What dive operator at St.Croix? Need an advise.

[WetFatCat]

Hello,

I'm going to St.Croix in the end of November. Will be the only diver among several non-divers. Stay in Chenay Bay Beach Resort.
Looking for dive operator, need 3 days of 2-tank morning boat dives. We are going to take one car for all of us so I prefer an operator that could pick me from the resort. Drop back to the resort would be ideal.
Will appreciate any advise.

BTW, advises about car rental and dining also are very welcome.

Thanks.

 

[GillScales]

My Favs in STX are stcroixscuba and. Divexp. Not sure about hotel pickup, call em and ask. You can grab a rental car at the airport when you arrive or reserve one in advance ( hertz,Avis ) don't bother renting anything fancy, even the millionaires there drive jeeps and pickups. Be sure to snorkel out to the reef break there at Cheney bay, when I lived there there there used to be lots o lobster and sea urchins among the coral heads out there,but wear a rash guard cause it can get a little surge-y at times

Greg

 

[mrfixitchapman]

Check Cane Bay. They might be able to arrange pickup. Most excellent diving and outstanding surface interval. Imagine a dive shop with a bar between the shop and the shore dives. Really.

Dc

 

[DebbyDiver]

+1 for Cane Bay, either shore or boat dives.

I don't know of any ops who will provide transportation; however, I've heard that there are cheap rental car options on island.

 

[kierentec]

Transportation is tricky, you will need to rent a vehicle or arrange taxis. The Virgin Islands taxi commission prohibits any private business from transporting their own customers. It's a huge pain, and now that the cruise ships are back, it is being enforced ($1000.00 fine per violation). Some operators will break the law on occasion (we do not, however), and offer to pick people up if it means putting a deal together. Please check out the website in my signature for information on our shop and the island in general

 

[stcroixscuba]

Besides the reason that Jon gave (out of control greedy taxi commission) there are a lot of great reasons to rent a car on St. Croix. There's a LOT to see and do when you're not diving or for any non-divers traveling with you (why would you travel with non-divers....different thread). From cactus growing at one end of our 28 mile long island to the rain forest at the other. Take a tour at Cruzan Rum, or the Botanical Gardens, or Whim Plantation, or go horseback riding, or biking, or ATV'ing, or hiking in the rain forest. Check out some of our wonderful restaurants (from 5 Wine Spectator Award winning restaurants to McDonald's and everything in between).

We are the nearest dive shop to Chenay Bay and wish we could offer to pick you up but the law won't allow it and rather we like it or not it's the law.....for now.....there are lawsuits flying to try to amend it.

Whomever you choose as your dive shop (every one of us is good), you'll have an awesome time diving here.

 

[stcroixscuba]

Hello,

BTW, advises about car rental and dining also are very welcome.

Thanks.

Just noticed your request for info about car rentals and dining.

All of the major car rental companies are at the airport however there are a couple of local companies that I can highly recommend and whose rates tend to be much better. Judi of Croix and Olympic are both very good and they'll meet you at the airport and you can drop your car back off at the airport. Keep in mind that we drive on the left side, not the "wrong" side, the left side. And BTW if you have a Garmin NUVI GPS, bring it. The roads here are on it and it will help you immensely.

For dining you have a very wide assortment. We have everything from 5 Wine Spectator Award winning restaurants to McDonald's and everything in between. Prices are going to be a bit higher than you're used to as much of the food must be brought in, however it's not "break-the-bank" prices that you'll find on other islands. The restaurant where you're staying (Mahi's at Chenay Bay) is good, Cheeseburgers in Paradise is just down the road, as is Cultured Pelican. Our wetsite contains a pretty good list of restaurants that we recommend and they're listed by category from Fine Dining to Local and Budget. It's out recommendations and not commercial (ie: no one can buy placement on it). I'd post the direct link here but I'm not sure if that's allowed but it's easy to find the listing under the "About St Croix" tab on the main page. The wetsite is listed in my signature line here. If you have any specific questions don't hesitate to let me know.

Well I thought the link was in my signature line. Just add dot come to my screen name and you'll get there........

 

[CookieMonster]

My husband and I stayed at a Villa above Cane Bay in December 2010/January 2011 and dove with Cane Bay. We had a mixed experience but I would not go back to them. My husband had not been diving for a while and wanted some pool time before going in the water, so they kindly (though for a price) took him to the private pool of the owner to get him back in the water and used to his gear. He really appreciated that. But beyond that, I was not thrilled with the service. Despite assurances by phone before our trip, once we got there, we were virtually ignored. The operator was more concerned with cruise ship day trippers than with us even though we were there for a week. We were only taken on shore dives, not allowed on the boats because priority for those went to cruise ships, even though I had specified in advance some of the dive sites I wanted to see and was told no problem, of course. They refused to take me over to do the Pier or to do a night dive. The last day we were there, literally December 31st, we called N2 The Blue in Frederiksted (near the Pier) and begged them to take us on a pier dive before they closed for the day and all went about their own new year's festivities, and they agreed! The shop was closing around us but our DM was excited to get in one last dive of the year and show us whatever she could, she took photos of the dive and of us and posted them so we could pull them off after our trip at no cost, and they were patient while we washed and cleaned all our gear after the dive so it could dry overnight at our villa for us to pack it in our luggage in the morning.

St. Croix is a small island and not very populated compared to St. Thomas and many of the tourist islands in the Caribbean, so getting around if you have a car is not a problem and we never ran into traffic. If I had to do it over again, I'd have driven to Frederiksted to go with N2 The Blue every day.

That said, the restaurant EAT at Cane Bay is really good, great drinks, live music. We had lunch there several days since we were just coming out of the water.

Also liked Rowdy Joe's. Had dinner there on Dec. 29th and they talked us into coming back for New Year's. Was a fun party!

 

[hsquared]

Frederiksted, N2 The Blue HANDS DOWN! We dove two companies so that we could dive each side of the island. N2 the Blue was one of the best dive companies I have ever been with! they cater to small groups and not cruise lines, there was only four of us on our trips. We purchased a package from them 5 days x 2 tank dives and unlimited shore diving (best price out there to)! We were able to keep our gear for the entire 5 days including the dive watch. We payed our taxi to Frederiksted and they payed our way back. I cant say enough about N2 the blue! plus they take pictures on the dives and post them to facebook for you! ... check them out on FB. and if your in that area diving eat at Turtle Deli for lunch! yum!