Scuba-Diving-USVI.com: an independent guide to diving St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, with walls, wrecks and reefs.
Island guide · St. Thomas
St. Thomas scuba diving centres on the cays, rocks and wrecks scattered off the south and east coasts. It is the busiest of the US Virgin Islands, with the most flights and dive boats, and the easiest place to start a USVI dive trip.
St. Thomas is where most visitors to the US Virgin Islands arrive. Charlotte Amalie, the territorial capital, is one of the Caribbean's busiest cruise ports, and the Cyril E. King Airport has direct flights from several mainland US cities. For divers, that means plenty of choice: dive boats leave from the harbour, from the east end around Red Hook, and from resorts along the south coast.
The diving here is mostly boat diving. St. Thomas sits on a shallow bank it shares with St. John and the British Virgin Islands, so many sites are rocky cays and islets that rise from a sandy bottom, with reefs, ledges and swim-throughs around their edges. Add several large shipwrecks and a handful of exposed offshore pinnacles, and you have enough to fill a week.
Two rocks off the southeast coast that barely break the surface, with a maze of arches, tunnels and ledges below. It is one of the island's most popular dives because it packs a lot of structure into a shallow, manageable site. Expect schooling fish, lobsters in the cracks and the occasional nurse shark resting under a ledge.
Well offshore to the south, Frenchcap is a small cay with a pinnacle nearby that rises from deep water. Its exposed position brings clearer water and the chance of pelagic visitors, but also surge and current. It is a trip for calm days and for divers comfortable with depth and moving water.
The best-known wreck in the USVI: a former World War II era landing ship that later worked as a freighter, sunk off the south coast near Saba Island. She sits upright, and her upper decks are within easy recreational range while the hull goes considerably deeper. Corals and sponges now cover much of the ship. Read more in our USVI wreck diving guide.
A cargo ship lying in fairly shallow water off Buck Island on the south side of St. Thomas (not the Buck Island off St. Croix). Broken into sections and full of fish, she is one of the easiest wrecks in the islands and a favourite for new divers and snorkelers.
Another wreck in the same area as the Cartanser Senior, sitting deeper and more intact. Boats often pair the two on a single trip.
On the northeast coast, Coki Beach is one of the few easy shore dives on St. Thomas and a common spot for training dives and snorkeling. Offshore, Thatch Cay and its neighbouring cays have rocky reefs, tunnels and ledges for boat dives.
Because the wrecks are concentrated off the south coast, many divers spend a morning on a two-tank wreck trip and the next day on the cays to the east. From the east end it is also a short boat ride to the sites along the north side of St. John, so a St. Thomas base gives you access to two islands' worth of diving. Our St. John scuba diving guide covers those sites.
Some operators also run trips to the British Virgin Islands, home to famous wrecks such as the RMS Rhone. The BVI are a separate country, so you will need a passport and the trip goes through customs on both sides.
Diving runs all year. Winter trade winds can make some exposed sites hard to reach, but the many sheltered cays mean boats can almost always find somewhere calm. The busiest months are December to April, when it is worth booking dive trips in advance, especially on days with several cruise ships in port. The trip planning guide has the full seasonal picture.
Thinking of a second island? St. John is a short ferry ride from Red Hook, and St. Croix's wall diving is a quick flight away.
Yes. It has the most dive operators in the US Virgin Islands and plenty of shallow, sheltered sites such as Cow and Calf Rocks and the Cartanser Senior wreck, which suit newly certified divers and people taking their first course.
Yes. Boats from the east end of St. Thomas regularly visit sites off the north side of St. John, such as Carval Rock and Congo Cay, and the ferry to St. John takes only a short time if you prefer to dive from there.
The upper decks are within open water limits on a calm day, but the deeper parts of the hull call for advanced training and good air management. Your dive operator will plan the dive to your certification level.