St Eustatius - What's it like?

[AndyJH42]

Hi All

We are thinking of spending some time on St Eustatius next December / January as a stopover on the way to Saba. Whats the diving like there ? Any suggestions where to stay? , dive operator? Is it worth staying a whole week or just a couple of days?

Thanks

Andy

 

[jefsan]

Diving is quite differant than Saba. Lots of shallow reefs and tons of fish life, especially lobster the time we were there. Dive with Golden Rock Divers. Nice American Couple run it and they are very helpfull. We stayed at the Old Gin House which has since changed hands. It is the nicest hotel on the island.

If you need help in putting your trip together contact Beth at Dive Saba/Statia Travel. She knows all the places on both islands and is great at putting together trips combining both islands

 

[AndyJH42]

Thanks for the info.

 

[phelana]

I went to Statia a few times when I worked on the ill fated S.V. Fantome. I think combining Saba and Statia is perfect. 4 nights on each would be great.

 

[DiverDonn]

Just got back from an 8 day Statia/Saba trip with 3 dive buddies. I have been to both islands before but none of my friends had. As already stated, the diving is very different on the two with Statia having more shallow sites with greater small marine animals ( and a occassional large animal). Saba offers deeper dives with spectacular coral and pinnacles. Not as much small marine life-but certainly not barren either.
I've sayed at different places on Statia and dived with a couple of operators. I would recommend Golden Rock Divers ( Michelle & Glenn are great) and the Old Gin House. The old gin house is not as good as it once was, but still probably the best on the island. I would also HIGHLY recommend the Blue Bead Cafe for lunch and or Dinner.

I found Saba to be friendlier and more tourist oriented-with much more to do, but that could just be my interpretation.
I will be posting a trip report in the next few days, but if you have any other questions feel free to PM.
DD

 

[AndyJH42]

Thanks. With a bit of luck we will have 10 days on each.

 

[DiverDonn]

Andy:
10 days on each might be a bit much. You can see all you need on either island(above water) in one day each. IMHO 5 days on each would be plenty. Of course with 20 days in the Caribbean you can also look at S. Martin and St. Barts-both of which are very close by.
DD