Looking for place/sharing in St. Croix or Caymans early/mid June or anywhere

[freedc]

Hi, I just found this thread and am planning a trip in early July to St. Croix. I hope it's ok if I add my questions...

I would love any advice on where to go with an inexperienced diver (my son, age 13). We strongly prefer shore dives because of weak stomachs and he's only done a few ocean and a few quarry dives in addition to his Jr. OW dives.

Many years ago on an earlier visit when my son was a toddler I dove Cane Bay. I did not mind the swimout at all, so I plan to take him on that one once or twice.

I also dove F'sted Pier at night on my earlier visit, but I'm not sure I want to do that with a jr. open water diver. Is the daytime diving there any good?

Any other good shore diving sites on St. Croix? We'll have a car.

Finally, we may take our bonine and do a boat dive, so which would be the best shop and site for a <60 ft. dive?

Thanks to anyone who might have advice.

 

[They call me Tater]

The pier is also great by day. You can do very short boat rides to shallow sites like the 'swirling reef of death'.

For shore diving check with Tim at Sweet Bottom and for boats N2the Blue. Both will dive the pier but N2 is pretty convienent. Both are great shops.

 

[swim deep]

We love St Croix, and have been several times. The shore diving at Cane Bay is beautiful, easy, and I didn't think it was a long swim out. We did it over and over and didn't ever get bored with it. Cane Bay Divers is right there and will provide a guide if you want one. They also have boat dives. Carambola was beautiful, convenient, and the stay there was great with a large room, comfortable for our family of 4. Cane Bay Divers also has cottages. Fredrickstead Pier is a nice, very easy, dive day and night.

 

[drrich2]

Freedc:

I've been researching St. Croix; from that, a few observations:

The west coast (where Frederiksted is) is the leeward part of the island, likely to have the calmest water, but that time of year (summer) I think the north shore (where Cane Bay and Davis Bay are) will likely be nice enough for shore diving.

The main west coast shore dive site is Frederiksted Pier, day or night, said to be different experiences.

You've dove Cane Bay; well, Davis Bay, where Sweet Bottom Dive Center is located at Renaissance Carambola Resort, is said to have nice shore diving with a shorter swim-out than Cane Bay. If you stay there, it's a more isolated location than staying at Christiansted or Frederiksted.

St. Croix is not a huge island. Unless you want to dive the pier multiple times, given that you're both divers, you could stay near Cane Bay or at Carambola Resort (not the cheapest option on St. Croix, but decide if it's worth it to you) for most of your shore diving, and drop down to Frederiksted for some pier diving.

In fact, you might book an ATV tour with Gecko Adventures since they start & end there; get a dive after your ATV tour to see the island.

Richard.

 

[TN Traveler]

As a part time resident of St Croix and having had the pleasure to dive the shore diving sites (all around the Caribbean) I can say that the Pier is one of the most interesting sites you can dive. It is easy entry and the exit on the beach is a probably easier than Bonaire with its ironshore. Much of the pier is in 20-25 ft and is very, very colorful but mostly small stuff. The area has sea horses, garden eel colonies, jaw fish (got to look hard for these), scorpion fish, etc.. At night, there are lots of octopus running around. The end of the pier is in 90 ft of water but is a long swim out and back - but you never know what you will find. You actually can walk out to the far end and then just swim back - deep to shallow. Also there are 2 "dolfins" off to the side (used for tying up on the old pier) that often hold surprises. From May until November there are no cruise ships, so you can dive the Pier any time.

Davis Bay (Carambola) is a shorter swim out than Cane Bay. The wall there can be a surprise - normally a few small sharks and all the usual characters. There is a good "spur and groove" formation - lots of crevices to look into. Exits can be a little trickier since there is normally more wave action on the North Shore - but it is normally not bad, just not as easy as the Pier on the West End.

If you can do a boat dive - try and find one going to where Salt River meets the wall. No telling what will show up there, depending upon the time of year - but if the wind is up (over 14 mph), it can be a rough boat ride.

The hidden gem to the island is the food. The restaurants in Christiansted and the East End are amazing. For a "non-tourist" island, it offers everything but night life.

It takes 45 minutes to drive from the East End to West End - roads are pretty good for a Caribbean island - lots of small potholes - but there is now a bypass around Christiansted and a section of 4 lane from mid island to the West End.

Wife and I spent 15 years traveling the Islands and have settled on St Croix for our 2nd/retirement home. Just returned from 2 delightful weeks (and we are already wanting to get back).