Mike: You can see plenty snorkeling, but the scuba experience is other worldly. It is also a great spousal activity if you like traveling to tropical paradises. So... I would say, if you have never snorkeled, start with that. If you love snorkeling, try diving! You might do the confined water and book stuff in Big America, then come here with your open water referral. Check out www.sawyerdive.vi- Chris Sawyer is number one for a good reason!

Mike:
all dive operations offer a course called "discover scuba diving."Its a way for uncertified divers to go on a dive with an instructor and see if it appeals to them before they go to the time and trouble to get certified. An Instructor teaches you a few skills and sees how comfortable you are in the water(mask clearing,regulator recovery ect) before taking you on a dive.East Ender is right,Sawyer is an excellant operation,in fact one of their instructors "Zan" did my "DSD" before I was certified and he was very good.If your closer to the cruiseship dock another good operation is Underwater Safari's, http://www.scubadivevi.com/, ask for "Scuba Steve" Ive dove with him on several ocassions and he is also excellant with beginners. Im sure you will love it and and end up getting certified. The diving around St Thomas can't be compared to anywhere else. Have fun!

I hear Coki is cheap and a good place to do a dive too. Even if you aren't a certified diver.

Matt

What about STX? Mike is getting certified before we get there in Aug.
I've heard lots about Cane Bay. Anywhere else that is good for beginners?
Any Scuba dive trips that are good?

Yvonne

Cane Bay Dive shop is popular. And most people dive The Wall off of Cane Bay.

The Pier Dive in Fredricksted is also popular.

Scuba is a wonderful vacation activity, no doubt about it, but the equipment hassle makes it often not worth it for me. I have been very happy with foregoing scuba on many of my Caribbean vacations as it is so quick and easy to snorkel. You can just swim out from the beach and take all the time you want. The shallow reef ecology is very diverse and interesting.

every dive shop will provide gear if you book one of their trips,One of the best dives in the Virgin Islands is the shipwreck RMS Rhone,Chris Sawyer dive goes there every Friday.the trip is $140 for certified divers and is a boat dive,includes breakfeast and lunch,two tank dive. Its in British waters so it requires a passport or certified birth certificate and photo id. Its deffinatly a dont miss for divers!

Getting certified here - from a discussion last week Wednesday, with the Coki Beach Dive Club folks here on St.Thomas - indicated it was a much shorter deal than what I went through years ago when I took all the classes in a pool in Chicago, and then came to St.John for the Certification dives. In Chicago our certification dives would have been in a quarry where visibility was like zero......no thank you, that is NOT diving.

Island Paul is right,even though it is possible to do the tests and confinded water part before coming to St Thomas,every instructor I know will require you to go over it again to their satisfaction before they turn you loose in open water.The padi coursework is designed where you do the studing and knowledge reviews on your own at home and then the rest once you get to the islands.You have to remember your asking them to assume responsibility for what you know.I also was going to go that route but an instructor talked me out of it.its faster if you order the open water crew pak and the open water video and study before you go on vacation,with you ready to take the written tests when you get there they can usually certify you in 2 days.It will also take two days if you have done the original course work at home.I'll do my diving in the beautiful waters of the islands instead of a pool in the states anytime.

YL,

Try St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure (SCUBA) in St. Croix, great folks - http;//www.stcroixscuba.com/. Ed and Molly Buckley are a lot of fun and have a great operation.

I also hear good things about Cane Bay Dive Shop - http://www.canebayscuba.com/.

Joanne,

Thanks for that info. Mike will check them out.

YL

I had a great experience with Coki Beach Dive Club when I took the Open Water course with them last spring. Their local price can't be beat: $139 for a course which will cost you upwards of $300 most places. I completed the course over two or three diving days, with study time in between. If I were on vacation I think I would have tried to do all the coursework and studying at home first.

All that said, I do agree somewhat with Vincent who was espousing the merits of snorkeling. Since getting certified I have not been diving due to the cost and the fact that I don't know many other divers. I like that snorkeling is so much easier and casual, that you can stay down as long as you want, it's basically free, anyone can do it, etc. I don't mean this as a knock to scuba diving, which is usually more spectacular and awe-inspiring than snorkeling. I'd just tell people to think about how serious they are about pursuing diving, because it is an activity that requires more comittment.

I'd definitely say to start off with some snorkeling at Coki (or better, on St. John), then try a DSD course, and decide from there, taking into account your finances, who you might dive with in the future, etc.