St. Vincent

Dear Wetpixelians,

As an active member of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Recreational Marine Association, and a dive operator I would like to ask for your assistance in understanding why St. Vincent is not as popular (or 'trendy') as our close neighbor Dominica.

In my estimation it is no easier to get to Dominica, the diving is very similar, the topography is also very alike. What is it that makes Dominica a more desirable dive destination than St. Vincent?

I would really appreciate your feedback, as without constructive comments it is hard to know what perceptions are out there about St. Vincent, and without understanding this it is impossible to do anything to enhance the image of this pretty little island state!

Thank you in advance for your input!

Best regards,

Kay Wilson,

St. Vincent

View my gallery at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1588...mp;id=728831227

As an active member of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Recreational Marine Association, and a dive operator I would like to ask for your assistance in understanding why St. Vincent is not as popular (or 'trendy') as our close neighbor Dominica.

 

In my estimation it is no easier to get to Dominica, the diving is very similar, the topography is also very alike. What is it that makes Dominica a more desirable dive destination than St. Vincent?

I have been to your “pretty little island state†and in my experience (*), it is the best little critter diving in the Caribbean. It is indeed, a very pretty island; volcanic, mountainous island with water falls and lush greenery.

I normally use award miles for dive trips. American Airlines does fly to Dominica (DOM) via American Eagle from SJU, but does not land in St. Vincent (SVI). Perhaps an upgrade to your airport could help.

Warmest Regards,

Bob

(*) Not all encompassing, but varied: Florida Keys, Grand Cayman, San Salvador, Little Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, Bay Islands, Turks and Cacaos …

Bob is correct. For me, travel costs are huge since I travel with a family. So economics plays a huge part, frequent flyer miles, etc. Also, when I open the dive magazines, Dominica is usually represented with a vacation package whereas I hardly ever see such a package for St. Vincent.

I admit I didn't look at St. Vincent before the wife and I booked our upcoming trip to Dominica, although I had looked at St. Lucia before (last year) and concluded it would cost too much to get there. We are using American Airlines frequent flyer miles to get to Dominica. Our past experiences in the Caribbean have been San Juan PR, St. Thomas/Tortola/Jost van Dyke/Virgin Gorda (via Windjammer), St. Martin, Saba, St. Kitts and Nevis (again, via Windjammer). We usually fly thru San Juan not by any specific choice, but because that's where American and American Eagle go thru.

For this trip we were looking to go further 'south' in the Caribbean than we've personally been before, and/or outside of it completely. We were also considering Utila, Belize, and Bonaire the hardest.

As to why I didn't even consider St. Vincent as a potential destination, I guess it's probably just a matter of ignorance. Dominica surfaced in a couple of recent Scuba Diving mag articles (I know, neither the puff pieces nor the "reader's choice" awards are in any way objective, but I admit with the wife we do end up pulling out the year's worth of mags to flip thru for ideas). So I guess if you got more info out there to the typical idiot US consumer's view, it might help. And yes, I resemble that last remark. As for 'trendy', I hope Dominica isn't, really...one of the big selling points for us over Bonaire for this trip was a quote we read somewhere to the effect that Bonaire got 30k divers a year visiting to Dominica's 3500 or so...did we buy a bridge?

Maybe get Eric to host a trip there and give Wetpixelians a big discount? B)

p.s. Some very nice photos, Kay!

We dove St V 2 years ago. We dove with the most widely known dive operation there.

In summary, StV has the best macro in the Carribean (based on 2,000 dives and 30 years).

The owner of the operation was out of country when we were and the 2 dive masters were lazy, condesending and rude. Consequently we will only return if the owner was there.

But you have a more recent and greater area of concern and that is the recent reduction of baggage allowance by American based air lines. The new limit of one 50 lb bag per person will terminate all US based dive trips for us and many others. If you want to perserve and potentially increase your dive toursism, you need to gain a diving weight baggage allowance. We are now seeking airlines for south Pacific trips that still have the 2 bag/person at 32 kilos.

I haven't been to Dominica, but I have been to St. Vincent. I think you will find more people on this board have been to St. Vincent. Hard core U/W photogs would generally choose St. Vincent over Dominica.

The reason I chose St. Vincent was that we could get there in one day from Dallas, and this isn't always the case. Not that it mattered. The luggage arrived the next day. Flying in on Liat or BWI isn't a wonderful experience. Our one day of travel ended up being the longest day on earth, with the flight back being the trip from hell. Getting to Bali is easier.

Top side in Dominica appears more attractive. We didn't wander far or often from our hotel while in St. Vincent, whereas we probably would have scheduled some topside sight seeing in Dominica.

I enjoyed the diving in St. Vincent, but I can't say I really enjoyed the stay. It was just OK. Funny, I am just now working on the photos from the trip. I'm a few years behind. Taken in December 2005:

Kay,

I am very afraid of those strange Cat faced Sharks you have there. Just the image keeps me awake at night.

Steve

Maybe get Eric to host a trip there and give Wetpixelians a big discount? B)

 

p.s. Some very nice photos, Kay!

I was unaware of the difference that air miles would make to the choice of a destination - this is very interesting, and a point that I will carry to the Ministry of Tourism.

As the 'new kid on the block' in St. Vincent (I have been in business for just under 5 years) I have been determined to provide that kind of service that I want from an operator, where the diver / customer is king, and the service provision is second to none...I even back it up with a money back guarantee - if you can fault the service I will give you your money back - no questions asked... plus we try to keep to a max of 4 divers on the boat whilst undertaking photography tours. It has been very frustrating to keep plugging away, and meeting a brick wall in encouraging folk to come to St. Vincent.

If Eric or any one else would like to give the location a 'second try' please let me know an I will try to produce the photography trip for less than US$1000 per person.

I hope that you don't see my post as crass - I just want to show that St. Vincent has great diving, great service at an acceptable price.

With regards to the getting here - I recommend flying thru Barbados if possible, or Trinidad as a new flights have just started from the States.

Luggage allowances can be an issue - but the great thing about St. Vincent is that it's not a dressy place, so you don't need loads of clothes, shoes etc.... packing smarter helps, and I use a tailor made back pack for my camera gear so it goes as carry on leaving more allocation for my dive stuff. (By the way as a dive operator I have grasped the nettle and make it company policy to include rental within my prices, all of my gear is in top condition - again if you choose to use my gear and it does not meet your expectations I will refund the cost of your package. I appreciate that you may want to keep a few pounds off your allowance by using some rental equipment).

I am not trying to toot my own horn, I just want to raise awareness of how I believe divers should be treated when they choose to spend their hard earned cash coming to an out of the way place to dive.

You have high expectations of your vacation, all I want to do is meet them.

Thanks again for your feed back, it is greatly appreciated, and glad that you liked my pictures! I have owned a compact camera for about 2 years, and I don't get the opportunity to shoot as often as I would like!

All the best,

Kay Wilson,

Indigo Dive,

St. Vincent.

Kay,

 

I am very afraid of those strange Cat faced Sharks you have there. Just the image keeps me awake at night.

 

Steve

Don't worry....they don't bite unless molested!

A friend sent the picture to me - it made me laugh, but maybe I should change to my new favorite fish...the very friendly looking tessilated blenny... ahhhhh!

...But you have a more recent and greater area of concern and that is the recent reduction of baggage allowance by American based air lines. The new limit of one 50 lb bag per person will terminate all US based dive trips for us and many others. If you want to perserve and potentially increase your dive toursism, you need to gain a diving weight baggage allowance. We are now seeking airlines for south Pacific trips that still have the 2 bag/person at 32 kilos....

Okuma, where did you hear this??? I just checked AA.com for example, and they're still showing 50lbs per bag, up to 2 (up to $70/bag with a charge, max 3 per itenerary), and 40 lbs for the carryon:

http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/tra...r%20of%20Pieces

For the American Eagle flights, the restriction was always a bit tighter at 70 lbs total for the 2 checked bags, or at least that's what was quoted to me by the agent on the phone when I booked. But I've never (including today) been able to find that on their website. So if you've heard about new restrictions, can you tell us where from?

Kay: I don't think you're being crass at all. I think you're doing the right thing by asking your potential customers what motivates them. I don't mind a bit, and in fact do now have StV on my future list of sites to consider.

Don't worry....they don't bite unless molested!

A friend sent the picture to me - it made me laugh, but maybe I should change to my new favorite fish...the very friendly looking tessilated blenny... ahhhhh!

As to the avatar you use, I guess one has to do whatever makes one happy, but I much prefer the blenny. I've always appreciated strong intelligent women, but that image scares the heck out of me.

Steve

Okuma, where did you hear this??? I just checked AA.com for example, and they're still showing 50lbs per bag, up to 2 (up to $70/bag with a charge, max 3 per itenerary), and 40 lbs for the carryon:

 

United Air Site

Tickets purchased on or after February 4, 2008, for travel on or after May 5, 2008:

Mileage Plus status / Type of ticket Free bag allowance Maximum weight

Non-members or General Members of Mileage Plus on non-refundable Economy fares or Economy Saver Award Tickets 1 50 lbs/23kg

okuma:

Yeah, United did do that...Norb posted about it some time ago. But so far, no other US carriers have followed suit to my knowledge. I hope that pattern sticks!!!

Kay,

I wanted to post what its like for me when I travel from the US and it doesn't always boil down to price. Here's what I look for:

1. Reasonable Airfare to/from for 4.

2. Kids Club- This is such a big deal to us because it allows us to pursue the sport we love and have our kids enterained for a few hours while we do that.

3. Dive packages - paying ala carte can get pricey.

4. All-inclusive - Not big on most peoples list but with a family of 4, not having that added expense of food/drinks is big.

5. Good rates for non-divers/children as we'll often invite other family along.

I went to St. Vincent in 2003 with a well known tour organizer. Had a wonderful 10-day dive trip and saw lots of cool critters. We stayed at the rooms at the Lagoon Marina and Hotel and had family-style meals prepared for us and ate fairly well (only complaint I had was that they couldn't seem to find us bananas to eat, though the island exports most of the bananas eaten in the entire region). In addition, I had the best hot sauce there I've ever had (Kay -- if you can arrange for a case of Bowman's to be delivered to the States, you might make several lifelong friends . . .).

Unfortunately, the operator we went with went out of business shortly thereafter and I prefer not to dive with the "most widely known" operator there. I've checked back periodically with the tour organizer who guided our trip there in 2003 and unfortunately the response I get is that it is very hard to find accommodations that are both priced well and good for groups, it is hard to find accommodations that can provide good food at a decent price and it is hard to arrange a good dive tour that can give a group of photographers enough freedom and enough room. Maybe it is different for a smaller group of travelers but I don't know. It's a shame because I know they would like to go back and I'd love to accompany them!

When I went, it wasn't really all that hard to get there -- flew American into Barbados (I think I went out of JFK, if memory serves) and some other small airline into SVG. Not sure what the new luggage restrictions to the process. I'm also intrigued by Dominica. I was looking to find a trip that would allow me to dive a lot and some friends to tag along and do other things (hike, kayak, etc.), but I had trouble getting good information about anything other than the large hotels there. I was also put off by having to fly through San Juan.

Mike

I've checked back periodically with the tour organizer who guided our trip there in 2003 and unfortunately the response I get is that it is very hard to find accommodations that are both priced well and good for groups, it is hard to find accommodations that can provide good food at a decent price and it is hard to arrange a good dive tour that can give a group of photographers enough freedom and enough room.

Mike,

Thanks for the feed back - I know the organiser in question, and I have been speaking with her on and off for a number of years. She would like to bring a big group, and working with a colleagues in the industry (from the other islands) we could accomodate larger groups. However as an operator I am reticent about working with large groups and their leaders for a number of reasons - which I won't go into here. Suffice to say if you wanted to come to St. Vincent with a small group - 4 to 6 folks I would guarantee you an awesome time, lots of diving, good food and great photo ops. I am sure that you would prefer one guide per 2 - 3 divers, and bottoms times to suit you.

If you drop me a line I would be happy to tailor something for you.

Kay

PS I used to be the food and beverage manager (just before I made the move in to diving) at the Lagoon Marina Hotel, so we may have met on your last trip to St. Vincent!