Diving the island of Saint Kitts
| the Caribbean

Scuba diving in St Kitts is easy to sum up – it's easy. Calm waters, gentle reefs, relaxing dives and laid-back days... Simply the way a diving holiday is meant to be.

The islands of St Kitts and Nevis are a federation and part of the Leeward Islands, on the northeast corner of the Caribbean. The western side of the islands border the Caribbean Sea, while the eastern coasts face the Atlantic Ocean. As the Atlantic side can be windy with rougher water, most dive sites sit in sheltered bays on the Caribbean side. Consequently, there are rarely any conditions to concern even the most novice divers.

The other big plus is the variety of dive styles. For centuries, these shallow bays have given safe harbour for ships and it is said that over 400 vessels sank here between the 16th and 19th centuries. A few more modern ones are now great dive sites but there are some ancient artifacts to admire. There are also gentle reefs with maze like swim-throughs and seagrass beds that are fantastic for hunting out small critters and juvenile fish.

blue ringed octopus
Saint Kitts dive photo gallery Scuba diving features
Marine Life Nurse sharks | angelfish |shrimp
pufferfish |
Top dive site Paradise Reef
Seasons All year round
Visibility 10 – 20 metres
Water temperature 25 – 34º C
Deco chambers Saba
Flights Direct to St Kitts or via Antigua
Dive operators & accommodation Several dive operators and many hotels and guest houses
Liveaboards Caribbean Explorer II
Saba island
INFORMATION EXPLORE

PROS and CONS – St Kitts is one of the easier Caribbean islands to reach with both direct flights and easy connections from major flight hubs. There are lots of opportunities for staying on land for those who prefer shore-based diving and many more dive sites than we managed to do. Island infrastructure is good with hotels, shops, bars and restaurants. However, there is also a substantial cruise ship industry so the ambience won't appeal to everyone.

SCUBA DIVING – St Kitts has around 20 dive sites plus there are a few more closer to Nevis but these seem to be less visited. The reefs and marine life are typical of the Caribbean with a back-drop of pastel toned seaplumes and barrel sponges. There are butterfly and angelfish, a few turtles, lots of moray eels and lots of crustaceans.
OPINION – We travelled from St Maarten to Saba to St Kitts on a liveaboard, which will always be our dive trip style of choice. St Kitts was a good contrast to Saba in that the topography was a little less interesting but the wrecks more than made up for that. They are developing into well-colonised artificial reefs. The macro-life here seemed more prolific too, with some fun dives in seagrass beds.
More Caribbean diving destinations:

GRENADA | CARRIACOU | SABA | ST KITTS

blue ringed octopus


Complete reports on this area are in
Diving the World.

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The digital edition is on iTunes.