By Mike Hughes
Travel Editor, Dive News Network

If you’ve never been to the Caribbean, then I highly recommend setting this article aside and leaving on the next flight out for the crystal blue waters of a place like you’ve never been before. Divers who visit the Caribbean on a regular basis may have told you about reef sharks, barracuda, snapper, grunts, porgies, chubs, tangs, parrot fish, puffer fish and file fish but it’s an eye opening experience when you come face to face with painted animals such as the orange and white spotted Gaudy Clown Crab. The neon blue azure vase sponge looks surreal, squids radiate seemingly electrified colors and the whale shark with thousands of small teeth inside a massive 10 ft. wide mouth is ominous and awesome all at the same time.

Caribbean diving encompasses more than the incredible creatures and sometimes you need a quick peek, a small sample, a face-to-face introduction before you can select which island may best suit you. The thing is, no matter what type of diving will meet your particular needs and desires, the Caribbean has it all. Whether your favorite dive fetish is wall dives, wreck dives, photography, boat dives, or pristine shore dives, one of the islands making up the Caribbean should not only satisfy your diving needs, but it’s probably calling out to you right now.

There is undersea life in the Caribbean rivaling anywhere else in the world; from the blue spotted peacock flounder to tongue cowry shells with their leopard spotted mantles clinging to purple gorgonian sea fans the marine life here consists of huge splashes of color throughout the green and blue hues of the ocean depths. You’ll see seahorses and frog fish clinging to corals and rocks. Local dive masters will point these creatures out to you but as you become familiar with the fish species, you’ll find some fish look like different species, but in fact, they are the same species, just the same fish at different stages in life. Drum fish only have a few stripes across their body as juveniles, but have spots and extra faded brown-black lines as adults. French angle fish as adults are gray oval shaped fish with tiny yellow spots, while juveniles are triangular gray fish with yellow stripes. The possibilities are seemingly endless and there are just as many diving possibilities; let’s take a look at some…

Saint Croix

Called the “American Paradise” of the United States Virgin Islands, St. Croix is 28 miles long and 7 miles wide. It is home to a spectacular 7-mile long wall dive. Off Cane Bay depths run from 20 ft. and descend down to some 3200 ft. Columbus discovered this island in 1493, which must have been quite a surprise to the local Carib natives.
The United States bought it from the Danish in 1917 for $25 million and a promise to keep the waters safe from Axis maritime aggression. When you are not diving the wall, or the town pier in Frederiksted, visit the old Whim Plantation or the dungeon at the 1794 fort above Christiansted. The steeple building has a good exhibit on Carib and Arawak Indians.
Off shore and great for snorkeling, is the Buck Island Reef National Monument. For those wanting to relax, you can’t beat a bar on the Cane Bay beachfront that literally is called “Off the Wall”.  I should add liveaboards such as the Nekton vessel Rorqual travel around St Croix too.

St. Thomas

St. Thomas is one of the most unrated dive areas in the world according to local dive shop owner Ana Urh. Urh owns Aqua Marine St. Thomas and she says that she has fallen in love with the area. “Diving is very much unrated here,” says Urh. “Some of the dive centers on St. Thomas do dives right in front of their doors but we dive over 60 different dive sites. Urh says that French Cap is one of her favorites. “It is a pinnacle that goes down 100 ft. There are rays, big sharks, lobsters and the visibility is incredible,” says Urh. “It is away from the sand and away from the beach and it is not unusual to have 150 ft. visibility there.” She adds that Cow-Calf is a also a favorite with lots of canyons, amazing corals and many large cracks to explore. In fact, we dive some amazing dive sites that are unspoiled, like The Sail Rock, she says, is a National Geographic type dive. “There are huge French and queen angel fish, even wahoos and big reef sharks at Sail Rock,” Urh says. “ Our first time out we were amazed at the marine life coming at us.” Urh adds that St. Thomas is a place wreck divers will find interesting as well with planes and ships up to 400 feet long to explore just a short ride away from the home-base.

St. John

St. John, 3 miles east of St. Thomas is a national park area. There are plenty of offshore rocks, shoals, and cays. You’ll find 30-70 ft. deep dive locations everywhere. Cow and Calf Rocks are both notable as a swim-through. The main attraction out here is not even in the USVI, but over in the British Virgin Islands. You can take an all day boat trip over to Salt Island. This is the home of the 1867 wreck RMS Rhone. This iron hull royal mail steamer ship is not famous just because it tried to out run a storm that turned out to be a late season hurricane, nor is it only famous because only 23 of the 146 onboard survived the event, the main reason it is so popular is the wreck was the setting for the movie “The Deep.” If you look towards the bow, 75 ft. deep, you will see the hatch Jacqueline Bisset swam thru wearing not much more than a scuba tank and a wet tee shirt. The Rhone originally broke into two pieces, but the Royal Navy decided the stern section at 20 ft. of depth was a maritime hazard so they blew it up in the late 1950’s…so much for historical preservation. The 15 ft. wide brass propeller sits on the bottom and there are checkerboard pattern tiles where once stood a galley. Wrenches are still encrusted in their original secured compartment.

St. Kitts

Around St. Kitts, over 400 years of European ships fighting in the bays and surrounding offshore waters has left this island with some of the oldest wrecks in the Caribbean. If you want to dive and see encrusted cannons, cannon balls, plates, uniform buttons, and other artifacts, this is the island for you. Coconut Tree Reef is 40-200 ft., Black Coral Reef is at 40-70 ft., the 144 ft. long River Taw Wreck and The Caves of Nevis Island are at 40 ft. with swim thrus and grottos. Depending on the time of year you may see 6 ft. long 1300 lb. leatherback turtles come ashore at Barry’s Beach to lay clutches of oversized white ping-pong ball like eggs in the sand. On land, Brimstone Hill Fortress has plenty of dry historical artifacts. Diving and snorkeling are synonymous with the Bird Rock Beach Hotel. Swim from the beach and marvel at the marine life or go diving from our private dock. “Dive St. Kitts”, the island’s premier dive operation is located on the property.

St. Martin/St. Marteen

St. Martin is home to the 1800’s British Man-O-War wreck HMS Proselyte in 50 ft. of water sporting 13 encrusted cannons. Other dives include The Maze, a swim thru, Moon Hole, which is a crater 20 ft. below the surface opening up to 60 ft. with walls, open corridors and caves. One Step Beyond are 2 pinnacles at 70 ft. Wrecks include the Gregory at 55 ft. and the Fu Shen at 120.ft. and there are also many other reefs as well as the artificial reef created by the remnants of the old Simpson Bridge. One of the popular dives is the Shark Awareness Dive at Big Mamas Reef. Here you can sit at 55 ft. of depth and watch trained professionals feed big Mama and her sharp-toothed cartilaginous cousins.
On the surface this island has been co-habited and co-governed by the Dutch and French for the past 350 yrs. They literally drew a line through the island and one side is Dutch with the capital of Phillipsburg and uses Netherlands Antilles Florins as well as US dollars as monetary currency. On the other side we have streets right out of Paris with the capital of Marigot and Euros. Everyone should visit Fort Lois, built in 1767, and the Marigot Museum with some native Arawak artifacts dating back to 1800 BC and ceramic artifacts dating back to 500 BC. The Arawaks were culturally thriving until the Caribs discovered them and the Caribs met a similar fate when discovered by the Europeans.

St. Barts/St. Barths/Barthelmy

Supposedly named in honor of Columbus’s brother, this area has a lot of history. I’m not a history buff, but I believe the French exchanged this island with Sweden in 1784 for trading rights and a free day pass to Sam’s Club. France repurchased the island in 1877 so, on the surface, you’ll see Swedish names on signs, but the island is French in almost every other way. The Rich come here, but don’t expect to see them out by a hot dog stand. With so many excellent French chefs concentrated on one patch of land, many visitors prefer to have meals catered in their private villas. To save a little money on airfare, you might want to bring your own yacht. The local marina is a favored transit station while island hopping and can hold up to 500 yachts at one time, although 50 or so are typically in port.

The island itself is formed by ancient coral reefs and boasts more white sand beaches than any other Caribbean get away. Diving is by boat around surrounding rocks and shoals. The marine reserve is set up into 6 zones and marine life has made a major comeback because of concerted efforts. There are over 15 noted dive sites, 4 wrecks, caves, and reefs to choose from. Remember to bring bagfuls of dollars to exchange for a few fistfuls of Euros. This is the place to enjoy champagne boat dreams and caviar dive wishes.

St. Lucia

St. Lucia is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide. This island is home of the Soufriere Marine Management Area as well as the famous Chastnet Reef. Shore diving goes from 20-140 ft. Superman’s Flight is an awesome drift dive in front of the Petit Piton. The Key Hole is actually a set of 4 pinnacles or seamounts. You can already guess what you’ll see at Turtle Reef - Hawksbill and Green turtles. On the east side you’ll find Piton Walls and Coral Gardens, plus they have the wreck Daini Koyomaru at a depth of 108 ft. and under 300 ft. long. As diving goes, this island has a lot of bang for the buck.

Above ground Mt Gemie is 3,117 ft. high and there are rain forests everywhere. You can visit a dormant sulfur springs, waterfalls, forts, and former pirate sites. Leatherbacks go ashore at Grande Anse Beach.

St. Vincent

St Vincent is 18 miles long and 11 miles wide. Mount Soufriere, an active volcano, ascends 4048 ft. This is a land of black sand beaches, drift dives, wall dives and it’s an underwater photographer’s haven. It’s called the critter capital of the Caribbean but it’s really not fair to compare it to other single island since St. Vincent includes 32 islands, the Grenadines. Some famous dives include Coral Castle and Bat Caves. There are 30 other sites and wrecks making this an ideal dive destination. Above the water line is Fort Charlotte on Berkshire Hill, rain forests, and Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary.

If you are looking for a taste of the Caribbean, these are just a few morsels to get you going; however, nothing is like making the trip and tasting the real thing.