Good to know
Good to Know
- Most of the well-known wreck dives (WIT Shoal II, WIT Concrete, WIT Service IV, Miss Opportunity, Cartanza Senora) are boat-only and several are unmarked on the surface, so you're relying on a local dive operator with GPS — this is not casual shore-diving territory for those wrecks.
- Coki Beach and Magens Bay are the real shore-dive options if you want to dive without a boat at all.
- Deep wrecks like WIT Concrete and WIT Shoal II sit around 90-100+ ft, so many require Advanced Open Water certification or at least a guide comfortable taking novices to depth.
- No liveaboard is needed for St. Thomas diving — day-boat trips out of Red Hook/American Yacht Harbor and similar marinas cover the whole site list.
- The US Virgin Islands use the US Dollar, so there's no currency conversion to worry about when booking or paying for dives.
- Several shops offer PADI eLearning so you can complete the classroom/theory portion online before you arrive, cutting your in-water time down to just a day or two of dives.
- Best diving conditions (visibility and calm water) are generally December through June; summer brings more rain and wind though marine life stays abundant year-round.
- If you're only in town briefly, a 'Discover Scuba' intro dive (no certification needed) is widely offered as an alternative to a full course.
Dive Sites And Conditions
- Seasonality
- Caribbean water temperatures stay warm year-round, so diving is possible in any month. Visibility and sea conditions are generally calmest and most reliable in the drier winter/spring window (roughly December–April), while the June–November hurricane season brings a higher chance of storm swells, rain-reduced visibility, and occasional trip cancellations, especially on exposed outer sites like French Cap Cay and Sail Rock.
Sites
Cartanza Senora (Also Called Cartanser Senior / Cartanza)
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Shipwreck Cove, off Buck Island (boat access only)
- Depth Range
- Roughly 40–85 ft depending on section; broke into three pieces during Hurricane Hugo
- Diver Level
- Beginner to advanced
- Marine Life
- Octopus, pufferfish, sea turtles, reef sharks, moray eels; a plaque near the wreck honors the local dive-shop owner who helped save it from demolition
- Notes
- Considered the most popular and accessible wreck dive in St. Thomas.
WIT Shoal II
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Several miles off St. Thomas (boat only, unmarked, GPS needed)
- Depth Range
- Sits on sand around 70–90+ ft (sources vary), wheelhouse shallower around 30 ft
- Diver Level
- Advanced
- Marine Life
- Southern stingrays, gray reef sharks, large jewfish/snapper, roaming pelagics, turtles
- Notes
- Widely called the premier/most famous wreck dive in the USVI; extensive swim-through penetration through smoke-stack openings and passageways.
WIT Concrete
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Roughly two miles south of Porpoise Rocks, south St. Thomas (boat only)
- Depth Range
- Around 92–100 ft, sandy bottom
- Diver Level
- Advanced
- Marine Life
- Large schools of horse-eye and bar jacks; some reports note surprisingly sparse coral growth and marine life compared to other wrecks, occasional bull shark and turtle
- Notes
- One of the largest deep wrecks off St. Thomas; penetrable but needs lights, no ambient light inside.
WIT Service IV
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Near Dry Rocks, southwest of Saba Island (boat only)
- Depth Range
- Roughly 85–100 ft, resting on a 30-degree list
- Diver Level
- Advanced
- Marine Life
- Southern and spotted eagle rays, a resident barracuda, horse-eye jacks, turtles
- Notes
- Current can run around 2 knots, so operators typically dive it at slack tide; five decks are explorable with multiple safe exit routes.
Miss Opportunity
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat only)
- Depth Range
- Around 90 ft
- Diver Level
- Advanced (though described as an unusually safe wreck to navigate)
- Marine Life
- Sponge colonies, lionfish, amberjacks
- Notes
- Former WWII Navy hospital barge, sunk 1985; still fully intact with exits from nearly every room, good visibility.
Kennedy Barge
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat only)
- Depth Range
- 40–60 ft, wreck lies upside down
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate
- Marine Life
- Porcupine fish, barracuda, stingrays in the surrounding sand
Navy Barges
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat only)
- Depth Range
- Around 45 ft
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate
- Marine Life
- Tropical fish and colorful coral growth on the rib structure, lobsters
East Wind
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- St. Thomas coast (boat access)
- Depth Range
- Shallow, scattered wreckage
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate
- Marine Life
- Tropical fish, lobsters; wreckage now scattered among a colorful reef with swim-throughs
- Notes
- Former corporate yacht wrecked on rocks in the late 1960s.
Cow and Calf Rocks
- Type
- reef/pinnacle with tunnels and swim-throughs
- Location
- Southeast end of St. Thomas, about 45 minutes by boat from Charlotte Amalie
- Depth Range
- Shallow, dived as a two-tank site
- Diver Level
- Beginner-friendly
- Marine Life
- Large, colorful fish in the ledges of Calf Rock; a swim-through maze including a spot nicknamed the 'champagne cork'
- Notes
- Frequently cited as one of the best novice sites off St. Thomas.
Buck Island Point
- Type
- reef with a mini-wall
- Location
- West end of Buck Island (boat access)
- Depth Range
- Starts around 45 ft, wall slopes to about 75 ft
- Diver Level
- Intermediate
- Marine Life
- West Indian sea urchins, arrow crabs, spotted eels, angelfish, octopus, stingrays, conch, occasional reef sharks, large schools of grunts and snapper
Coral Bowl
- Type
- reef
- Location
- South side of the strip near Buck Island (boat access)
- Depth Range
- 30–80 ft
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate
- Marine Life
- Described as filled with a wide variety of sea creatures
Armando's Paradise
- Type
- reef
- Location
- St. Thomas (boat access)
- Depth Range
- Up to about 40 ft
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate, popular with photographers
- Marine Life
- Abundant fish activity, record-sized barrel sponges; features swimthroughs and coral-encrusted ledges
Packet Rock
- Type
- pinnacle
- Location
- St. Thomas (boat access)
- Depth Range
- Around 50 ft
- Diver Level
- Intermediate
- Notes
- Named for the HMS Warwick, a Royal Mail packet steamship that struck the rock in 1816 en route to Charlotte Amalie Harbor.
Supermarket
- Type
- spur-and-groove reef
- Location
- Southeast side of Water Island (boat access)
- Depth Range
- Coral formations from about 30 ft down to 60 ft
- Diver Level
- Intermediate
- Notes
- Rarely dived site with distinctive aisle-like coral formations.
Flat Cay
- Type
- reef
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat access)
- Depth Range
- 17–70 ft
- Diver Level
- Snorkelers through experienced divers
- Marine Life
- Tropical fish and slow-moving stingrays
Dry Rocks
- Type
- reef with grottos and overhangs
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat access)
- Depth Range
- 30–70 ft
- Diver Level
- Beginner to intermediate
- Marine Life
- Tropical, pelagic and reef fish; occasional turtles and sharks
Coki Beach / Coki Point
- Type
- shore dive, protected cove
- Location
- North coast of St. Thomas, next to Coral World Ocean Park
- Depth Range
- Around 40–50 ft, sandy beach entry
- Diver Level
- Beginner, also used as a night-dive site
- Marine Life
- Tropical fish, coral reef, rays, barracuda, occasional turtles
- Notes
- A genuine walk-in shore dive with easy access down concrete steps; also very popular with snorkelers.
Magens Bay
- Type
- shore dive, sandy bay
- Location
- North side of St. Thomas
- Depth Range
- Shallow, direct beach entry
- Diver Level
- Beginner
- Marine Life
- Turtles and many resident fish
Ledges of Little St. James
- Type
- shallow ledges, popular night-dive site
- Location
- Little St. James (boat access)
- Depth Range
- Shallow
- Diver Level
- Beginner-friendly, suited to both certified divers and snorkelers on night dives
Arches and Tunnels (Aka Alice in Wonderland)
- Type
- arches/tunnels
- Location
- Southern side of Little St. James (boat access, two moorings)
- Diver Level
- Intermediate
French Cap Cay (French Cap Pinnacle)
- Type
- pinnacle/deep drift-type dive with rock spires
- Location
- Uninhabited island about 6 miles off St. Thomas (boat only, exposed)
- Depth Range
- Deep diving; seas can be rough with strong currents since it's unprotected
- Diver Level
- Advanced only
- Marine Life
- Black triggerfish, sharks, green moray eels, sea turtles, schools of southern sennet (barracuda family); cathedral-like rock spires with swim-throughs
Sail Rock
- Type
- exposed rock pinnacle
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat only)
- Diver Level
- Experienced divers
- Marine Life
- Hard and soft coral encrustation, lobsters, green and hawksbill turtles
Congo Cay
- Type
- reef/drift, two distinct sides
- Location
- Off St. Thomas (boat access)
- Depth Range
- East side up to about 80 ft with current; southwest side up to about 60 ft, calmer
- Diver Level
- East side for experienced divers with current; southwest side beginner-friendly
Tunnels of Thatch Cay
- Type
- natural coral archway system
- Location
- Thatch Cay, off St. Thomas (boat access)
- Diver Level
- Intermediate to advanced
- Marine Life
- Dense silverside bait balls that draw hunting barracuda and nurse sharks
Access Overview
- Summary
- Diving out of Charlotte Amalie / St. Thomas is genuinely day-boat and shore-dive based — there is no liveaboard dependency here. Dive shops (e.g. around Red Hook, American Yacht Harbor, Sapphire Beach) run daily two-tank day-boat trips of roughly 20–45 minutes to reach most reef and wreck sites, and a handful of sites are true shore dives you can walk straight into from a beach.
- Boat Only Sites
- The deeper wrecks (WIT Shoal II, WIT Concrete, WIT Service IV, Miss Opportunity, Cartanza Senora) and outer pinnacles (French Cap Cay, Sail Rock, Congo Cay, Cow & Calf Rocks) are boat-only. Several of the deep wrecks are unmarked on the surface and effectively require GPS coordinates and a local operator to locate reliably.
- Shore Accessible Sites
- Coki Beach/Coki Point (sand entry, protected cove), Magens Bay (direct beach entry), and Hull Bay/Secret Harbour are used as shore dives; these are the main walk-in options.
Typical Cost
- Open Water Course Note
- Specific published pricing for the entry-level PADI Open Water Diver course was not listed publicly by name on operator sites found at the time of research — shops generally quote it directly (often bundled with equipment, manual, and processing fees, and sometimes discounted if academics are completed via eLearning beforehand). Based on typical Caribbean/USVI dive-shop pricing patterns, a multi-day in-water Open Water certification in this area commonly falls in the roughly $450–650 USD range, but this is an estimate, not a figure confirmed for Charlotte Amalie specifically.
Confirmed Example
- Price
- $500
- Course
- PADI Rescue Diver (2-day course, requires existing Advanced Open Water + CPR/First Aid)
- Includes
- Manual and all necessary equipment plus processing fees
Certifying Bodies And Levels
- Detail
- Admiralty Dive Center in Frenchtown (Charlotte Amalie) publicly lists a full PADI course ladder from Discover Scuba through Divemaster, including Advanced Open Water (deep, navigation, and night dives plus electives) and a two-day Rescue Diver course. Aqua Marine Dive Shop, based at Bluebeard's Beach Club, is described as a PADI resort and is noted as the only SSI-affiliated dive center in the US Virgin Islands, offering a full range of both PADI and SSI certifications.
- Elearning Option
- Admiralty offers PADI eLearning so students can complete academic theory online before arrival, then finish in-water sessions locally — typically one half-day shallow-water session plus two half-day, two-tank boat sessions.
Bodies Offered
- PADI
- SSI
Levels Commonly Available
- Discover Scuba (non-certified intro experience)
- PADI Open Water Diver
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
- PADI Rescue Diver
- PADI Divemaster (professional level)
Operator Density
- Summary
- Within about a 10-minute radius of central Charlotte Amalie there are at least four distinct, actively operating named dive shops/operators, with several more spread across the rest of St. Thomas island.
Within Charlotte Amalie Proximity
Admiralty Dive Center
- Location
- Frenchtown, Charlotte Amalie
- Notes
- Locally owned since 1994; offers charters, full PADI course ladder, over 100 dive sites, wreck-diving specialty, and shore diving at Coki Beach via shuttle.
Aqua Marine Dive Shop
- Location
- Bluebeard's Beach Club, Charlotte Amalie
- Notes
- PADI resort and the only SSI-affiliated shop in the USVI per the operator; small-group boats (max ~6 divers).
JJ Divers St Thomas
- Location
- Charlotte Amalie
- Notes
- Newer, family-run boutique dive and charter operator offering customizable dive charters.
Adventure Scuba & School
- Location
- Charlotte Amalie
- Notes
- Scuba school serving both beginners and certified divers.
Further Out On Island Not Counted In Proximity
- Additional named operators exist elsewhere on St. Thomas (e.g., around Red Hook and Coki Point) such as Coki Dive Center, Red Hook Dive Center, Blue Island Divers, St. Thomas Diving Club, and St. Thomas Scuba, but these are roughly 20-30+ minutes' drive from central Charlotte Amalie.
Freediving Crossover
- Found
- No
- Detail
- No genuine freediving-course crossover was found among Charlotte Amalie-area dive shops at the time of research — none of the operators identified (Admiralty, Aqua Marine, JJ Divers, Adventure Scuba & School) advertise dedicated freediving certification courses. Admiralty does offer SNUBA (a hybrid surface-supplied breathing activity) alongside scuba, but that is distinct from freediving. This does not appear to be a notable freediving hub based on available operator listings.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.