scuba in st.martin

[mick and barb]

hi...has anyone ever gone scuba diving in st.martin? i heard it was not so hot...would st.thomas be better?

[penny3333]

We've snorkeled in both places, if I were to pick one it would be St. Thomas. We took a catamaran to Buck Island (which there seems to be a buck island everywhere), but we had a great snorkel. Saw a few turtles and lots of fish. St. Maarten isn't great, but it isn't that bad, we saw a lot of fish. If you ever get to Dominica, do the Champagne Beach snorkel or dive, it's gorgeous--even saw some octopus and squid. Trunk Bay is a beautiful beach, they have showers, restrooms, a snack bar, a couple of shops, and lockers. Trunk Bay is on St. Johns, which you can take a ferry to. Since we only snorkel, taking our equipment is no big deal. But for diving, they may have a dive boat that goes over there. Trunk Bay is a beach snorkel that has a self-guided tour. Wish we were going now, but not until October--drat. Have a wonderful time!!

[Heidi528]

Diving is good anywhere. Right? LOL. Some places better than others, but if I get a chance to dive I go. I don't care where. Personally I find sunken ships boring. Swim around the outside, avoid sharp objects and cables, etc. Whoopie. I'd much rather admire the creatures and scenery.

That being said, I didn't like Aruba. Sure, the scenery was great. But the "cruise line" dive had an interesting way of doing things. No buddy system, just a group dive. I didn't mind until I stopped to look at some coral, and lost the group. (We were a day behind a tropical storm, so it wasn't very clear down bottom). A few minutes late I could not find my group - they had moved on. I searched. Eventually I decided that I had a choice. Keep looking or go back to the boat. Way less than 500 air; time to come up. I ascended, and was not thrilled to see that the entire group was on board the boat eating and drinking. HELLO? DIVE MASTER? Did you forget someone??? OOPS! Shades of the movie Open Water?????