st croix vs st thomas

[WarmWaterDiver]

We've never visited St. Thomas, but we're taking a 4th trip to St. Croix the first week of May 2010. We really enjoy the laid-back and fun atmosphere in the Cane Bay area, including the dive shop folks there!

Here's a link to our St. Croix trip report from last year. Our last 2 trips there were a mix of business and pleasure, and our upcoming 2010 trip will be purely pleasure.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/le...-croix-march-28-april-4-2009-trip-report.html

We've only found the red banded lobsters along the wall at St. Croix and east of the Oak Ridge area on Roatan.

Some day I'd like to do a bit of tech diving at Cane Bay, within our cert levels. I might pm a bit with Cory on opportunities / equipment availability.

 

[nuts4corals]

thanks everyone for all of the great suggestions. I think i'm going to bite the bullet and try and stay on st croix and go over to st thomas for the wedding day. is there a family package for the ferry? there will be at least 4 of us. perhaps more if the rest of the family decides they want to stay on st croix too rather than st thomas.

OK so how about the attractions on the island? kid stuff to do? is there a decent all inclusive you reccomend on st croix? dive op? thanks again, much appreciated.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I'll bet mitsuguy can fill you in on the most current news and recommended topside activites.

I recommend Cane Bay Dive Shop, personally, but I'm partial to that area of the island.

http://www.canebayscuba.com/

I think the Carambola resort near Cane Bay offers an AI package, and there's a satellite office of Cane Bay Dive Shop there.

edit -I looked at carambola's web site and no mention of AI option. We've never stayed there so no first-hand knowledge.

The Divi resort and Casino offers an AI package but it's a bit of a drive from there to Cane Bay. We rented a unit at Villa Madeline in that area on our 2006 trip and an old buddy of mine owns a house down on that side of the island (he's more of a surfer than a diver), it's a really nice area but just opposite where you want to be for scuba opportunities.

edit - found a map - click on the map shown at the site this link takes you to for magnification (but crummy resolution).

St. Croix This Week: St. Croix Maps

look at the south shore on the east side for Grapetree Bay the circle with the number 105 in it is where the Divi resort is.

If you like art and photography stop by his shop in Christiansted while you're on a shopping day excursion with your family!

D&D Studio - Fine Art Photography

 

[mitsuguy]

thanks everyone for all of the great suggestions. I think i'm going to bite the bullet and try and stay on st croix and go over to st thomas for the wedding day. is there a family package for the ferry? there will be at least 4 of us. perhaps more if the rest of the family decides they want to stay on st croix too rather than st thomas.

OK so how about the attractions on the island? kid stuff to do? is there a decent all inclusive you reccomend on st croix? dive op? thanks again, much appreciated.

No packages that I know of for the ferry unfortunately...

Attractions - there is a ton of history here. We have many old sugar cane mills, we have some beautiful botanical gardens, there is hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, and of course snorkeling and diving... I don't think anyone in their right mind would want to do all inclusive here. There are so many good restaurants around that you would miss out on if you were only eating at the resort. I like Carambola, but it can be pricey. We have 4 cottages on the dive shop property that are pretty nice, quaint, but nice. There are also lots of places around to stay on the North shore, which is the place to be, but none all inclusive. Dive Op - check us out Scuba Dive St Croix, Cane Bay Dive Shop,dive St Croix with the best St Croix dive packages

If there is any information you would like, just let me know and I'll see what I can find out for ya...

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

This site is pretty good for St. Croix info / planning / activities etc. Click on the 'what to do' link.

St. Croix, US Virgin Islands: St. Croix Information, St. Croix Tourism, Hotels on St. Croix, St. Croix Vacation Information, Caribbean Vacation

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Found another site that has more info. Better overall St. Croix maps here too.

Welcome to St.Croix Explorer

There are group discounts for the ferry but minimum group size is 25 people.

Specials

There are individual discounts via ferry for senior citizens, students, children age 4-11, and toddlers age 1-3.

Rates

 

[caribbeanIslandDiver]

I have to agree with mitsuguy about not wanting an all inclusive, there are terrific places to eat on the island. For kid things to do, it depends on the age. If they are not too young, Tan Tan tours are a blast and great for groups. Buck Island trips are nice for groups too. As for where to stay, I know mitsuguy loves the Cane Bay northshore area and it is very nice but a lot of people feel it is too 'remote' so it does depend on what you are looking for.

For traveling to St Thomas, I recommend that you strongly consider a flight, sea plane or otherwise. The ferry can be rough if the winds are strong and can be uncomfortable for some.

As for diving, cane bay wall is great but it can be done via shore so don't miss out on some great west boat diving and of course the pier. On our trips, we now dive mostly with N2 blue on the west (nice 6 person max). No offense to Cane Bay I'm just not a fan of the inflatables we always seemed to end up on. For the north we hop around a bit, we usually dive with Dive Experience.

Since there may be a group of you looking for land fun, you might want to visit these couple sites...
gotostcroix dot com and vinow dot com specifically their visitors message board.
gotostcroix is a good overview of the best of st croix and vinow is a message board that is followed by many visitors who post their experience with visiting the island.

We hope to retire there some day, it's a pretty special island.