Trip Report Diving from St. John, USVI

[parzdiver]

Spent a couple weeks diving with Low Key Watersports in St. John. Great crew working on the boats, Particularly Capt Andre, and instructors Serenity and Aqua. There was a mix of divers on the boat, but I would say most were the typical vacation diver, had a few sand storms.

Most of the diving was typical shallow dives in the area, but conditions were right and we ventured out to French Cap and encountered sharks - video below. Also hit Arches and Tunnels off Thatch Cay. Was focused on the small stuff, so got a few macro shots.

 

[jonhall]

Nice pictures and video. Thanks for sharing. First report I've seen from St. John. Did you have a good stay topside?

 

[parzdiver]

Nice pictures and video. Thanks for sharing. First report I've seen from St. John. Did you have a good stay topside?

We had a great time topside. It was a bit different than usual. We have a time share in St. John and have been going for 15 years. This year was the most crowded I have ever seen it this time of year. Since cruises aren't running and many islands are closed to outside visitors, everyone flocked to the USVI since it is open. Fortunately I had booked our rental car and made reservations well in advance for our favorite restaurants. A few restaurants closed for the season and there are reportedly staffing issues, partly because many long term rentals have been switched to AirBNBs.

We hit the beaches early morning to avoid the crowds. Never had a problem parking or getting a prime beach spot before 9 AM. Turtles at Maho and good snorkeling at Trunk.

 

[drrich2]

Interesting. In the past when I've read online discussions of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John has been held out as a great snorkeling destination...but I haven't seen it endorsed much as a scuba destination. I'd like to hear more of what you think of the diving compared to other places you've been.

I've never dove St. John; I've got 4 dives in at St. Thomas on cruise ship stops. We did an excursion to St. John via ferry on one cruise stop. It has some beautiful beaches.

Richard.

 

[stronj1]

I love the shot of the blenny in the fire coral!

 

[parzdiver]

Interesting. In the past when I've read online discussions of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John has been held out as a great snorkeling destination...but I haven't seen it endorsed much as a scuba destination. I'd like to hear more of what you think of the diving compared to other places you've been.

I've never dove St. John; I've got 4 dives in at St. Thomas on cruise ship stops. We did an excursion to St. John via ferry on one cruise stop. It has some beautiful beaches.

Richard.

I would rate the diving as good, but not great. There are only two dive ops on the island right now, Low Key in Cruz Bay (west end), and Busy Bee in Coral Bay(east end). Low Key has two boats larger boats, one is a Newton 36. Busy Bee, from what I understand is a six pack.

The pros of diving in St. John
- Quick boat ride - most of the dives sites are within a ten - fifteen minute ride.
- Easy diving - for most of the sites, you will need a shovel to get past 80 feet. The diving is basic reef diving.
- Healthy reefs and marine life - the reefs look pretty good and there was a good variety of marine life. There is a group that regularly hunts lionfish and in my 12 dives this year, I didn't see any.
- Full service on boat - if you want, the guides will set up your gear and change over tanks on the SI. If you have your own gear, in my experience, they will ask before touching anything.
- Fully guided dives - guide with local experience leads the dive, shows you the best stuff, and gets your back to the boat.

The cons (for some)
- Diving is guided. The guides are good, but on one particular dive, the guide seemed to want to cover as much of the reef as possible and was moving way too fast. The other guides had a more measured pace.
- No wrecks - there is only one real wreck, the General Rodgers, that is within their normal range. I have dived it a couple times, but they generally don't go to it because of current (nothing compared to Key Largo) and it isn't the best site for newer / vacation divers.
- Site repeats - Over my 12 dives I did repeat a few of the dive sites. However, as with any reef, you are going to see some new things on every dive. Over the past 15 years, I am VERY familiar with a couple of the dive sites.

Overall - I would not go to St. John just for the diving. In the USVI I would head to St. Croix for the wall and great shore diving. However, to get in some dives while on vacation on an awesome island, I wouldn't hesitate. It is easy diving and you can get two dives done and be back for lunch. Typically I do 3-4 days of diving during a week in St. John. Other places I go on vacation, I might do more.

 

[Jake 10]

This is the first report I read about scuba from St. Johns USVI. Thanks for sharing. Great pictures.
Looks like the Caribbean Reef Shark went behind the rocks, then circle back and try an ambush approach ..

 

[High Rustler]

Dove there a number of times as we honeymooned/returned to Caneel bay (RIP) over the years. To the subject we did a boat ride once to BVI/Tortolla (?) dove the coral forest off peter island (?) and the wreck-of-the-rhone. latter was a ton of fun. that was a while ago tho. cheers HR

 

[parzdiver]

Dove there a number of times as we honeymooned/returned to Caneel bay (RIP) over the years. To the subject we did a boat ride once to BVI/Tortolla (?) dove the coral forest off peter island (?) and the wreck-of-the-rhone. latter was a ton of fun. that was a while ago tho. cheers HR

I did a Rhone trip many years ago. Since then, and pandemic aside, the high day fees to get into BVI and the fact I go in the "low" season, the shops don't run trips to the Rhone any more.

 

[FettSolo]

I would rate the diving as good, but not great. There are only two dive ops on the island right now, Low Key in Cruz Bay (west end), and Busy Bee in Coral Bay(east end). Low Key has two boats larger boats, one is a Newton 36. Busy Bee, from what I understand is a six pack.

The pros of diving in St. John
- Quick boat ride - most of the dives sites are within a ten - fifteen minute ride.
- Easy diving - for most of the sites, you will need a shovel to get past 80 feet. The diving is basic reef diving.
- Healthy reefs and marine life - the reefs look pretty good and there was a good variety of marine life. There is a group that regularly hunts lionfish and in my 12 dives this year, I didn't see any.
- Full service on boat - if you want, the guides will set up your gear and change over tanks on the SI. If you have your own gear, in my experience, they will ask before touching anything.
- Fully guided dives - guide with local experience leads the dive, shows you the best stuff, and gets your back to the boat.

The cons (for some)
- Diving is guided. The guides are good, but on one particular dive, the guide seemed to want to cover as much of the reef as possible and was moving way too fast. The other guides had a more measured pace.
- No wrecks - there is only one real wreck, the General Rodgers, that is within their normal range. I have dived it a couple times, but they generally don't go to it because of current (nothing compared to Key Largo) and it isn't the best site for newer / vacation divers.
- Site repeats - Over my 12 dives I did repeat a few of the dive sites. However, as with any reef, you are going to see some new things on every dive. Over the past 15 years, I am VERY familiar with a couple of the dive sites.

Overall - I would not go to St. John just for the diving. In the USVI I would head to St. Croix for the wall and great shore diving. However, to get in some dives while on vacation on an awesome island, I wouldn't hesitate. It is easy diving and you can get two dives done and be back for lunch. Typically I do 3-4 days of diving during a week in St. John. Other places I go on vacation, I might do more.

Agreed with all of this. I was certified at Low Key in 2010 and I return to STJ regularly (my folks have a timeshare). I like diving there, but I too have visited the same sites countless times, and it's equally enjoyable to snorkel. I love trips to STJ, but it's definitely not a serious dive destination for me.

I wish they still did the Rhone trips... I went once and loved it!