st martin

Hi all,

Im hoping to go to st martin ( carribean) in oct/nov time and was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to dive without guides and if any hotels include shore diving in the hotel price many thanks in advance

I just returned from a week in Sint Maarten. Don't know if you have decided on the area you are going to stay at but I can give you a little information from my experience.

I stayed in the Simpson Bay area on the Dutch side of the island. The diving I did was with Dive Safaris who I recommend for their staff and dive boats. They are located east of the airport on the main road into Simpson Bay. As far as I know, all the dive sites are reached by boat. There are several reef areas and wrecks to dive on, but they are out from shore. The seas around the island tend to be a little rough with a lot of boat traffic so shore diving would be difficult. If any of the resorts offer diving as part of an 'all inclusive' plan, it would probably be done by boat to the offshore sites.

The reef system is making a comeback from years of no protection and a severe hurricane ten years ago.

If you get a chance, take a one day trip to Saba. It is a 45 minute ferry ride or 15 minute flight from Sint Maarten. The diving there is excellent with better visibility.

Hope this helps

Talk to Vinny at Dive Adventures,he has been on the island for years.He also lived on saba and can tell you loads about it.If you dive saba without a doubt dive with Sea saba the contact therre is Lynn, shes awesome.

Tell them Steve & Erin put you in touch with them, they should remember us.

Steve