The Caribbean is a natural dive destination. With its warm, clear waters, endless reefs and colourful fish, there is plenty to see in its underwater world. The Caribbean stretches from the coast of South America to the Straits of Florida, and includes a diverse collection of islands that make for great diving and great holidays. Take a Caribbean scuba diving trip and you’ll have plenty to explore.
There aren’t many places in the Caribbean that don’t offer good diving, but some stand out. In the north, the US territory of Puerto Rico offers a hugely varied choice of dive sites. Sitting on the edge of a continental shelf, it has some impressive deep walls as well as plenty of shallower reefs.
Saba is known worldwide as one of the region’s go-to dive spots. This small, Dutch-owned volcanic island attracts divers from all around the world to its mysterious underwater lava flows, black coral and wealth of marine life.
Grand Cayman offers some of the most diverse diving in the Caribbean and with lots of dive schools on hand, is the place to be if you want to learn to dive in the Caribbean. It offers a good choice of reef dives for beginners upwards, and the chance to feed rays at ‘Stingray City’. However the most popular diver here is a wreck dive on the 251′ long USS Kittiwake. It sites between 65′ and 15′ from the surface making it very accessible. With 5 different deck levels this submarine rescue vessel includes the decompression chambers, diving bell, compressors, 100’s of the large air banks along and other artefacts.
Adventurous divers should head to the Turks and Caicos Islands. It has some of the best wall diving in the world and some challenging wrecks, as well as some nice easy reef diving. Whale sightings are not unknown.
Bonaire in the Southern Caribbean has an impressive 86 recognised dive sites, from simple shore dives to challenging wreck dives. The island is ringed by a protected marine park, thronged with a huge diversity of fish and coral and is recognised as one of the world’s best dive sites. Highlights include the Alice in Wonderland double reef system and some big vertical drop offs. There are several wrecks at varying depths, the most famous of which is the Hilma Hooker, a cargo ship lying at 10-20 metres.
Take a Caribbean scuba diving trip and see the region’s diverse underwater world for yourself. The Caribbean’s beaches are gorgeous, but what lies beyond them is even more so!
