We explore a spectacular variety of dive sites on the Underwater Discoveries and Underwater Discoveries Advanced programs. From sloping reefs to pinnacles to wrecks, you’ll experience some of the best scuba diving found in the Caribbean in world famous marine parks. The list below highlights our favorites!
Saba | Statia | St. Kitts | Nevis | Ile Fourche | St. Barts | St. Martin
SABA
Diamond Rock
Depth: 80 feet
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
This is the "Rock" you want to dive! The dive begins at
the sandy bottom base of the rock where the stingrays and garden eels dwell. Zig-zagging
up the wall you encounter ledges and nooks encrusted with hard corals,
gorgonians and sponges, or look out into the blue to see yellow fin tuna
or horse eye jacks. Never a dull moment!
Man-of-War Shoals
Depth: 70 feet
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
Man-of-War Shoals is a jewel of Saba's Marine Park.
It consists of two pinnacles that come up from the sand
at 70 feet to the mooring at 15 feet. Start at the bottom
and figure eight up to the top. It looks like a
perfect underwater garden with healthy thriving coral and abundant
fish life. Students and staff agree this is one of the best
dive sites in the whole Caribbean!
Hot Springs
Depth: 40 – 50 feet
Level: Beginner
This is a wonderful site to practice your navigation and explore
with your buddy, day or night. Some sand patches will offer you the chance
to feel the warm sand underneath caused by the volcanic nature of the island.
And a slow trip through the site will surprise you with tremendous macro
life, small shrimps, cleaning stations and an abundance of coral encrusted
boulders. This is a great Site to complete your PADI Night diver specialty… The
reef comes to life with shrimp, lobsters, crabs, eels and octopus after
the sun sets.
Third Encounter
Depth: 100 feet
Level: Advanced
This site is on top of a plateau which rises from about 200
feet to within 90 feet of the surface. You will be overwhelmed by this
untouched and extremely pristine rock that is full of giant sponges and
all kinds of colorful corals. On most dives you can expect to see nurse
sharks sleeping under the rocks and black tip sharks patrolling the area.
One of Saba’s famous offshore pinnacles, this site is the culmination
of our Underwater Discoveries Advanced dive training.
Babylon
Depth: 50 – 80 feet
Level: Intermediate
This dramatic site is made up of a number of finger-like reefs
that begin at 50 feet and peel down to 80 feet. Navigating between
these reefs feels like working your way through a series of tunnels. Schools
or grunts and fairy basslets are found at every turn and morays and hawksbill
turtles are often seen.
Ladder Labyrinth
Depth: 50 – 80 feet
Level: Intermediate
This is another finger-like reef that feels like diving through
a maze. With great swim-throughs and over hangs, cruising this reef
is never dull. See pairs of French and grey angelfish lazily touring
the reef or trumpet fish darting around corners.
Tent Reef Wall
Depth: 25 – 80 feet
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
This site has two levels of wall from 25 – 50 feet and a second level
from 50 – 80 feet. You’ll feel like you are flying as
you go along the contour of the wall dodging yellow and green devils whips. Or
pause to check out a cleaning station where a grouper has pulled over for
its regular detailing by a banded coral shrimp. This is the best ‘wall’ dive
experience in the Leeward Islands.
Tedran Reef
Depth: 70 – 100 feet
Level: Advanced
This is wall dive follows the contour of the nearby shoreline. Drop
down to your max depth of 100 feet, swimming against the currents. Then
turn and have the current lazily push you along the reef as you slowly
make your way to the surface. See damsel fish and sergeant majors
guarding their eggs along the reef or meet a school of snappers touring
the wall.
Lous Ladder / Porites Point
Depth: 50 – 80 feet
Level: Intermediate
This is a sloping cluster reef that follows the contour of
the shoreline; the optimal depth between 50 – 80 feet. At the
bottom of the mooring lays a field of club finger coral in which many critters
and fish hide such as arrow crabs, gobies, blennies and nudibranchs. Keep
an eye out here for turtles and nurse sharks!
Torrens Point
Depth: 40 feet
Level: Beginner
This is a great shallow site to practice navigation or go on
your first night dive. Tour around coral encrusted boulders, looking
for octopus or slipper lobster in the various nooks. When you finish
the dive, there is a cool cave you can swim through! This is a great dive
site to explore at night.
Customs House Reef/Ladder Bay Deep Reef
Depth:65 – 90 feet
Level:Intermediate – Advanced
The dive begins at 65 feet where the mooring meets the sand. The
colorful reef gradually slopes down on the seaward side much deeper than
we will go. This is a great place to keep an eye out for sleeping
nurse sharks or schooling barracuda. After the dive, you can walk up the
hundred steps to Saba’s old customs house.
Twilight Zone
Depth:80 – 100 feet
Level:Advanced
This pinnacle dive is spectacular and a great culmination of
your diving skills. The top of the mooring ties off at 100 feet from
where you head east and the reef rises to about 80 feet. This is
a great site to look for Nassau and yellow fin groupers, Caribbean reef
sharks, and schools of tarpon or tuna.
STATIA
Barracuda Reef
Depth: 50 – 75 feet
Level: Beginner
Barracuda reef is a mini wall formed of volcanic rock overgrown
with healthy corals and sponges. The wall offers a lot of great hiding
places for all types of animals including the occasional nurse shark, numerous
spiny lobsters and, of course, an abundance of barracuda. One past Broadreacher
counted as many as 18 lobsters on one dive!
Wreck City
Depth: 68 feet
Level: Beginner
Wreck City is one of the largest artificial reef sites in this
region. It was built by the St Eustatius National Parks Association, and
is comprised of many individual pieces of wreckage from barges, tugs and
freighters that have been submerged for various periods of time, allowing
you to see the progression of coral and sponge growth on the various wrecks.
This is a favorite of 7th and 8th grade Broadreachers who love exploring
the many wrecks in Statia.
Charlie Brown Wreck
Depth: 50 – 100 feet
Level: Beginner – Advanced
Charlie Brown is an AT& T cable repair ship, 330 feet long and 45 feet
wide, that was sunk on July 25, 2003. You will find her lying on her starboard
side in just under 100’ feet of water with the bow to the south east.
At the shallowest point, it is only 50 feet to the port side of the hull,
and on a good day you can even snorkel it. There are at least three dives
you can make on the exterior of the vessel that are full of points of interest
and good photo opportunities. There are several different openings from
the bridge and chart room which allow you to look inside very clearly.
Although she is a rather young wreck, the Charlie Brown has attracted dozens
of species of fish. Horse-eyed jacks, barracudas, tangs, sergeant majors
and numerous other tropical fish and invertebrates inhabit this thriving
artificial reef. Underwater Discoveries Advanced participants complete
their wreck diver specialty by swimming through the hollowed out corridors
along the starboard side of this enormous wreck.
Double Wreck
Depth: 50 – 60 feet
Level: Beginner
This historical wreck sank approximately 300 years ago. Most of what
is left is the ballast stones fused together in the shape of the ship with
old pottery shards, pieces of hand blown bottles and a beautiful old anchor. The
real treasure is the abundance of marine life – octopus, eels, squirrelfish,
and grunts abound.
Stingray City
Depth: 40 – 50 feet
Level: Beginner
This site features remnants of an ancient shipwreck, and ballast
stones are now all that remain. But the attraction of this site is
the number of stingrays, four to twelve, that you can see at one time,
or the curious looking flying gurnards that buzz around. This is
a fun and relaxing dive to do at any time. If you are really quiet
and calm, you can swim right up and come face to face with a sleeping stingray.
The Ledges
Depth: 55 – 75 feet
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
The Ledges is a step-like plateau with one level at 55 feet
and a second step down to 75 feet. This is a great site to see lobsters,
nurse sharks, and schooling grunts and brown chromis.
ST. KITTS
The Little Tug & Corinthian Reef
Depth: 40 – 70 feet
Level: Beginner
Just off the coast of St. Kitts you will find the coolest little
tug boat on Corinthian Reef. At a depth of 69 feet you can spend
a lot of time examining all of the nooks and crannies of this 60-foot wreck. The
surrounding area offers additional points of interest with a small crane
and the remains of some construction equipment. There is normally
little to no current and since the wreck has been in place for several
years, the sea life that has taken up residence there quite well. You
will consistently see schools of black dragons, rainbow runners and a variety
of soft corals.
The River Taw
Depth: 40 – 55 feet
Level: Beginner
The River Taw is one of the nicest wreck dives in St. Kitts. The
mooring is set amidships and upon descent you have a fantastic view of
what lies beneath. The sea life here is truly fantastic. Schools
of jacks cruise the area in addition to the occasional manta ray and squid
that pass by. The wreck is inundated with soft corals, flamingo tongues
snails, damsel fish, sergeant majors, sea cucumbers, porcupine fish, and
queen angels! It's really a great site for just about everything! A
great place to start PADI Wreck Diver training, this dive site is always
a favorite of both Underwater Discoveries and Underwater Discoveries Advanced
groups.
Moonshadow
Depth: 45 – 100 feet
Level: Beginner – Advanced
Off the coast of the sleepy little town of Sandy Point, you
would never expect to find such a magnificent dive site. The tongue
in groove design of the reef makes for unique topography that is a lot
of fun to navigate and offers great nooks and crannies for organisms to
hide in. During the day it is a very scenic dive and at night the
reef explodes with life! Basket stars emerge and extend to catch
small plankton in the water, a truly beautiful sight. Flying gurnards
cruise the sand patches with sting rays and cushion stars while turtles,
schools of horse eyed jacks, lettuce sea slugs, nudibranchs, and even frog
fish live here. Turtles and nurse sharks are very frequent visitors to
this site. This dive site is so large and varied that many groups dive
three or four times on this site without ever seeing the same thing. It
is truly an undiscovered gem of Caribbean reef diving. Broadreach is among
only a small number of divers that ever explore this fantastic reef.
Paradise Reef/Anchors Away
Depth: 45 – 100 feet
Level: Beginner – Advanced
Starting just to the North of Moonshadow Reef, the Paradise
Reef continues ½ mile farther. Peek under the many shelves and ledges
to discover a myriad of marine life. Among the reef’s grooves,
you can find the old coral encrusted anchors of the French and British
Colonial Navy from the days where the battle for the nearby Brimstone fortress
raged. Keep your eyes peeled, as past staff report having seen the VERY
rare albino frogfish here.
Wreck of the Talata
Depth: 45 – 70 feet
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
The wreck of the MV Talata, sunk in 1985, lies right on the
edge of St Kitts’ long sloping near shore reef. While much of the
hull structure has begun to disintegrate, the propeller, anchors and part
of the pilot house remain. The site is home to barracuda, rays, groupers,
grunts and a large green moray eel. If you are working on your Wreck Diver
specialty, this a great follow up to the nearby ‘River Taw’.
Ballast Bay Reef
Depth: 15 – 30 feet
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
The small protective reef outside of Ballast Bay is a great
place to look for invertebrates and interesting coral formations. The shallow
reef is home to lots arrow crabs, cleaner shrimp and Caribbean spiny lobsters.
Keep an eye out in the blue for spotted eagle rays that have been known
to frequent this area. Easily accessible from the anchorage, this
dive site is a great optional dive or night dive for students who can’t
get enough. The sandy patches off to the side are a great place to practice
navigation or peak performance bouyancy.
NEVIS
Monkey Shoals
Depth: 50 feet
Level: Intermediate
This flat top sea mount lies offshore in between the islands
St Kitts and Nevis. The Shoal is covered in hard and soft corals in a circular
shape. Lobsters, eels, stingrays and nurse sharks inhabit the edge of the
reef. Keep an eye out for schools of tuna or trevalle that swim by in the
blue.
Four Seasons Reef
Depth: 35 – 45 feet
Level: Beginner
Just offshore from the world famous Four Seasons Resort in
Nevis, this dive site is great for completing the open water certification
or for a pleasure dive. Small reef fish, and a variety of invertebrates
inhabit this long sloping reef. This is a great reef for students to complete
their PADI Open Water dive training.
ILE FOURCHE
Bird Rock
Depth: 20 – 40 feet
Level: Beginner
Bird Rock is regarded as one of the best dive sites in the
area. Easy to navigate, there is no shortage of reef life and entertainment.
Expect to see many jacks, yellow tangs, and parrot fish, as well as many
large barracuda. In addition to the abundant fish, the reef is covered
with magnificent hard and soft corals, large gorgonians, and huge barrel
sponges up to 4 feet! You will also have a very good chance of seeing stingrays,
spotted eagle rays, and turtles. Even a manta ray has been seen here. This
is the first open water dive for many Broadreachers and it never disappoints!
ST. BARTS
Rockefeller Point
Depth: 40 – 60 feet
Level: Beginner
The reef is abundant with very pretty hard and soft corals
and a good variety of reef fish. Large boulders provide a great hiding
place for the abundant lobsters and inverterbrates that inhabit the area.
It is not uncommon to see sting rays, barracudas, and stoplight parrotfish.
The sandy patch at 50 feet is a great place to perform the required skills
on your 2nd or 3rd open water dive.
Castle Mount
Depth: 15 – 60 feet
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
As you descend, you will see a pinnacle that rises from 60
feet to within 20 feet of the surface. Schools of four line snappers, and
squirrel fish hover nearby. Keep your eyes out in the blue
and you have a good chance of spotting a turtle or sting ray. This easy
to navigate dive site is a perfect place to work on fish identification
as part of your PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty.
North Point
Depth: 35 – 40 feet
Level: Beginner
This is a great spot for PADI Open Water or Advanced Open Water
training dives. The sandy bottom provides a good space for demonstrating
skills learned in confined water and working on your navigation skills.
In addition to being a great site for training, there are many hard and
soft corals and a good variety of reef fish. It is very possible that you
will see one of the many lobsters that live here, and occasionally a turtle
may swim by to say hello.
The Saintes
Depth: 20 – 50 feet
Level: Beginner
Just outside the boundary of the St Barts Marine Reserve, this
small rocky island can be circumnavigated in about 40 minutes. In addition
to the abundant reef fish, lots of tarpons and sting rays can be seen here.
This site is a great spot for open water training.
Gros Islets (south)
Depth: 15 – 50 feet
Level: Beginner
Only minutes from Gustavia harbor, this site is a great spot
for a training dive. The calm protected water is perfect for new divers
still working on their skills. The steep coral slope follows the contour
of the rocky island. Butterfly fish and schools of grunts inhabit the shady
side of the island. Around the corner, the occasional barracuda or bar
jack makes a quick pass to check you out.
Pain de Sucre – North
Depth: 60 – 80 feet
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
This is one of the most abundant and healthy reefs in St. Barts
and a favorite of anyone that dives on it! Here you will see giant barrel
sponges reaching to five or six feet in height. This is often the first
deep dive for many Underwater Discoveries Advanced groups.
Pain du Sucre – West
Depth: 40 – 90 feet
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Located one mile off the coast of Gustavia, Pain de Sucre is
an excellent dive site with many options to explore underwater. The western
edge of the reef is a long gentle coral slope with abundant and diverse
encrusting coral. This site is best explored as a drift dive.
Pain du Sucre – South
Depth 30 – 80 feet
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
The site is at the base of a small island, making the underwater
topography very diverse… The rock formations provide for a
very picturesque experience! No matter where you are on the site, all the
rocks are encrusted with hard and soft corals and plenty of schooling reef
fish. Rays are frequent visitors, in addition to turtles and jacks. This
dive is definitely a staff favorite for St Barts.
The Saddle
Depth 30 – 50 feet
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
This is one of the best dive sites in the St Barts Marine Reserve.
The saddle between the island and the submerged seamount is home to both
reef creatures and an abundance of pelagic visitors. Rock beauties and
trumpet fish swim among the reef structures, while turtles, jacks and barracuda
swim out in the blue.
The Channel Wreck
Depth: 50 feet
Level: Beginner
Directly off to the side of the shipping channel going into
the port of Gustavia you’ll find an old tug boat wreck that lies
in 50 feet of water. The tug boat sits on its side and provides for a fun
dive exploring all the parts of the boat. This is a great dive to work
on your PADI Wreck Diver specialty and have a good time swimming around.
Wreck of the Nonstop
Depth: 50 feet
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
The wreck of the Nonstop lies just east of La Baliene. The
200 foot Nonstop was a luxury motor yacht that sank during hurricane
Hugo in 1989. Since the wreck is upside down, you can only see parts of
the yacht, but there is good hard and soft coral growth on the hull and
fish use the wreck as a place of refuge.
Ile de la Point – West
Depth: 20 – 60 feet
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
In good weather, this mini wall dive can be fantastic. Blue
tangs, banded butterflyfish and angelfish cruise along the coral encrusted
wall. Keep an eye out in the blue for the turtles that nest in nearby Colombier
Bay. Many Underwater Discoveries groups complete their Open Water
certification here.
La Baliene
Depth: 30 – 70 feet
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
Sea mounts rise from 70 feet to within inches of the surface
on this dive just west of Gros Islets. Swim over, around and even through
these underwater mountains. The healthy coral and abundant fish life make
this a one of the Marine Reserve’s most popular dive sites.
ST. MARTIN
Creole Rock
Depth: 15 – 35 feet
Level: Beginner
Start this dive in the bordering shallows with the French grunts,
tomates and trumpet fish. As you swim around to the northern side
of the caye encounter moray eels, frog fish and maybe even a spotted eagle
ray. This is also a great site to try as your first drift dive starting
in the deeper north side and ending in the shallower southern side. For
Underwater Discoveries Advanced participants – this is your first
real dive of the program. If you think this site is amazing, just
wait!
Hen & Chicks
Depth: 35 – 60 feet
Level: Beginner
Hen and Chicks is a great site as it offers something for every
level of diver. There is plenty of colorful coral and fish life at
the top of the reef at 35 feet, and a fissure swim-through for the more
advanced divers. For divers who would like to go a little deeper,
there is a second deeper coral ledge at 50 feet. Turtles, spotted
eagles rays, tarpon and barracuda are a sampling of what you’ll see
below the surface.
Chico 1
Depth: 40 – 70 feet
Level: Beginner
Chico 1 is a finger reef system that starts at 40 feet and
slopes down to 70 feet. Descend down to 70 feet and follow the fingertips
of the deep end of the coral reefs. Check out the sand fissures,
overhangs and mini caverns where groupers and angel fish take cover.
Chico 2
Depth: 40 – 70 feet
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
Chico 2 is a coral garden with mounds of healthy coral heads
covered in hard corals, gorgonians and sea fans. Take note of the
micro life of gobies, blennies, banded coral shrimp, arrow crabs and nudibranchs. See
schools of brown and blue chromis or pairs of sergeant majors protecting
their eggs.
Wreck of Remorquer
Depth: 35 – 58 feet
Level: Beginner – Intermediate
This is a great dive for really any level with the wreck sitting
in sandy bottom at 58 feet and the upper level at 35 feet. This dive
site is great for seeing green and hawksbill turtles, southern stingrays
and scorpion fish. Close to our base in Anse Marcel, many Broadreachers
complete their last dive of the trip here before returning to base. Some
groups even do a midnight dive on the last night here.
One Step Beyond
Depth: 30 – 80 feet
Level: Intermediate – Advanced
This fun dive site features a small plateau of coral formations
rising from the depths of the sea floor to within 30 feet of the surface.
The top of the plateau is inhabited by angelfish, squirrelfish and other
reef fish and creatures. On either side, this interesting geological formation
attracts marine life and pelagic creatures from the surrounding open area.
