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Diving U.S. Virgin Islands

There are over 200 dive sites, caves, coral reefs, drop offs and lots of colorful fish. There are several ship wrecks and even a wrecked plane to explore. The wall diving off St. Croix is spectacular with vertical plunges. The shallow reefs off St. Thomas and St. John are perfect for all level of divers. Hard coral formations are on par with other Caribbean destinations, but the U.S. Virgin Islands feature more soft corals than most other islands. Count on seeing more than 200 different species of fish on the reefs, from swarms of omnipresent blue tang to packs of shimmering tarpon. Hawksbill and green turtles are frequent dive companions, and southern stingrays are easy to find in the sand flats.

Best time to dive

Diving in the Virgin Islands is year-round but divers prefer the summer off-season with fewer crowds and ideal water conditions.

Visibility

Visibility averages 60 to 100+ feet.

Water temperatures

The water temperature ranges from 72°F to 82°F.

Weather and climate

The weather is both beautiful and beautifully consistent year-round. Temperatures are generally in the 80s F during the day and in the 70s F at night. December to February is slightly cooler and windier than the summer months. (The Christmas winds, as they’re called, usually blow December to March.) There is more rain in the fall (meaning more frequent short showers). July-November is hurricane season.

Language

English

Passport/Visa requirements

U.S. and Canadian citizens can enter with a valid passport or government-issued ID card. Citizens of all other nations need a valid passport. All travelers should have a round-trip or onward ticket.

Currency

U.S. Dollar – Get exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Electrical current

110 volts, 50 Hz, U.S. standard

Capital

Charlotte Amalie

General information

The U.S. Virgin Islands are located in the Caribbean and the three major islands are St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John and are located only 80 miles east of Puerto Rico. Discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493 the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) consists of approximately 50 islands and cays. St. Croix, the largest (82 sq. miles) is the eastern most Atlantic point of the United States and is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. St. Thomas (32 sq. miles) and St. John (20 sq. miles) are next to each other 35 miles north of St. Croix. They lie between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Shopping is very popular on St. Thomas. St. John can be reached by a 15 to 20 minute ferry ride. St. John is a much smaller and more quiet island with less tourism.

Map

Get a map of the U.S. Virgin Islands from WorldAtlas.com.

Diving Turks & Caicos

The eight principal islands boast a living coral reef system that provides perfect diving conditions. Over 200 miles of pristine barrier reefs and sheer drop walls surround the islands. There are sharks, eagle rays, dolphins, whales and a bounty of tropical fish around. The Turks and Caicos offer great wall and reef diving. The primary diving areas are Grand Turk, Providenciales (Provo), Salt Cay, and South Caicos. Each area offers their own unique diving experiences. Grand Turk provides short boat rides to the reef dives and the entire west side has been designated a marine park. Grand Turk has great coral arch formations and sandy shoots leading to dramatic drop-offs. Provo is typically the choice for divers who want the comfort and convenience of a more popular, high volume dive destination. South Caicos dive sites are around 15 minutes from the dock and the entire eastern shore of South Caicos is protected by marine park status to a depth of 300 feet.

Best time to dive

Excellent diving year round, especially in the winter, November through March. Humpbacks are sighted typically in January through March.

Visibility

Visibility averages 60 to 100+ feet.

Water temperatures

The water temperature ranges from 72°F to 82°F.

Weather and climate

Turks and Caicos weather sees 350 sunny days a year, and the island of Provo is widely known as one of the drier spots on earth. Rain, when it does come, usually falls quickly. Turks and Caicos weather is also constant, a result of its tropical latitude, with averages hovering in the 80s F year-round. It is hot in the summer, but trade winds blowing off the water are a constant tempering feature of the weather. Even the coldest portion of weather – nighttime lows during January and February – are in the low 60s.

Language

English

Passport/Visa requirements

U.S. and Canadian citizens can enter with a valid passport or government-issued birth certificate. Citizens of all other nations need a valid passport. All travelers should have a round-trip or onward ticket.

Currency

U.S. Dollar – Get exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Electrical current

110 volts, 50 Hz, U.S. standard

Capital

Grand Turk

General information

The Turks and Caicos are a 40-island archipelago belonging to the Bahamian caicos – string of islands – but they are governed separately as a British Crown Colony. They are not quite a part of the Caribbean, lying 90 miles north of the Dominican Republic, but they are not entirely Atlantic either. The Turks and Caicos boast of 230 miles of beaches, most of them on Provo. Provo is the most developed of the islands with a wide variety of resorts, restaurants, and topside activity. Salt Cay is a serene and undeveloped with a population of less than 100 people. South Caicos is perhaps the most off-the-beaten-track of the British colony’s vacation spots.

Map

Get a map of Turks and Caicos from WorldAtlas.com

Diving Tobago

Diving in Tobago caters for all levels of experience. The coral seas are made up of fringing and patch reefs with sponges and hard and soft coral. It is well known for its drift dives and there are some strong currents that can be unpredictable. The reefs of south coast are much calmer, where as Speyside has much faster currents that are consistently two knots. Nutrients from the Orinoco River estuary support plankton on which a complex community thrives, including mantas and whale sharks. Other marine life includes Nurse sharks, black tip reef sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, manta rays, tarpon, chromis, angelfish, parrotfish, and damselfish.

Best time to dive

Year-round diving is great.

Visibility

Visibility averages 50 to 100 feet.

Water temperatures

The water temperature ranges from 80°F to 86°F.

Weather and climate

The islands enjoy a tropical climate with average maximum temperatures of 89°F (32°C). Tobago’s temperatures are cooler, owing to the more constant northeast trade winds. There is a dry season between January and May and a wet season from June to December. Annual rainfall is about 40 inches (200cm) over most of the country.

Language

English

Passport/Visa requirements

Citizens of all nations need a valid passport. All travelers should have a round-trip or onward ticket.

Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar  – Get exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Electrical current

You’ll find 110 volt and 220 volts AC on the island. Adaptors or transformers may be necessary for North American appliances.

Capital

Scarborough

General information

Tobago lays 21 miles northeast of Trinidad. It is 116 square miles in area. This is the island on which Robinson Crusoe was said to have been stranded on 30th September 1659.

Trinidad and Tobago, originally part of the South American continent, has retained many of the plants and animals of South America, leaving the islands with a diversity of flora and fauna quite disproportionate to their size. 260 species of birds breed in Trinidad and Tobago and over 150 migrate here from North and South America. Over 430 species of birds, and over 600 species of butterflies have been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago. Bird watching is very popular in Trinidad and Tobago.

From white sand beaches to fine dining and nightly entertainment, Tobago has a lot to offer.

Map

Get a map of Tobago from WorldAtlas.com

Diving St. Vincet & Grenadines

The diving in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is relatively unknown, yet the islands’ reefs offer a diversity and density of life and underwater terrain found no place else in the Caribbean. St. Vincent offers incredible sheer vertical walls, crevices, and extensive shallow reefs, many virtually unexplored and accessible by boat within 10 minutes from resorts. St. Vincent offers fields of pencil corals, brain corals the size of cars, star corals stacked one upon the next. Dense black coral forests and meadows of giant sea plumes welcome divers to explore. Reefs are healthy and alive, not dead algae-covered remnants as in the not so fortunate areas of the Caribbean. A selection of wall dives, coral gardens, wrecks, pinnacles, muck dives and slopes, each with the creatures that survive in that particular habitat, make each dive site a unique experience.

Currents in the Southern Grenadines provide a different style of diving. Here divers drift swiftly over miles of hard corals and giant sea fans on reefs surrounding the Tobago Cays. Schools of creole wrasse, brown chromis, and surgeonfish drift along the reef. Mayreau Gardens, a collection of drift dives, is a colorful alternative to diving in the Cays. Each island is unique and offers its own style of diving, dive sites, and operators.

Best time to dive

Year-round diving is great.

Visibility

Visibility averages 60 to 80 feet.

Water temperatures

The water temperature ranges from 78°F to 82°F.

Weather and climate

The average monthly temperature is 85 °F and varies only by 10 degrees °F during the year.  The hottest months are July and August. Rain fall averages 80 inches per year in the coastal areas, 150 inches per year n the higher inland areas of St. Vincent. The rainy season is from July to October, and the driest period is between January and April.

Language

English

Passport/Visa requirements

U.S. and Canadian citizens can enter with a valid passport or government-issued birth certificate. Citizens of all other nations need a valid passport. All travelers should have a round-trip or onward ticket.

Currency

Eastern Caribbean Dollar  – Get exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Electrical current

220 volts AC, 50 cycles except for Petit St. Vincent that runs at 110 volts AC, 60 cycles. Adaptors or transformers are necessary for North American appliances.

Capital

Kingstown

General information

St. Vincent is the largest of the more than 30 islands that comprise the nation, covering roughly 150 square miles. St. Vincent itself is 18 miles long, with the peak of La Soufière reaching over 4000 feet. The islands in The Grenadines are no more than a few miles each in length, some flat and some with steep hills. The whole of The Grenadines total only 16.6 sq. miles. The Grenadines stretch south of St.Vincent for 45 miles southwest to the northern tip of Grenada.

St. Vincent sports an eclectic range of dining options from beachside grills and take-away pizzas to simple, casual fare and more elaborate fine gourmet cuisine. While St. Vincent may not boast a raucous nightlife scene, there are a few spots that offer evening entertainment. A number of hotels feature live weekly entertainment with local steel bands or string bands.

Map

Get a map of St. Vincet & Grenadines from WorldAtlas.com.

Diving St. Maarten and St. Martin

The diving is fairly shallow, typically 60 feet or less, and the sites are a mixture of artificial reefs made by wrecks, old coral reefs, and encrusted rocks. You should consider St. Maarten/Martin as the center of a diving area that includes Saba, Statia, Anguilla, and St. Barts. Not all of St. Maarten/Martin’s reef sites are actually coral reefs. Many of the sites are rock formations encrusted with sponges, hydroids, and coral. In the north, there are interesting layered rock formations. In the south, Proselyte Reef, was formed by lava flows. In other areas, old coral reefs can be seen below new growth of coral and sponges. There are 11 wreck sites to dive. Marine life includes sergeant majors, blue tangs, surgeonfish, blue and brown chromis, trumpetfish, filefish, and trunkfish.

Best time to dive

Year-round the diving is great.

Visibility

Visibility averages 100 feet and sometimes reaches 150 to 200 feet.

Water temperatures

The water temperature ranges from 78°F to 82°F.

Weather and climate

The weather is tropical, meaning it’s hot and sunny year-round with very little temperature variation between seasons. Expect an average in the high 80s F during the summer, with a drop of only a few degrees for the winter season. Constant trade winds cut down on the humidity. The island’s interior is also home to some low-lying mountains, where the air is cooler and temperatures tend to be more pleasant.

Language

St. Martin uses French as their primary language. St. Maarten uses Dutch as their primary language.

Passport/Visa requirements

U.S. and Canadian citizens can enter with a valid passport or government-issued birth certificate. Citizens of all other nations need a valid passport. All travelers should have a round-trip or onward ticket.

Currency

St. Martin: Euro – Get exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

St. Maarten: Antillean florin or guilder – Get exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Electrical current

On the Dutch side (St. Maarten) 110 volts AC is typically (like North America), while the French side (St. Martin) 220 volts AC is typical (like in Europe). Adaptors or transformers are necessary for North American appliances.

Capital

St. Martin: Marigot

St. Maarten: Philipsburg

General information

In the north of the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles chain lies St. Martin island, a small territory shared by two cultures, two countries, and thousands of tourists each year. St. Martin Island is divided into two halves roughly through its middle; on the southern side is St. Maarten, a Dutch dependency renowned for its restaurants, while the French dependency of St. Martin occupies the north and offers beautiful beaches and abundant water sports. Most of St. Martin Island’s 80,000 residents are of African decent, giving St. Martin Island a unique combination of European hospitality infused with Caribbean charm. One of the most wonderful things about St. Martin is its cuisine. This is one of the few places in the Caribbean where you can get a “taste of France” at highly reasonable prices.

Map

Get a map of St. Martin and St. Maarten from WorldAtlas.com.