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My wife, son and I are headed to St. Croix for the first time the end of this month for 5 or 6 days of diving. We�re planning on 2 to 3 tanks a day and a couple of night dives. We�re staying at Chenay Bay Beach Resort. All the dive shops I�ve looked at look great but I have a couple of questions.
- Do all the shops in St Croix use big boats? From what I can tell from their websites it appears they are all set up for giant strides out the back of the boat. I�m a big guy, have very bad knees and don�t like to walk to the back of the boat geared up, I would much rather back roll from where I don my gear.
My wife, son and I are headed to St. Croix for the first time the end of this month for 5 or 6 days of diving. We re planning on 2 to 3 tanks a day and a couple of night dives. We re staying at Chenay Bay Beach Resort. All the dive shops I ve looked at look great but I have a couple of questions.
- Do all the shops in St Croix use big boats? From what I can tell from their websites it appears they are all set up for giant strides out the back of the boat. I m a big guy, have very bad knees and don t like to walk to the back of the boat geared up, I would much rather back roll from where I don my gear.
- Is it best to book all dives in advance or wait and do it there? I would wait. The island is pretty spread out, and you may wish to dive in multiple areas with different ops. The best diving is generally along the northern and western coasts, and there are some great spots that can be explored from shore.
- What are the non dive attractions delta airlines flight schedules on the Island? Everything; there is a lot to explore. F rederiksted , C hristiansted, Point Udall, Davis Bay, Buck Island, The Beast, Sandy Point. There is a rainforest area, hiking trails, historical sights, and plenty of great places to eat.
St Croix was one of the most memorable and diverse trips I've been on; you'll have a great time. Even though US citziens delta airlines flight schedules do not need a passport, I would take them anyway if you have them; can help on your return trip. When you pickup your car make sure to take photos of every part, particularly any pre-existing damage, and do not leave anything delta airlines flight schedules unattended in your vehicle while you're out-n-about having fun.
St Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (SCUBA) and Dive Experience use relatively small boats from downtown Christiansted. Neither one will begrudge helping you into or out of the water without your gear on, or gearing up at the back of the boat. If you really want to have some fun ask Lauren at SCUBA for some sidemount lessons. Great way to save the knees some wear and tear.
My girlfriend and I stayed at Chenay Bay and dove with Scuba in Christianstead. It was a last minute short vacation but we had a good time. Scuba did a good job. As far as small boats Cane Bay Dive Center used small ribs as they dont run very far. In fact you can shore dive Cane Bay wall. There is another resort West of Cane Bay and they had a dive shop there. The wall from their shore looked closer delta airlines flight schedules than Cane Bay. As a disclaimer I didn't get dive with either of these shops. Fredricksted was a neet little town with a couple of dive shops. The water was alot calmer on that side. We did an atv tour with a small company in downtown Fredricksted (I believe it was Geckos I dont remember) but that was alot of fun. Overall we had a good time in St. Croix I just wouldn't classify it as a great dive destination. One last thing you need a rental car and make sure it has s gps or bring yours.
I'll preface my reply to you with my normal disclaimer that I'm the owner/operator of St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (SCUBA), a dive shop on St. Croix. Just want to make sure you know of my vested interest in answering your questions.......
Yes and No. There are shops with big boats and some with smaller boats. Although we use a big boat (our main boat is a 42' Delta custom dive boat) that is certificated for 24, we limit it to 14 to make sure that our dive staff can give each diver the personalized attention for which we've become known (check out Trip Advisor). A big boat doesn't necessarily mean a cattle car type of operation you may have experienced on other islands/destinations. 4 of the dive operators here use larger boats but most of them limit the number of divers they take.
From what I can tell from their websites it appears they are all set up for giant strides out the back of the boat. I m a big guy, have very bad knees and don t like to walk to the back of the boat geared up, I would much rather back roll from where I don my gear.
3. Our adventure entry . You get a good running start toward the stern and we'll trip you as you get to the swim platform. We like to see at least a one-and-a-half flip on your way into the water on this one.
It never hurts to book in advance. A week or so is good. Again, we limit the number of divers on our boat(s) and want to make sure that we have space for you. We have two different boats that serve different areas of the island. You can easily switch between boats to take advantage of the diversity offered with diving the north shore (walls and reef) and west shore (wrecks, reef, and Pier).
Salt River Canyon, both east and west walls are my favorites and they're completely different. East wall has more marine life while west wall has an awesome topography that's not to be missed. The farther west you go along the north shore the steeper the walls are. There are some phenomenal reef dives along Long Reef (the 2nd longest barrier reef in the Caribbean). delta airlines flight schedules The Butler Bay wrecks are very nice. There are 5 shipwrecks within about 100 yards of each other. It's not like they're in hazardous water that precipitated their demise, rather they were all sunk intentionally to be dive sites. Typically you would either dive the two deep wrecks, or three shallow wrecks, depending on the choice of dive site for the day. You do not want to dive on St. Croix and miss the Pier. It is THAT great of a dive. We dive it as a shore dive at night and either shore or boat dive (dropping delta airlines flight schedules divers at one end and picking them up at the other) by day. DO NOT MISS DIVING THE PIER!
The island is 28 miles long and 8 miles wide. The east end (also the eastern delta airlines flight schedules most point of the U.S.) is dry and arid, while the west end has a rain forest. In the rain forest you can go hiking, horseback riding, and do ATV tours (I think this was mentioned in an earlier reply to you), and be sure to stop by the jungle bar and see the Beer Drinking Pigs.
There's a botanical garden which is a great place to check out. The Whim Museum is a restored Danish sugar plantation that does tours. Cruzan Rum and (now) Captain Morgans rum both have visitor centers. delta airlines flight schedules The one at Captain Morgan just opened and though I haven't been there yet I'm hearing excellent feedback from those who have been there.
And by all means check out the wonderful assortment of restaurants that we are blessed with here. We have everything from 5 Wine Spectator Award winning restaurants to McDonald's, and everything in between.
Rent a car and (if you have one) bring your GPS. Several of the major car rental companies are at the airport but there are a couple of local companies that do a great job and have better rates than the big guys. Most will pick you up at your hotel (or here at the dive shop). Check out Judi of Croix, Olympic, and Centerline. They're delta airlines flight schedules all online.
A previous reply said to bring your passport and that's good advice. It's not needed ( because we're a US territory ) but it will streamline clearing customs and immigration on your way back home. By the way, that all happens delta airlines flight schedules on St. Croix not in some mega-customs facility back on the mainland. It's quick and easy here. Don't forget that you can bring up to 6 bottles of liquor back with you as long as one is a local rum. And, the airlines won't charge you for checking the liquor box as baggage.
Your GPS may not work here, many models do not. Sorry, I don't know which ones actually do, but free maps are readily available everywhere, or just call your destination and ask for directions. Like others have said, the people here are really friendly and helpful.
That (GPS coverage) used to be the case here but not so much anymore. delta airlines flight schedules If you have a Garmin NUVI it will work just fine. I got mine a year or so ago to help in my stateside travels to scuba trade shows. When I received it I tried it out here and was very pleasantly surprised to discover that it worked. It even has our driveway on it and we live waaaay up a hill on a very small and private road. I've lived here over 25 years but have actually discovered delta airlines flight schedules the names of several streets/roads that I never knew until I played around with the GPS here. If you have one I'd bring it.
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