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#129
Cozumel vs St. Kitts - Give Me Some Opinions
Raz - 9/13/2015 1:06 PM
Category: General
Replies: 11

Hi diver buddies. I’m looking for opinions (and we all have them). I’m going to make a trip the week of Dec. 12 - 19. I haven’t been able to find any divers to go with me so I’m going by myself. Working through Caradonna Dive Adventures I’ve found a couple of pretty reasonable trips that I can do based on single occupancy rate. One is in St. Kitts and the other is at a resort in Cozumel. I’ve never been to St. Kitts, and my only experience in Cozumel is a 2-tank dive off a cruise ship (and I wasn’t too impressed).

How about giving me some thoughts about these two locations is you’ve been. The cost for the two is pretty similar, so it’s just a matter of making the choice.

Thanks.

Phil
#20480
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Caloosa - 9/14/2015 3:57 AM
Had a great time in St. Kitts, friendly, safe island...take a guided tour of the Island while you’re there and you’ll enjoy it’s history. I also recommend a ferry trip to nearby Nevis and some touring there. There are a lot of little beach areas that offer fun, seclusion and great snorkeling too. As far as for the diving, I haven’t been there since, 2012 so I can’t really tell you anything more current...diving there was fun, did some wreck, the "River Taw" (40’ depth) and another site "Cococnut Tree Rocks" (anywhere from 35’-80’)...dove with Pro Divers St. Kitts, prodiversstkitts.com , a friendly and knowledgeable operator, along with divemaster, Terry Crookes, a friendly and knowledgeable guide.
#129
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Raz - 9/14/2015 4:19 AM
Thanks for the info.
#20384
LatitudeAdjustment - 9/14/2015 4:22 AM
The Must dives in the Caribbean are, Coz, Cayman and Roatan but I would like to do St. Kitts, it has good dives with probably less traffic on the dive sites and more history to explore ashore.
#129
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Raz - 9/14/2015 4:56 AM
Thanks! I’m still looking around. Ambergris Cay in Belize is on the list as well.
#5828
Agojo - 9/14/2015 5:38 PM
Not on your list but the best shore dive ever is the St. Croix USVI(Frederiksted pier). Stay at the Frederiksted Hotel (5 blocks from the pier and very nice), dive with N2 the Blue scuba (300 feet from the pier, 2-tank boat dive in the a.m. and free tanks for solo shore diving the pier in the p.m.). Rental car form Judi of St. Croix (Dennis) meets you when getting your luggage with the car. The pier has much to offer without going more than 30 feet deep is why a great solo dive (no current or surf either). Was here 12 days in July and back today for another 7 days. Only place in the Caribbean I found GREAT diving worth the $$$. Have dives in CZM, Grand Cayman, Antigua, Nassau (both sides of the island) and snuba or snorkeled in Belize, Roatan, Freeport Bahamas, St. Thomas USVI. Advantages of St. Croix: US Territory, no passport required, domestic flight (Jetblue or American), US cellphone coverage at no extra charge (ATT & Sprint). Native English speaking but some of the locals accent hard to understand. Only place better diving is certain locations in Asia.
#20480
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Caloosa - 9/14/2015 5:45 PM
Ditto about St. Croix, Fredrick step & N2TheBlue operators...I have dove with them and enjoyed the Fredrick step Pier...it’s a real gem in the US Virgins!
#53
TexasGirl - 9/14/2015 6:02 PM
I did 2 dives in Cozumel last month...Columbia Reef shallow and Palancar Gardens. Both were great but Palancar was my favorite out of the 8 total dives I did between Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and the Ceynotes.
#10346
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sk290 - 9/15/2015 9:08 AM
I’m surprised that diving in Coz vs. St. Kitts would be the same cost. Are you sure about that? I’ve never been to St. Kits but Coz has always been a favorite of mine. Cheap trip with tons of awesome dive sites. I think Single Divers are still around. They arrange group trips and pair you up with other single divers — divers without buddies that is.
#57
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NoHoper - 9/17/2015 11:20 AM
I did Cozumel back in April and just returned from a trip to St Martin/Maarten and Saba (not far from St Kitts).

At Cozumel we stayed at Scuba Club Cozumel which was a great place to stay, you can grab tanks from the dive shop and shore dive when you want, day or night. Boat trips out to the reefs leave every morning and afternoon. Some really great dive sites, although at times the strong currents made the dives somewhat challenging. We also did a day trip over to the mainland and did some diving in the Cenotes - Chak Mol, specifically. An experience not to be missed!

I didn’t make it over to St Kitts, although I really wanted to. St Martin was interesting. A couple of really good mid-depth reef and wreck dives. I went with Octopus Diving over on Grand Case and they were awesome!

I would highly recommend getting to Saba if you go to the Caribbean (12 mins by air from St Martin, 45 mins by ferry). The diving there is some of the best in the Caribbean. Deep dives to 110 to see the pinnacles and some the healthiest coral and wildlife you’ll see. Shallower dives were incredible too.

Some vids for evidence...
youtube.com/watch?v=BVtFSWzaxEM
youtube.com/watch?v=rBeqxXcBMxc
youtube.com/watch?v=uznsRY6ZM_M
youtube.com/watch?v=jUU7bAKi-qo

Ping me if you want specifics.
#129
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Raz - 9/17/2015 11:28 AM
Thanks for all the info folks. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. I’m leaning toward St. Kitts. NoHoper, I was in St. Maarten in April this year and did my dives with Ocean Adventurers. I really enjoyed diving with them. I did visit Octopus Diving while on the island, but they were further from where I was staying. I missed Saba, but really wanted to do it. Maybe next trip!

sk290, I was surprised on the price too. The company has given me a price that’s about $50 different on the week. The bigger difference is the Coz trip includes all meals and the St. Kitts has just breakfast included ... so there is a little more cost.