharks. Of course, there are plenty of the other common reef fish. Some of the same life you would see elsewhere. There are also a couple of decent wrecks that are fun to swim through.
A difference, in my opinion, is the topography: one would see much more variety in places like Coz or Grand Cayman (tunnels, canyons, walls, etc...) In Coz, you only have to go as far a the Marine Park to find great dive sites. In GC, one could stay on different ends of the island and dive only that side for great dive sites. On St. Maarten, I believe one has to dive the SE and the SW sides of the island to get some variety. Most dive sites are on the Dutch side and I can't comment on the few sites on the French side. A day trip to dive in Saba can also be arranged.
The island itself is, again in my opinion, a great island to visit. It's pretty easy to drive around, Phillipsburg is nice beach town to walk through, and the food is really good.
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