diving in st thomas- is it worth it?

[smahoney6]

My dh and i thinking about the diving excursion in st thomas- has anyone done this and is it worth it? I would have to be re-certified and wondering if it is worth is vs just touring the island and shopping......
thanks

 

[floridaminnie]

 

[hydster]

You shouldnt HAVE to re-certify unless you have extenuating circumstances although if you've been an inactive diver it is generally a good idea to take a refresher course. If you havent dove for 2 years since your certification it is suggested that you take a "dusty diver" course. They usually run about $30-40 dollars just to refresh your memory about diving. If you've gone longer like say out of diving for 5 years or more you should take a "rusty diver" course. They are usually a little more pricey up into the $100 dollar range. The Dusty diver course just usually takes you into a swimming pool and refreshes the diving skills and helps you remember how to fill out log books and the basics of diving. The Rusty diver course is usually more intense and they usually want you to go through a classroom session, a pool dive and 2 open water dives but usually that is if you havent dove for over 5 years at all.

For me it would be worth it to dive the Caribbean! We have some friends that have dove St. Thomas and St. John and say it was one of the top 10 dives so far and they've dove ALOT!!!

Heidi

 

[Skuba2]

St. Thomas is beautiful for diving. Although I am not sure any of the islands are anything but. From my dive experience, they do check to see how long it has been since you dove last. Although I don't think they turn you down. They may just do a quick "check-out" on the first dive just to show the dive master your comfort level in the water. Maybe a quick mask clear or regulator in and out kinda thing. I'd call ahead to whichever outfit you are thinking about going with and ask them their policy. I would think most dives like you'd do from cruise ships are the shallower versions anyway--usually 60 feet max on the first and shallower on the second.

DG

 

[two-foxes]

We are going to get certified this spring and I was on the internet trying to find dving companies for our upcoming trip. In St Thomas I found www.cokidive.com and www.sawyerdive.vi

I know nothing about them (or diving yet for that matter ) but I was trying to get a head start on the excursions. I posted a thread here to see if anyone had any good diving excursion experiences....so maybe keep your eye on for that to see what they may say about diving there as a whole......I am still planning on shopping in St Thomas though, that is for certain!