Snuba in St Thomas or Grand Turk?

[robvia]

We are taking a Carnival cruise that stops in St Thomas and Grand Turk. We will only be able to go snuba diving 1 day. I would like to choose the best place.

Have you been to either or both? What did you like or dislike? What are the differences?

Thanks for the help in advance,
Rob

[Tennsquire]

Where's the Snuba in St. Thomas? If it's a Coki beach, I'd avoid it; it's a pretty touristy area and there isn't much to see in the way of sea life. I haven't been to Grand Turk, but rather to Provodenciales in the T&C, and I think it beats the Virgin Islands hands down in terms of snorkeling/diving/snuba.

[robvia]

The ones I have looked at so far are the ones you book through Carnival. I'm sure they are not the best, but I would hope it would go smooth. We have 12 people going and none are real scuba divers. We want to see some cool stuff and hopefully get some pictures to bring back.

Where would be a good place to post this kind of question?

[Tennsquire]

The diving/snorkeling in the Turks and Caicos is fantastic. St. Thomas sees alot of visitors, and not as many boats stop in Grand Turk (and most cruise lines just started stopping there). I was at the beach in St. Thomas while a cruise line snuba class was being taught, and I felt sorry for the people because the instruction took up most of their water time. They would have been better off (and seen more) by snorkeling, which is something you might also want to consider. Most cruise trips aren't very long. They ship you out there, you have an hour or two in the water, and they ship you back to the boat. Oftentimes, you're better off booking your own trip on the island, and they're cheaper.

Again, of the two (and I've been to both St. Thomas and the Turks and Caicos), T&C's reefs are much less traveled and have much less wear and tear on them, particulary in light of how much use the more commercial places in St. Thomas get. I also don't think I've ever seen so many sea turtles as in the Turks and Caicos, and it was pretty cool swimming along side them.

[robvia]

Very good info. I have a couple questions if you don't mind.

The reason I wanted to snuba instead of snorkel is that I am the only one in the group that is certified, but I want at least my wife to see the difference in scuba and snorkel. I am hoping that she can get certified later. I think that snuba will will give a much better feel of what it's like. I also like to go under longer to see things than I can hold my breath.

We will be taking our snorkel gear, so I'm hoping we can snorkel out from a beach and have some fun along with the snuba trip.

The trip the boat sets up is listed at 2 hours. Like you said, that makes for a pretty quick trip. If you have any other info about a place that might have a longer trip, I would love to hear. How do you get info about those places? We will be at port for 6.5 hours, so we have plenty of time to go to another guide if we can find one.

Are there any beaches that you can snorkel right from the beach at St Thomas, Gran Turk, Half Moon Cay, or San Juan? We are not avid divers that have to have the best, we would just like to see some cool stuff and get some pictures. Maybe even some underwater movies. Video swimming with Crush would make your trip!

There is also a chance that we may have access to a tank to take with us. If that were to happen, we could scuba out from the beach. Probably doesn't effect your recommendation of a beach, but wanted to through it in.

Thanks,
Rob

[NowasReef]

I have been to T&C (Provo) and the Virgin Islands (tho spent more time in BVI's but the same) and I would say stick w/ snorkeling at Grand Turk. The water is so clear there and there is so much to see you won't want to waste your time w/ all the instruction. I snorkeled off quite a few islands around Turks and out on the reef and it is truely amazing! St Thomas will prolly have smaller patch reefs and some nice fish. If you want to take the wife down w/SNUBA I would say do it there. But if you really just have a few hours to go out and enjoy the water w/a snorkel do that in Turks! And make sure to get an underwater digital of some kind. i also swam w/turtles and rays every time I went out and saw a few sharks as well. Saw a ray the size of a car in Turks. It's an awesome place. Good Luck and can't wait for the pics!

[robvia]

From what I can figure out so far, we should have at least 2 hours in addition to the snuba trip at Grand Turk. We will be outside the town of Cockburn. I think that will be plenty of time for us. I just got a Canon A710IS and the underwater case is due in this week. The trip isn't until October, so I have time to figure it all out. I can't wait to get some pictures.

[Tennsquire]

Half Moon Cay = Holland America (our favorite cruise line). The bay there isn't very reef like, and the only coral to be found is along the rock jetties. I think they used to offer a dive trip, but don't think so anymore.

I don't know about beaches on Grand Turk, but there were several reefs we accessed from the beach on Provodenciales. Incredibly cool to be dropped off by a taxi and to be on the reef in like 10 mins. You might want to check cruise forums (like cruise chat) to get recommendation for individual tours. We did that on our last cruise (10-day southern carribbean on the Maasdam), and really enjoyed it. Reefs in Curacao and Dominica were great, and the trips were like half of what the boat was charging.

[TONY DELBRIDGE]

We went to St Thomas 2 years ago. Stayed at Sapphire Beach resort. Best snorkeling right off the beach...Lots of rockwork to the right side of the beach. To the left of the beach always saw schools of blue tangs...saw them everyday...no rock on this side though. Huge brain coral to the right !

We also went to Coki Beach. Very clear water, we we there in the off season so beach was not crowded, still good place to check out. Cheap dives !! Drinks were 2 for 1. May be crowded during prime time. I think we went in November.

Also check out St. John. Island is beautiful ! Many places to snorkel. Waterlemon Cay was the best. 2 mile hike though. Cove was covered in huge starfish. You can rent a small 2 man boat and hit all spots quickly. We rented a car and walked. Bring your bug spray !

Be sure to at least check out Sapphire Beach !!

[TONY DELBRIDGE]

oh BTW, as far as the snuba, I've seen this in Hawaii. I think you can see as just as much snorkeling. The snuba does not give you very much line in which to explore. Snorkeling you can explore for hours and see something different every minute. Most of the snuba and snorkeling are at the same spots and depth anyway. Visability is anywhere from 30-50 feet. You can see this far snorkeling. Check out Sapphire Beach on the right side. I was there for 7 days and each time I went I saw different stuff, rockwork was incredible.

[Antiguan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10455944#post10455944 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tennsquire
Where's the Snuba in St. Thomas? If it's a Coki beach, I'd avoid it; it's a pretty touristy area and there isn't much to see in the way of sea life. I haven't been to Grand Turk, but rather to Provodenciales in the T&C, and I think it beats the Virgin Islands hands down in terms of snorkeling/diving/snuba.

St Thomas is one island that is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, so to make a generalization about SCUBA diving in the VI based on your experience at Coki beach is a bit unfair. As a person who grew up in St. Croix and dove there and elsewhere, I can reassure everyone that St. Croix offers the most amazing diving with incredible walls and much to see when it when it comes to wild live. Check out these links http://www.divexp.com and http://www.canebayscuba.com/.