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Originally posted to rec.scuba
Diving on St. Martin by Jim Blair
I often see posted requests for information about diving on St. Martin. Most responses put down St. Martin and suggest a trip to Saba instead. In my opinion, diving on St.Martin is not great but it is worth doing if you are there. I have been there 5 times, for a total of 8 weeks, over the last 7 years, and have done about 20 dives there. My most recent trip was for two weeks in January of 1998, my first time there since the island suffered extensive damage from hurricane Erica in September, 1997.
On my trips to St. Martin, I have stayed at the Marine hotel 3 times and at the Nettle Bay Beach Club (across the street) twice; both are on the strip of land that extends to Rouge beach between Simpson lagoon and the ocean, at the west edge of Marigot (on the French side). The north half of the island is French St. Martin, the south half is Dutch Sint Maarten. See Map
I will describe my most recent trip and the changes that I noticed since the hurricane. The Nettle Bay Beach Club is operating as before, La Belle Creole is closed, and the Marine Hotel has been renamed Mercure. It still has a dive shop, now named Sea Horse (changed from Scuba Lou). La Flamboyant, next door on the lagoon, now has its dive shop (Sea Dolphin) and they run day long 3 dive trips to Saba. Blue Ocean, formerly at La Belle Creole, now has their office in the little shoping center between the Royal Beach Hotel and the Nettle Bay Beach Club, and their dive boat is on Simpson lagoon just a hundred yards or so east of Sea Dolphin. They also have day trips to Saba.
Thus 3 dive boats all within a short distance along Simpson Lagoon, and very convenient for anyone staying at any of the four hotels around there. (The 5th hotel, Laguna Beach, has since become a condo complex, and La Belle Creole a short distance to the west is closed).
The dive shop fax numbers and links:
BLUE OCEAN = (590)-87-2636
SEA DOLPHIN = (590)-87-6073
SEA HORSE = (590)-87-8474
Ocean Explorers
And a Dive Site Map of the Island.
I have done dives with Blue Ocean and Sea Horse, and both go to either side of the island, using the two canals (with bridges) to Simpson lagoon to cross over.
Several dive sites are off Phillipsburg, which can be in choppy water with currents. But, there are some little wrecks and nice coral. The best dive for beginners is a tug boat wreck Anny, in sheltered 25-30 foot water depth just outside the lagoon, beside the airport runway. There is a near by pile of construction debris, which is done as another dive--it's a moderately good dive with lots of fish and also very easy. There is nice snorkeling and also pretty good diving at Creole Rock, and a good dive site near by off the beach at Grand Case(gran kaas), off the French side.
Snorkeling is good at the near by island of Pinel, and sometimes it's good at Baie Rouge (near La Belle Creole), too. One time I saw a 4 ft barracuda there, but on the last trip the snorkeling was not very good at either Pinel or Baie Rouge.
In the past, aluminum tanks were used and I needed 12 -14 pounds of lead. But on this trip Sea Horse had new steel tanks and I found that I needed only 4 kg (8.8 pounds). This while wearing a shortie wet suit top. (Many other divers wear a full wet suit, but I find a top adequate; see the second picture in the Pictures of St. Croix section for me in my diving gear.
On the recent trip we went to several sites that were new to me. There was a nice one off of the Saphire Club at Cupecoy Bay that reminded me of the Monks Bath area on St. Croix: only about 30 ft deep, but a shelf with lots of caves and a sandy bottom to one side and coral on the other side. There is the wreck of a large barge named Gregory that is upside-down where the dive boat anchored. I have often seen sting rays on the sandy bottom side at Monks Bath, but there were none here.
One reason the diving on St. Martin is more expensive for me is that all three of these dive shops charge the same rate whether or not the divers have their own gear. They charge $40 to $50 per tank and provide all gear; about the same as the St. Croix shops for the same service. But on St. Croix it is only about $30 per tank if they provide only the tank, weights and boat ride. But Blue Ocean indicated that they may offer a lower rate next season for divers who have their own gear.
And of course the other (and main) reason that St. Croix diving is less expensive is that there are many good shore dives. A tank rental there was just $40 per week, and that included a refill everyday. If you know where the good shore dives are (and I do), diving St. Croix is both better and cheaper.
The diving is especially more diverse, on St. Croix, USVI. I have been there 17 times and have resumed my trips there now that the island is back to normal after Hurricane Hugo. My wife likes St. Martin better than St. Croix because of the casinos, which St. Croix does not have. On St. Croix there are many good shore dives and I know where they are and how to dive them. If you have any interest in one of my trips there, let me know.
But it is so much more relaxing for me to go to St, Martin, that inspite of the higher costs and only moderate quality diving on St Martin, I may return there in the future. St Croix has better diving and is a less expensive trip, but to dive there I need to take several other divers with me. And often that is a problem.
Three of the hotels west of Maigot have kitchens and this can be a big advantage since the restaurants are rather pricy by Madison standards. But the food is excellent. It is an advantage to stay in this area since you don't need a car. Driving on the island is very difficult, the roads are really bad and parking spaces hard to find. But there are three dive boats, a shopping center and about 10 restaurants all within a short walk. Day bus trips leave from various hotels to Orient (the famous nude) Beach, Pinel, Gran Case, and Phillipsburg. Many of the casinos have bus transportation that picks people up at the hotels, and the hotels usually have entertainment in the evening. A steel band, singer or dance show.
So you don't need a car. I rented one for a day on my first trip there and have not done it again.
It helps to speak a little French if you stay on that side. The tap water on the island is execllent, but since the water in France has historically been bad, they have the custom of drinking bottled water. If you ASK for "water" in a restaurant, you will get a bottle for a couple of dollars. But if you say "un ver doe" you will get a glass of tap water. For two glasses, it is "doo ver doe".
While English is common on St. Martin, there have always been groups who speak only Spanish. They are mostly tourists from Argentina, and most stay at Nettle Bay Beach Club. Le Flamboyant is popular with Americans and Canadians, while Marine (now Mercure) is mostly French. The dive crews and most divers speak French, but they know enough English that talking to them is no problem (I can read some technical French but cannot converse in it). This is the first trip there where I heard many people speaking Italian. On one dive 4 of 8 divers spoke Italian. Since the crew and divemaster did not speak Italian, and the Italians did not speak French, all the instructions were in English, the only language that we could all use.
While food is relatively expensive, Meyers Dark Jamacian rum was $7 a liter, and a bottle of 1995 Saint-Georges de Reneins beaujolais was only 28.5 ff (or about $4.50). Prices are in either French francs (ff), or US dollars. Dollars were always accepted, but the exchange rate varied.
All of the casinos are on the Dutch side. Dutch is the official language, and guilders the official currency. While I heard much French and saw many signs in French, I never heard any Dutch or saw any signs in Dutch. I never saw a price in guilders.
Many women go topless on the beaches or around the swimming pools on the French
side, but I didn't see any on the Dutch side. Reason enough to stay on the French side :-)
For more about the island, see
Eric Dubois-Millot
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