St. John & St. Croix advice??

[Eduardo]

Planning 2 weeks on St. John and St. Croix in June 2007 and would appreciate any and all advice as this is our first visit. Wifey booked a villa on Devers Bay - St. John and at the Buccaneer on St. Croix. FYI: Family does not dive....yet.

For both:
1. Dive operations geared toward new diver

2. Top 3-5 dive spots

3. Tourist tips; beaches, restaurants, etc.

4. Recommendations for private sailing trip to BVI from St. John for group of 6

I have searched the forum and found some great info. and would like to see what additional assistance I can find. I trust Scubaboard more than other travel sites!

Thanks!

 

[redlipblenny]

Which island are you visiting first? St. John has shallower reefs and might be a better way to ease into the diving if you don't have too much experience. On St. John, Low Key Watersports is very good for newer divers and set up all of our watersports stuff including a great BVI trip on Stormy Petrel.

On St. Croix, talk to Molly and Ed Buckley at Scuba St. Croix--they are a great operation as well, although I do think that the St. Croix diving is a bit more advanced, particularly the wall.

 

[Eduardo]

We'll be on St. John for a week and then St. Croix. I did the AOW recently but am not looking for any challenging depths. Pretty fish and coral will do!

This is not a "Dive" trip but rather a family vacation with hopefully two 1/2 day (2 tank) dive trips on each island. Lots of snorkeling with the kids.

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Boat Diver]

Try the Chris Sawyer Dive Center, located at Caneel Bay resort on St. John. They have been in business for 20+ years in the Virgins and cater to newer divers. They also do the RMS Rhone wreck in the British Virgins every friday.

 

[Eduardo]

Thanks Boat diver. I had heard good things about Chris Sawyer and also 6Paq Scuba on St. John.

Anyone else with ideas to share???

 

[joewr]

Thanks Boat diver. I had heard good things about Chris Sawyer and also 6Paq Scuba on St. John.

Anyone else with ideas to share???

Hi,

We have dived with Chris Sawyer from his St. Thomas location. If his St. John's operation is similar, it will be perfect for you. They dive profiles and are very safety concious. For experienced divers, this can be a little confining. For folks with good bottom times, the dives are a bit truncated.

However, the boats are neat and clean, the DM's are knowledgeable and friendly, AND Chris is UCLA graduate!

Have a great time!

joewr

 

[Eduardo]

Thanks Joewr.

Good to hear more positive comments on this operation.

I grew up in So Cal and always favored UCLA over USC.

Like to see that trojan horse guy fully armored try a wall dive!

 

[joewr]

Thanks Joewr.

Good to hear more positive comments on this operation.

I grew up in So Cal and always favored UCLA over USC.

Like to see that trojan horse guy fully armored try a wall dive!

Go Bruins!

joewr

 

[Mayor]

St John is more upscale as a island of the two. The national park on St John is great for hiking and snorkling. My wife and I spent some time at the weston and used Cruz Bay dive op (2005). We spent a week diving with a retired navy seal who was just a great guy. Nice dive op but the spots we dove were not very good as far as sea life. St Croix is very nice, we were at the Buck resort for two weeks at the end of 2006. My wife and I planed to dive with many shops to see the whole island but Molly and Ed Buckley at Scuba were so great we spent all of our time underwater with them. As for St. Croix diving being a bit more advanced, thats true on the walls and wrecks but most of the diving is in 40 to 60 feet. My advice to you is spend your dive time underwater at St. Croix. Just my two cents.

 

[Mayor]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e99/1Mayor/puff.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e99/1Mayor/dive2006cl1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e99/1Mayor/dive2006hbt.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e99/1Mayor/dive2006er.jpg
Just a few shots around the island.