St Lucia is a diving paradise. The island is at the tip of an underwater volcano where both beginner and experienced divers alike will enjoy the stunning variety of coral, sponge and marine life. Artificial reefs have developed around a number of sunken ships which have become home to huge gorgonians, black coral trees, gigantic barrel sponges, purple vase sponges and black lace corals. Exciting Caribbean diving trips will reveal turtles, nurse sharks, seahorses, angel fish, and golden spotted eels, to name but a few among the dazzling cross section of Caribbean marine life.

Here are a few descriptions of some of the dive sites around St Lucia:-

Anse Chastanet

One of the most dramatic spots for diving is the stunning Anse Chastanet reef in the southwest of the island. The shallows, with depths to 25ft, can be entered directly from the beach. The reefs fall away from 20-140 ft in a unique coral wall that continues from Anse Chastanet Bay around the headland of Grand Caille and in towards the harbour of Soufriere, providing some of the best diving in St Lucia.

Anse La Raye

Known as one of the finest wall and drift dives in St Lucia.  This site is rich in coral and marine life. The shallow areas display brightly colored fire coral, while in the deeper end there are in descent purple vase sponges, barrel sponges, and soft coral. There are a lot of fish on this dive - look out particularly for jacks, Bermuda chubs and spotted-drums. The Anse La Raye wall is an excellent example of the colorful reefs of St. Lucia and a good site for underwater photography. It is best dived at around 50 to 60 feet.

Coral Gardens

Located at the base of the Gros Piton, the Coral Gardens offer breathtaking scenery above and below the water, where five finger coral runs from a depth of 15-50ft.

Fairy Land

At the point of Anse Chastanet, a plateau named Fairy Land slopes gently from 40-60ft. Since strong currents here keep the corals and sponges clean the viewing is excellent and, this site is ideal for underwater photography.

The Key Hole Pinnacles

Voted one of the "10 Best Dive Sites" by Caribbean Travel & Life. The Pinnacles are described by the magazine as "four coral and gorgonian-encrusted seamounts that rise tantalizingly up from the ocean depths". A visually stunning dive site with four spectacular seamounts that rise dramatically from the depths to within a few feet from the surface.  These structures provide a shelter for trumpet fish, filefish and sometimes seahorses.

Lesleen M Shipwreck

A 165 foot freighter was sunk in October 1986 by the Department of Fisheries as part of a project to provide artificial reefs. It is covered with hard and soft corals, sponges and hydroids, and provides an ideal habitat for many juvenile fishes such as queen and french angel fish. Turtles and barracudas also frequent this wreck.

The sandy bottom fringing the wreck is home to numerous schools of sand eels and divers should look out for the resident frog fishes, sea horses and black bar soldier fish. The wreck sits on an even keel on a sandy bottom and it is possible to penetrate the hold and engine room. The deepest point of the wreck is in 65 ft. of water whilst the highest point is in 40ft. depth.

Wreck of the Daini Koyomaru

This Japanese dredger was sunk in the south end of Anse Cochon in September 1996 by the Department of Fisheries. Most of the interior was deliberately left intact, offering an endless source of exploration for advanced divers. The vessel is a 16,000 ton metal structure, 244 feet long and approximately 80 feet high. The maximum depth of this dive is 108 feet.  Already the wreck is a habitat for a number of fish species including eels and barracudas, many of which accompanied the vessel on its journey from the southern end of the island. The vessel was sunk in close proximity to an existing reef patch. The fact that the vessel landed on its side meant that a wall dive was created in conjunction with the wreck dive. It has been said that the position of the structure lends an aura of mystery to it. The Daini Koyomuru (Japanese for boat # 2) is quite a mouthful, but the site offers a challenging adventure for the experienced diver.

Superman’s Flight

Named from a scene on St Lucia for the movie Superman II, this site is a drift dive on a gentle wall that drops to 1600ft. Good visibility created by strong currents permit crystal clear viewing for underwater exploration. Divers can enter the water here at the base of Petit Piton.

When booking the holiday, we require a deposit of 20% of the overall package cost for bookings including a charter airline (i.e. Excel) and 40% of the overall package cost for bookings including a scheduled airline (i.e. Virgin/BA).  Final payment must be made 8 weeks prior to departure.  Please click on booking terms at the top of this page before booking the holiday.