- Open Water course
- EC$1,485
Updated July 2026
Good to know
Good to Know
- Grenada is often called the 'wreck diving capital of the Caribbean' — the Bianca C alone regularly ranks among the world's best wreck dives, but there are 10+ named wrecks in total, not just the one famous ship.
- The Underwater Sculpture Park is shallow enough to snorkel, so it's a good option if you're traveling with non-divers or aren't yet certified — glass-bottom boat tours also visit it.
- Most day-boat rides to the Molinere/Flamingo Bay/Dragon Bay sites take only 5-20 minutes from the Grand Anse/St. George's area, while the Atlantic-side wrecks and Shark Reef involve a longer, rougher boat transfer and are current-dependent — book those as dedicated trips, not casual add-ons.
- There is essentially no liveaboard scene based in Grenada — plan on day boats from a shore dive center rather than a multi-day liveaboard itinerary.
- Grenada is widely marketed as the 'wreck diving capital of the Caribbean,' with the Bianca C wreck as the signature advanced dive — a genuinely distinctive local feature rather than generic Caribbean marketing.
- A government marine park fee (around $3.50 USD per diver) applies separately from course/dive fees for diving in Grenada's Marine Protected Areas and is typically paid on-site or online, not bundled into the shop's quoted course price.
- If a shop quotes you a course price in USD (common at these tourism-oriented operators), it's worth asking whether the fixed XCD-to-USD peg (2.70 XCD = 1 USD) was used or whether they've applied their own markup.
- Course price estimates here are regional benchmarks, not confirmed current listings from a specific St. George's-area shop — always confirm the live price directly with the operator before booking.
Dive Sites And Conditions
- Access Summary
- Diving from St. George's is genuinely day-boat accessible, not liveaboard-dependent. The main dive shops cluster around Grand Anse / the Lagoon just south of St. George's, and boat rides to the marine park sites (Molinere/Flamingo Bay/Dragon Bay) and the Bianca C are typically only 5-20 minutes. There is essentially no organized liveaboard scene based out of Grenada — this is a shore-base-plus-day-boat destination. A handful of sites (the Atlantic-side wrecks like Shakem and King Mitch, and Shark Reef) require a longer boat run around to the rougher windward coast and are current-exposed, so they are booked as dedicated advanced day trips rather than casual add-ons.
- Overall Best Season
- Diveable year-round. Dry season (January–May) brings the calmest seas and clearest water; wet season (June–December) sees more rain and higher humidity but diving is rarely disrupted. Hurricane risk is low but present from June–November, peaking August–October; Grenada sits south of the main hurricane track so direct hits are less common than elsewhere in the Caribbean.
- Further Afield Note
- Carriacou, about 25km/16 miles northeast of the Grenada mainland, has roughly 30 additional named sites (e.g. Deep Blue, Sister Rocks/Barracuda Point, Shark's Hideaway, Whirlpool, Saline Express, Black Rock) within the Sandy Island Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area. These are genuinely a separate-island trip, not a same-day boat dive from St. George's, so they're noted here for completeness rather than treated as St. George's-accessible sites.
Sites
Bianca C
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Off Point Saline / Pink Gin Beach, just outside St. George's Harbour
- Best Season
- Year-round, but current and swell can pick up, so calmer dry-season months are more predictable
- Depth Range
- Bow around 27-30m/90ft, hull sits upright around 49-50m/160-165ft
- Diver Level
- Advanced/experienced only, often requires a check-out dive
- Marine Life Highlights
- Barracuda, grouper, horse-eyed jacks, spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, moray eels, schools of Atlantic spadefish; the wreck itself is a 180m former cruise liner, the largest shipwreck in the Caribbean, now encrusted with hard and soft coral
- Notes
- Grenada's signature wreck dive, often cited as one of the top wreck dives in the world; divers cannot enter the hull but can see the on-deck pool, cranes, funnels and winches.
Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park
- Type
- reef/artificial reef (sculpture installation)
- Location
- Molinere Bay, within the Molinere-Beausejour Marine Protected Area, just north of St. George's
- Depth Range
- Roughly 3-8m/10-26ft
- Diver Level
- Novice-friendly; also snorkelable
- Marine Life Highlights
- Sea turtles are commonly seen among the concrete sculptures, plus reef fish colonizing the artificial structures
- Notes
- World-first underwater sculpture installation by Jason de Caires Taylor, created in 2006 partly to divert traffic from the fragile natural reef nearby; shallow enough to combine with a Flamingo Bay or Dragon Bay dive.
Flamingo Bay
- Type
- wall
- Location
- Molinere Protected Seascape / Grenada Marine Park
- Depth Range
- Starts around 7m/23ft, extends to about 30m/100ft
- Diver Level
- Novice
- Marine Life Highlights
- Soft and hard coral, chromis, yellowtail snapper, Creole wrasse, bar jacks, spotted drums, batfish, garden eels, lobster, crabs, and occasionally seahorses, pipefish and brindled jawfish
- Notes
- One of the more popular novice wall dives due to heavy dive-boat traffic in the area; also has shallow protected reef good for snorkeling.
Dragon Bay
- Type
- drift/wall, with a small wreck
- Location
- Within the Grenada Marine Park, near Molinere Point
- Depth Range
- Roughly 6-27m/20-90ft
- Diver Level
- Suitable for all levels
- Marine Life Highlights
- Peacock flounder, barracuda, green moray eels, grouper, angelfish, octopus, southern stingrays, lobster
- Notes
- Passes a small tug boat wreck before a steep slope; often paired with the sculpture park or Happy Valley as a drift dive, and doubles as a good snorkel spot.
Happy Valley
- Type
- reef/drift
- Location
- Within the Molinere/Grenada Marine Park area
- Depth Range
- Roughly 10-15m/30-50ft
- Diver Level
- All levels
- Marine Life Highlights
- Pillar coral formations, an old Admiralty anchor, seahorses and pipefish for macro-focused divers, plus barrel sponges
- Notes
- Becomes a gentle drift dive south into Dragon Bay when the tide is running; considered one of the prettiest reef dives on this coast.
Molinere Reef
- Type
- reef with a small wall
- Location
- Molinere Bay Marine Protected Area
- Depth Range
- Shallow reef down to a small wall section
- Diver Level
- All levels
- Marine Life Highlights
- Lobster, scorpionfish, moray eels, yellow-headed jawfish, seahorses, frogfish, green morays in sandy valleys, occasional turtles
- Notes
- Topographically varied with gullies and sand channels; the inner, shallower section is where the Underwater Sculpture Park sits.
Buccaneer Wreck
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- A short swim from Molinere Reef
- Depth Range
- Around 22m/72ft
- Diver Level
- All levels/intermediate
- Marine Life Highlights
- Octopus in the chain locker, barracuda
- Notes
- A former sloop lying on her starboard side with a swim-through superstructure; good for photography.
Shark Reef
- Type
- reef, Atlantic-facing
- Location
- South shore of Grenada, near Glovers Island
- Depth Range
- Shallow but current-exposed
- Diver Level
- Advanced (due to current and surface swell)
- Marine Life Highlights
- Nurse sharks, occasional adult sharks, spotted eagle rays, stingrays, turtles, queen triggerfish, sizeable brain and pillar coral
- Notes
- Exposure to open Atlantic swell and current attracts pelagic life but makes conditions more demanding than the sheltered west-coast sites.
Fisherman's Paradise
- Type
- reef, Atlantic side
- Location
- Atlantic-facing site on Grenada's south/east coast
- Diver Level
- Advanced
- Marine Life Highlights
- Nurse sharks, reef sharks, stingrays, turtles
- Notes
- Often paired with Shark Reef as an Atlantic-side excursion.
Shakem (Shake'M)
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Quarantine Point area, Atlantic side
- Depth Range
- Roughly 17-30m/55-100ft
- Diver Level
- Advanced
- Marine Life Highlights
- Fish life typical of an artificial reef; a former freighter that capsized in a storm
- Notes
- One of several freighter wrecks on the rougher windward coast.
King Mitch
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Atlantic side
- Depth Range
- Around 33m/110ft, wreck lies on her side
- Diver Level
- Advanced (depth and current)
- Marine Life Highlights
- Near-guaranteed encounters with sharks, rays and turtles
- Notes
- A converted minesweeper with holds, ladders and walkways to explore.
HEMA 1
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- About 3 miles/5km off Point Saline
- Depth Range
- Roughly 27-33m/90-110ft
- Diver Level
- Advanced
- Marine Life Highlights
- Black coral trees, angelfish inside the stripped hull
- Notes
- A 170ft freighter that sank in the mid-2000s en route to Trinidad; often combined with the Sculpture Park or nearby reefs.
Car/Truck Wreck Graveyard
- Type
- artificial reef (vehicle wrecks)
- Location
- Molinere Bay Marine Park Area
- Depth Range
- Roughly 27-34m/90-110ft
- Diver Level
- Advanced (near recreational depth limits)
- Marine Life Highlights
- Black gorgonians, white hydroids, occasional rays
- Notes
- An unusual site featuring a variety of car and truck wrecks resting on a sand bed.
Southern Comfort
- Type
- reef
- Location
- Grenada's southwest coast dive area
- Diver Level
- All levels
- Marine Life Highlights
- Cleaning stations with cleaner wrasse and neon gobies, spotted moray eels, blue chromis, squirrelfish, parrotfish, butterflyfish
- Notes
- A gently sloping, relaxed reef dive good for fish-watching.
Purple Rain
- Type
- reef/drop-off
- Location
- Southwest coast dive area
- Marine Life Highlights
- Eagle rays seen cruising out of open water
- Notes
- Named for its purple sponge and coral coloration; a signature site for several local operators.
Veronica
- Type
- wreck
- Location
- Southwest coast area
- Diver Level
- Not well documented in available sources
- Marine Life Highlights
- Not well documented in available sources
- Notes
- Listed among Grenada's popular shipwrecks alongside HEMA and Shakem, but detailed depth/marine-life data was not found in current sources — worth confirming directly with a local dive shop before booking.
Certifying Bodies And Levels
- Primary Agency
- PADI is the dominant certifying agency among St. George's/Grand Anse area dive shops.
- Other Agencies Available
- Aquanauts Grenada (True Blue Bay) explicitly offers the same courses through multiple agencies rather than PADI alone.
- Notes
- Dive Grenada is listed as a PADI 5-Star dive shop and BSAC resort. Eco Dive states its instructors certify up to Assistant Instructor level, and Aquanauts Grenada offers courses through SSI, SDI, TDI and PADI, plus Diveheart adaptive-diving programs.
Levels Commonly Offered
- PADI Discover Scuba Diving (non-certification intro dive)
- PADI Open Water Diver
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
- PADI Rescue Diver / Emergency First Response
- PADI Divemaster
- Assistant Instructor (confirmed at one operator)
Operator Density
- Approx Named Operators In Area
- 6
- Geographic Note
- Operators cluster along the southwest coast corridor (Grand Anse, L'Anse aux Epines, True Blue) a short drive or boat ride from downtown St. George's.
List
- Dive Grenada — Mount Cinnamon Hotel, Grand Anse Beach
- Eco Dive — Grand Anse Beach (Coyaba Beach Resort), plus a booking office at Port Louis Marina in St. George's
- Aquanauts Grenada — True Blue Bay Resort
- Native Spirit Scuba — Grand Anse Beach
- ScubaTech Dive Center — The Calabash Hotel, L'Anse aux Epines
- Scuba West Indies - Grenada
Typical Course Cost
- PADI Open Water Diver
- EC$1,485
- PADI Advanced Open Water
- EC$1,080
- Government Marine Park Fee Per Diver
- EC$9.45
Freediving Crossover
- Details
- Eco Dive explicitly markets itself as a combined scuba and freediving centre, describing itself as Grenada's first PADI Freediving Centre and offering PADI Freediving alongside PADI Scuba courses.
- Other Operators
- One other operator's site (ScubaTech) also references freediving training content, but this could not be independently corroborated at the time of research and reads as generic/templated marketing copy, so it is flagged as low-confidence rather than asserted as fact.
- Genuine Crossover Confirmed
- Yes
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.