St Croix USVI in July

[mobster75]

Mobster, are you staying at Carambola? Going there 7/26 for a week. Diving with Anchor. Can't wait.

Linthorn,

I stayed at Carambola last year when I went and it was a great place, just watch out in the dining room! (The food is good - but the prices are outrageous) We found that it was a lot cheaper and more fun to eat all our meals at different restaurants around the island. There's a place on the road that runs to Carambola right on the beach that had a good breakfast, I think it was called "No shirt, No shoes, No problem!" It's the equiv of diner food back home, but it you're an eggs, sausage/bacon, toast or waffles kinda person then its a good place to try and you can't beat the view.

Carambola was fun and nice, but rather expensive so this year as I'm traveling alone for 4 days for a quick get-a-way I'm going to the opposite end and giving the Hotel on the Cay a shot. I stopped by there last year cuz I thought it was neat to see it out in C'sted harbor, so I know that its budget accomodations, but I cant justify spending $900 on Carambola again. So.. we'll see how it goes!

Can't wait to get back out to the Cruzan Rum distillery and stock up on their fine rums to bring back. They are really cheap down there compared to buying them locally here.

When/where are you diving? I've got 2 morning boat dives w/ Dive Exp on 7/30 and then 2 AM boat dives w/ N2 on 7/31 and finally a couple shore dives w/ Cane Bay on 8/1.

 

[TheRedHead]

I'm traveling alone for 4 days for a quick get-a-way I'm going to the opposite end and giving the Hotel on the Cay a shot. I stopped by there last year cuz I thought it was neat to see it out in C'sted harbor, so I know that its budget accomodations, but I cant justify spending $900 on Carambola again. So.. we'll see how it goes!

We stayed at Hotel on the Cay last time. Won a week at a timeshare on skyauction.com for $197 and our kids enjoyed it. The snorkeling around the Cay is excellent. I met Derrick of N2theBlue when he was piloting the ferry that runs from Christiansted to Protestant Cay. I had the best time diving with Derrick and his wife Anne. The hotel's little outdoor restaruant was fine for breakfast, but don't expect fast service. Housekeeping only came once during our stay, which is the policy for the timeshare units. Right across the bay, you've got all the excellent Christiansted restaurants to choose from for dinner. I think you'll like it if you are not bothered by "island time."

 

[CobaltDiver]

Sadly to say, Off the Wall, the beach bar with the "No shoes, No shirt, No problem" sign has closed. My neighbor has purchased it, and is going to be reopening it sometime in late fall. I live on North shore, and I recommend Full Moon at Cane Bay for breakfast and bar food, and Lobster Reef for dinner. They have a new cook that works Thursday to Sunday that is excellent. Not to say that it is not great the rest of the week.

 

[Chocoholic]

Sadly to say, Off the Wall, the beach bar with the "No shoes, No shirt, No problem" sign has closed. My neighbor has purchased it, and is going to be reopening it sometime in late fall. I live on North shore, and I recommend Full Moon at Cane Bay for breakfast and bar food, and Lobster Reef for dinner. They have a new cook that works Thursday to Sunday that is excellent. Not to say that it is not great the rest of the week.

So when would be the best time of year to dive St. Croix? Is spring alright, weather and visibility wise? late April early May?
Thanks Choco

 

[stcroix2]

Ahhhh, the Best time of the year? We've only been diving here since November 2004, but each of us has logged over 300 dives on St. Croix since our arrival. All seasons, All conditions. This is a nice island to dive on for several reasons, regardless of the weather you can generally find some calm, current-less waters to dive in. The North Shore is pretty deep, and can be vertical in places down to nearly a thousand feet, only a hundred yards or so off shore. The coldest temps we have encountered are 78ish beginning in late December through early March when it begins to heat up. The warmest months are Septemer~October with 87ish temps. Last season it was a degree to two warmer than historical highs, which brought us quite a bit of Coral Bleaching...killing off large amounts of coral. Todays's dives were in the 83 range with 80 to 100' vis.

Visibility; that is more of a daily factor rather than seasonal based upon our experience. The worst we've dove in is in the 20' range, some of the best is a hundred feet or so, there are times diving along the North shore, on a clear, sunny day you get the perception that you can see down into the center of the earth. Normal vis can be expected to be in the 40~60 foot range....any time of the year. Most of our diving is on the West end of the island. We have the choice of over two dozen dive sites, from Sandy Point on the Southern most to the Deep Wrecks on the Northern most. These are 15 minute boat rides from the Frederiksted Pier where we launch. We also venture over to the Cane bay area (center of the diving on the North Shore)...primarily the dive site called North Star if the caribbean is being kind to us. It is also a kick-out dive site, if the boat doesn't happen to be making the trip. St. Croix is a protected Caribbean Island, and our currents, and seas benefit from being on the inside of the Leeward Islands. So we never seem to have "bad" current, heck, if we have any current, we drag-the-flag and do a drift dive.

Good Luck, and think....deep!