agilulfo
Contributor
We dived with Scuba Safaris (http://www.scubanevis.com/) for 11 days and overall we had a really great time. Ellis, the owner, is a great guy and always fun to be around. We only wish we could have dived more with him as he knows the sites like the back of his hand.
The main boat, the Sea Monkey, is a large and fast 45 ft. Corinthian catamaran that can accommodate up to 25 divers. On our trip, possibly because the Four Seasons was closed due to renovations, we never had more than 8 divers on board. The crew will carry, set up, change, break down, wash and store your gear for the entirety of your stay so you'll never have to handle your gear except for putting it on and taking it off. Drinking water is provided after every dive, as well as mask defogger. When the diving is over, refreshments (sodas, beer, rum punch) are served free of charge while the boat returns to the dock.
The dive sites are varied and fun. The first dive is usually a 30 min. deep dive (60 to 90 ft.) followed by a shallower 45 min. dive after a 30 min. surface interval. Most sites are 10 to 15 minutes from the dock unless the boat needs to pick up divers at Reggae Beach in St. Kitts. We actually took advantage of the Reggae Beach dock pick up as we spent the last few days of our trip in St. Kitts but didn't feel like changing operators. While St. Kitts has 3 dive operators, they tend cater to cruise ship divers, and some of the divers based in St. Kitts that were diving with Scuba Safaris told us they had chosen Scuba Safaris because they wanted to avoid the cattle boats filled with inexperienced cruise ships divers.
On this trip we saw our first Flying Gurnard, as well as various Barracudas, Nurse Sharks, Puffers, Spotted Eagle Rays, Sting Rays, Tarpons, and Turtles. The corals had taken somewhat of a beating from hurricane Omar this past fall and thus there was some sand covering them as well as some algae. Our favorite sites were Monkey Shoals (where we saw the Flying Gurnard), The Vents (hot water volcanic vents), Devil's Caves (nice lava flow formations and lots of swim throughs), and the wrecks of the Corinthian and River Taw. Elvan, the dive guide, is very good at finding all kinds of things and is lots of fun both above and in water.
Scuba Safaris is nicely located on a small quaint beach near Nevis airport, next to the Oualie Beach Resort. While we didn't stay at the resort, we only heard great things about it from divers staying there. The Resort's restaurant/bar is right by the dive shop and it is basically the place to hang after diving.
In Nevis, we rented a 2 bedroom condo right atop Oualie Beach called Villa Calypso. It was a 5 min. walk from the beach and the dive shop and it had a fabulous view of the ocean, St. Kitts, and gorgeous sunsets. Since we had a full kitchen, we cooked most of our meals but we also went out to dinner a few times. The two restaurants we would highly recommend are Miss June's Cuisine (by appointment only) and the restaurant at the Montpelier Plantation Inn (pricey but worth it, for that special occasion).
In St. Kitts, we also rented a 2 bedroom condo in North Frigate Bay. I should also mention that we had a car rental for the duration of our trip, which I would highly recommend (unless you are scared of driving on the wrong side of the road) as taxis can be pricey and basically cost as much as a rental. On both islands we drove around the island and it was a lot of fun. In St. Kitts we also did a rainforest tour and we ate at Bobsy's Bar and Grill and Sprat Net (great ribs).
Nevis is a very charming and quiet island that, personally, we preferred over the younger and more party oriented crowds in St. Kitts. There is a quick (30 min.) car/passenger ferry that connects the two islands alternatively every hour. There is also a passenger only service between the two capital cities that takes about an hour. All in all, Nevis is a great place to visit and we will definitely return to dive with Ellis and his crew at Scuba Safaris.
You can see underwater pics and videos by clicking here.
The main boat, the Sea Monkey, is a large and fast 45 ft. Corinthian catamaran that can accommodate up to 25 divers. On our trip, possibly because the Four Seasons was closed due to renovations, we never had more than 8 divers on board. The crew will carry, set up, change, break down, wash and store your gear for the entirety of your stay so you'll never have to handle your gear except for putting it on and taking it off. Drinking water is provided after every dive, as well as mask defogger. When the diving is over, refreshments (sodas, beer, rum punch) are served free of charge while the boat returns to the dock.
The dive sites are varied and fun. The first dive is usually a 30 min. deep dive (60 to 90 ft.) followed by a shallower 45 min. dive after a 30 min. surface interval. Most sites are 10 to 15 minutes from the dock unless the boat needs to pick up divers at Reggae Beach in St. Kitts. We actually took advantage of the Reggae Beach dock pick up as we spent the last few days of our trip in St. Kitts but didn't feel like changing operators. While St. Kitts has 3 dive operators, they tend cater to cruise ship divers, and some of the divers based in St. Kitts that were diving with Scuba Safaris told us they had chosen Scuba Safaris because they wanted to avoid the cattle boats filled with inexperienced cruise ships divers.
On this trip we saw our first Flying Gurnard, as well as various Barracudas, Nurse Sharks, Puffers, Spotted Eagle Rays, Sting Rays, Tarpons, and Turtles. The corals had taken somewhat of a beating from hurricane Omar this past fall and thus there was some sand covering them as well as some algae. Our favorite sites were Monkey Shoals (where we saw the Flying Gurnard), The Vents (hot water volcanic vents), Devil's Caves (nice lava flow formations and lots of swim throughs), and the wrecks of the Corinthian and River Taw. Elvan, the dive guide, is very good at finding all kinds of things and is lots of fun both above and in water.
Scuba Safaris is nicely located on a small quaint beach near Nevis airport, next to the Oualie Beach Resort. While we didn't stay at the resort, we only heard great things about it from divers staying there. The Resort's restaurant/bar is right by the dive shop and it is basically the place to hang after diving.
In Nevis, we rented a 2 bedroom condo right atop Oualie Beach called Villa Calypso. It was a 5 min. walk from the beach and the dive shop and it had a fabulous view of the ocean, St. Kitts, and gorgeous sunsets. Since we had a full kitchen, we cooked most of our meals but we also went out to dinner a few times. The two restaurants we would highly recommend are Miss June's Cuisine (by appointment only) and the restaurant at the Montpelier Plantation Inn (pricey but worth it, for that special occasion).
In St. Kitts, we also rented a 2 bedroom condo in North Frigate Bay. I should also mention that we had a car rental for the duration of our trip, which I would highly recommend (unless you are scared of driving on the wrong side of the road) as taxis can be pricey and basically cost as much as a rental. On both islands we drove around the island and it was a lot of fun. In St. Kitts we also did a rainforest tour and we ate at Bobsy's Bar and Grill and Sprat Net (great ribs).
Nevis is a very charming and quiet island that, personally, we preferred over the younger and more party oriented crowds in St. Kitts. There is a quick (30 min.) car/passenger ferry that connects the two islands alternatively every hour. There is also a passenger only service between the two capital cities that takes about an hour. All in all, Nevis is a great place to visit and we will definitely return to dive with Ellis and his crew at Scuba Safaris.
You can see underwater pics and videos by clicking here.
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