It’s no surprise, ok maybe to some, we have world-class scuba diving on St Croix right here in the United States Virgin Islands. You’ll find reefs, wrecks, walls, and piers right off our shores. Whether you’re an experienced PADI-certified diver or you are interested in trying it out for the first time, St Croix will get you hooked. It did for me! Read about my very first night dive.
Dive Walls, Reefs, Wrecks & the Pier
St Croix is surrounded by the longest continuous living reef in all of the Caribbean. The island offers 72 moored dive sites.
Most diving on St Croix is done off of the North Shore, outside Christiansted Harbor, at Salt River, and out West (Frederiksted). The island sits on the edge of the continental shelf, most notably at Cane Bay. There you can shore dive, kick out about 300 yards, drop to 40 feet and swim out a little. Shortly, you look over the edge that drops to approximately 3200 feet. Not too shabby!
St Croix Rated 1 of the 10 Best Shore Dive Locations in the World
~ Scuba Diving Magazine Aug, 2011
The Cane Bay Wall offers a great array of sponges, sea fans, fishes and the occasional pod of dolphins or reef sharks. (on a rare occasion in the winter Humpback whales can be seen or heard just offshore as well).
On the West End, there are 5 wrecks just offshore that are teeming with life and can be easily explored. And then there’s the Frederiksted Pier – my favorite dive site! Again, an easy shore dive that brings you immediately to a spectacular macro dive, especially at night, where you will see frogfish, lobster, seahorses and much more.
Planning a Dive Trip?
Check out my friends at Symbiosis Diving – with extensive experience in the dive and travel industry, they plan dive safaris on liveaboards and land-based travel packages in Indonesia and here in the Caribbean from their home-base on St Croix.
Not a Scuba diver but think you may want to try it out?
All of our local dive operators offer resort dives, aka “Discover Scuba” classes. You will be diving in up to 40-feet of water in just a few hours. If you like it, this dive will count as your first “open water” scuba dive in your quest for certification! Because of the crystal blue waters and reefs that rival “Finding Nemo” its no wonder that the Virgin Islands has many Scuba diving schools.
Who do we love? PADI Certified Scuba Dive Operators:
St Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures
Symbiosis Dive Safaris and Tours
Learn More About Scuba Diving On St Croix
How 1 guy drove 1100 Miles on St Croix
Google Maps Street View Comes to St Croix When Kirk Thompson of N2 the Blue Dive Shop first tried to map his business on Google Maps, he realized he had…
Humpback Whale Migration in the US Virgin Islands
Having moved to the Virgin Islands myself in order to avoid chilly New England winters, I completely understand the draw for snowbirds (winter island residents). There’s a strong connection between…
Travel Channel’s Real St Croix
When producer and television host Shane Reynolds (aka Shane O of Color Earth Productions, Shane Untamed on NatGeo) contacted me about filming an episode of his new Travel Channel series…
7 Days in Paradise: Shaking the Winter Blues
When you live on an island far away from your family, your friends become your island family. And their family becomes an extension of yours. So, it’s fun when they…
Alien Invaders :: Lionfish, Alien Predators of the Reef
Invasive. Poisonous. Devastating. Got your attention didn’t I?! Well these aliens in our waters are no joke. Lionfish are native to Indo-Pacific waters where they are kept in check by their…
Read More Alien Invaders :: Lionfish, Alien Predators of the Reef
10 Reasons I love St Croix
In December 2001, I got on a plane with my dog and two cats and took a giant leap of faith moving to the Caribbean. It was something I’d dreamed…
