Scuba Diving in Saint Lucia – Everything You Need to Know
Scuba Diving in Saint Lucia – Everything You Need to Know
Scuba diving in St. Lucia is popular, and for good reasons!
There are a lot of great dive sites in St. Lucia, suitable for different interests and levels.
I’m a dive instructor and underwater photograper, born and raised on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. And I love to share my experience with anyone who enjoys diving and wants to explore the underwater world of Saint Lucia.
To help you decide where to go diving in St. Lucia I’ve created a list of what I think are some of the best dive sites St. Lucia has to offer.
This list is organized from the north to the southwest of the island.
The Best Dive Sites in St. Lucia
1. Saline Point
To the very north of St. Lucia, this dive site is located off the shore of a resort called Le Sport.
The depth ranges from 3M (15ft) to 18M (60ft), making it an easy dive for any level.
The bottom here is a mixture of sand, grass, and hard corals. But, you don’t come to this dive site for the corals but for all the marine life you can spot here.
Some of the marine life you can expect to see on your dive here are flying gurnards, stingrays, eagle rays, porcupine fish, Caribbean spiny lobsters, and much more!
2. Bird’s Rock
Bird’s Rock is a rock island located off the coast of Pigeon Island. The rock is usually infested with seagulls and pelicans, which explains the name, Bird’s Rock.
The dive site ranges from 6M (20ft) to 15M (50ft).
You’ll find both rocky and sandy bottom here, as well as some seagrass beds.
Marine life you’ll encounter here includes squids, red-banded lobsters, stingrays, eagle rays as well as different types of eels, and much more.
3. Pigeon Island
Pigeon Island used to be an island by itself but has now been connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway.
The island has historical significance, being used as a fort during the war of the British and the French fighting to get control of St. Lucia. And if you have the time, Pigeon Island itself is therefore worth visiting as well.
But, back to the dive site.
This dive site is not known for its color or beauty. However, with a keen eye, you’ll see why it made this list of best dive sites in St. Lucia.
The dive site ranges from 3M (15FT) to 18M (60ft), and the bottom consists of grass beds, sand as well as rocks and rubble.
Pigeon Island’s dive site is notorious for octopus, squids, moray eels, seahorses, frogfish, and a large array of fish both pelagic and tropical reef fish.
4. Barrel O’ Beef
This dive site is a rock off the coast of the Windjammer Resort.
The dive site includes hard coral, soft coral and patches of sand.
With a depth ranging from 3M (15FT) to about 18M (60ft) it’s a nice dive for any skill level.
On and around the rock you’ll find a lot of interesting sea creatures including turtles, stingrays, eagle rays, barracudas, Caribbean spiney lobsters, frogfish, Caribbean reef squids, and much more.
5. Anse La Raye Wall
This wall dive is one of my favorite dive sites in Saint Lucia.
The dive site is located just off the coast of the fishing village Anse La Raye. It starts at a depth of 6M (20ft) and goes down to more than 30M (100FT).
The life at this dive site is so vast! You can expect to see moray eels, stingrays, eagle rays, hairy clinging crabs, nurse sharks, turtles, and much much more.
You’ll find some soft coral here, but it is mainly a hard coral site, with lots of rocks and barrel sponges.
6. Anse Cochon
This popular St Lucia dive site can actually be split into two. There is the north side and the south side.
The north side is a dive site with a depth ranging from 3M (15FT) to 18M (60FT). The bottom is a mix of sandy patches, grass beds, and a lot of hard coral of all different species.
At the northern dive site you could see stingrays, seahorses, pipefish, frogfish, turtles, and a lot more.
The dive site on the south side has a lot of soft coral, but also plenty of hard coral.
The major highlights you would find on the north side can be found on the south side as well, however, sightings of seahorses, frogfish and pipefish are more frequent on the south side than on the north.
On top of that, the south side is more of a nursery for juvenile fish of different species.
7. Lesleen M Wreck
Right in the bay of Anse Cochon, an old Japanese freighter was sunk for the purpose of scuba diving.
This boat was sunk in 1986 and has become a beautiful artificial reef.
The boat is 50M (165FT) long and sits on a grassy bottom. The bow of the boat has a mooring attached to it, at a depth of 9M (30FT). The stern sits the deepest, at a depth of 20M (67FT).
Apart from the wreck itself that’s great to explore, you could see stingrays, turtles, seahorses, frogfish, and jawfish here.
I’m sure you’ll have a great dive at this dive site!
8. Vicky B Wreck
This wreck was sunk in 2018 and is one of the newest wreck dives in St Lucia.
The boat was intentionally sunk to create a dive site and penetration of the wreck is possible, assuming you have the right experience and equipment.
The wreck’s deepest end sits at 25M (85FT) and the shallowest point at 15M (50FT).
The wreck is surrounded by seagrass beds and you can see turtles, stingrays, and barracudas around the wreck.
9. Dani Koyomaru
This was another vessel sunk for the purpose of scuba diving, and it now makes a great wreck dive in Saint Lucia for more advanced divers.
Dani Koyomaru is a Japanese dredger that was sunk in 1996. It’s a sizeable shipwreck with a length of 74M (244FT) and a height of 24M (80FT).
The ship sits at a maximum depth of 33M (108FT). When it was sunk the vessel accidentally landed on its side making it a challenging wall dive as well as an exciting wreck dive.
You can expect to see a range of marine life here including schools of creole wrasse, huge Caribbean spiney lobsters, big barracudas, eels,stingrays and eagle rays. Sightings of nurse sharks and turtles are not uncommon here either.
Due to the depth and strong currents this dive site is perfect for more experienced scuba divers.
10. Anse Chastanet and Fairyland
This dive site is said to have the most species of fish of all the dive sites in Saint Lucia.
It’s an easy shore dive that’s been listed as one of the best dive sites in the Caribbean, especially because it makes a great night dive.
The depths range from 2M (6.6FT) to over 30M (100FT) and you’ll find both soft coral and hard boulder corals of different species here.
Turtles, hairy clinging and channel clinging crabs, nurse sharks, horse eye jacks and many more can be found here.
Anse Chastanet is located inside SMMA’s marine reserve. That makes the coral and marine life here better preserved than at some other dive sites.
11. Grande Caille
Do you love swim-throughs? Then you’ll like this dive site that comes with a great swim-through arch.
The dive site is also known for its huge barrel sponges and plate corals.
The depth ranges from 3M (15FT) to over 30M (100FT), with a bottom made up of rock and sandy patches.
Turtles, scrawled filefish, sargassum triggerfish, loads of moray eels, frogfish, seahorses and a lot more enjoy inhabiting this dive site in St. Lucia.
12. The Pinnacles
Seeing the Pitons above the water is awesome, however, seeing them underwater and swimming in-between them is even better.
At the pinnacles you’ll find a dive site that ranges from 3M (15FT) to a depth well beyond what we can reach in recreational diving.
On this dive you’ll see a lot of hard corals and a lot of marine life can be spotted. From turtles to seahorses, frogfish, octopus, and barracudas.
Two huge rocks underwater mimic the twin peaks which you can swim in between.
13. Superman’s Flight
If you enjoy a good drift dive, this dive site is definitely for you whenever there is a current.
Superman’s flight is riddled with life, from turtles to seahorses, frogfish, stingrays and eagle rays, but mostly loads of tropical reef fish.
When the current hits you, you just glide with it and let the drift take over.
This dive site starts at about 3M (15FT), before dropping off into the deep. How deep? No one knows.
Bonus as well, this dive site is located at the base of Petite Piton.
14. Coral Gardens
This great dive site is located at the base of Gros Piton, and is the largest reef on the island.
The bottom is a mix of grassy sea beds, sand, hard and soft corals. A lot of fish and other sea creatures reside in these amazing waters. From turtles and stingrays to seahorses, frogfish, Caribbean reef squids, snake eels, moray eels, and so much more!
Similar to Superman’s Flight this dive site starts around 3M (15FT) and continues to an unknown depth surpassing 30M (100FT).
Things to Know About Scuba Diving in St. Lucia
The dive sites listed above are by no means all the dive sites in St. Lucia but, they are some of the best ones. If you want to go diving in Saint Lucia I highly recommend diving at least some of these sites.
A few general things you need to know about scuba diving in St Lucia: