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GarySilver

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Location
Bloomington,IN
# of dives
200 - 499
Haven't been on for quite a while. blaming covid. we are going to St Thomas in mid July . Does anybody have any feedback on bet dive operations?

Thanks

Gary
 
Hello, and welcome. I haven't been in years; on 2 different cruise stops did 4 dives in total with Admiralty Dive Center, which is reputable and did quite well by me. It was relatively shallow diving (e.g.: bottom maybe 40 feet deep?), good viz., overall pretty nice.

I hope you'll write a trip report of your experience. I see St. Thomas mentioned as a place people dive on cruise stops, but I don't see reports where people spent a week there just to dive.

Care to share how long you plan to stay, and how much you plan to dive?
 
I did a 2-tank dive with Admiralty also a few years ago. Good experience. Don't take my word for it, because I can't remember, but if you're not on a cruise, I think they said the morning dives were a little less crowded. We stayed in St. Thomas for a few days. We liked the Greenhouse for dinner. I can't find the place we liked for lunch on Google Maps anymore.
 
Greetings from St. Croix GarySilver,

When choosing your dive shop, you may want to consider which part of the island are you staying on? Are you looking for a reputable dive operator with a small boat experience or are you o.k. with larger boats? I ask, because, with so much previous cruise ship business in St. Thomas (STT), many of the operators have some large dive boats. So, you may want to take a look at their boat size and capacity. Having said that, the Governor still has some capacity restrictions for bussiness', so even the larger boats may have fewer bodies, but rules may change by then. Add to that, July is our slow season, but all the islands have seen a huge surge in land-based tourism since COVID, so it's hard to say either way.

Also, some shops can arrange transportation from major hotels, so if you don't have a car, this may be something you'd like to have offered?

I talked to a buddy that's an avid diver living in STT. He recommended Red Hook Divers or Aqua Action. Both are on the East End. He said the same as @drrich2, it's relatively shallow diving.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any dive shops that are going over to the BVI's any longer (i.e. Wreck of the Rhone). Although they're starting to open up, they levied expensive restrictions on "day trippers" and U.S. crewed boats, I hear most operators stopped going. So, if that's something you were planning on, double-check with the dive operator.

Enjoy your trip!

Oh, one last mention. I hear that STT and STJ are CRAZY busy, it may be different in July though. May I suggest you make restaurant reservations in advance, as much as possible (especially in St. John and any fine dining establishments). Unless you're totally flexible, ferry schedules to STJ too.
 
We are going to be at the Secret Harbor resort (with on site dive shop from Aqua Action) on USVI St Thomas first week of June. Note that the USVI requires specific covid tests from CLIA certified labs using EMU CDC tests .. and other acronyms sure to confuse. Please check all this and don't leave to the last minute like us to avoid some stress.

We chose it primarily because you can travel freely and don't need testing to return. I can report back on our experience or please reach out before you go. My wife is sure to put up some pictures and a full trip report on her scuba blog at freedomtourtravel.com in case I forget.
 
Any favorite dive sites to recommend in St Thomas USVI? Our first time visiting
 
Welcome back!!! I would call the dive shops and ask them, they'll know best, and be able to tell you where their boat dives go.
 
We are going to be at the Secret Harbor resort (with on site dive shop from Aqua Action) on USVI St Thomas first week of June. Note that the USVI requires specific covid tests from CLIA certified labs using EMU CDC tests .. and other acronyms sure to confuse. Please check all this and don't leave to the last minute like us to avoid some stress.

We chose it primarily because you can travel freely and don't need testing to return. I can report back on our experience or please reach out before you go. My wife is sure to put up some pictures and a full trip report on her scuba blog at freedomtourtravel.com in case I forget.

Hi, we are thinking of going there end of August and I went to your wife's blog. Enjoyed reading her comments but can you elaborate more on the condition of the actual beach at this resort . Since my wife does not dive she will be hanging on the beach the mornings when i dive. I want to make sure this beach is nice for her. The main reason i am asking is because we watched a you tube video of someone reviewing the resort and when they scanned the beach it looked rather rocky. This could have been just a certain area, but not sure... For instance, is it rocky when you walk out into the water to swim?
Thanks!
 
Hey Steve, thanks also for the comment on the blog, Nathalie is always thrilled to get these :)
Sorry I lost track of the thread and didn't reply back with the link myself.

The beach at Secret Harbour was actually very nice in the middle area, the rocky part was likely near the dive shop (also lots of urchins there too, so look out).
We never had trouble getting lounge chairs and an umbrella and they also had some paddle boards/kayaks .. we got some vouchers with our dive package, so free.
The dive shop also did snorkel trips (they had a separate boat for those).

You can also do shore dives off the beach (on either side).

Enjoy your trip.
 
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