Dive Operators • Accommodation • Further Reading • Your Comments
30 May 2022
The volcanic island of St Lucia is in the Eastern Caribbean. You can dive here year-round, but to avoid the rainy season the best time to go is between December and May. Air temperatures range from an average 26 oC in January to 28 oC in October. Sea temperatures rarely drop below 26 oC. Hurricane season is August to October, although they are possible from June to November.
Saint Lucia has 24 marine reserves, all of which are no-take zones. Many of the dive sites are in the Soufriere Marine Management Area in the west, including the Pitons and Anse Chastanet Bay. North of this is the another protected area which includes Marigot Bay and Anse Cochon.
"St Lucia is a country of steep, high volcanic mountains and narrow valleys. we marveled at the wondrous scenery. Rainforest plants lining the road. Magnificent views of the coastline. Colorful small villages." Jim Reilly
Covid-19
All adult travelers must complete and submit an online travel form to receive Travel Authorization. Everyone over four years old must take a PCR test 5 days or less before arrival in Saint Lucia and submit the negative results to the travel registration form for review and approval. More details
Anse Cochon means Bay of Pigs. You can dive the north or south side. Lots of life and and colour from sponges and gorgonians. Look out for frog fish and seahorses, lobsters and eels.
" We suited up, entered the water and began a shallow dive following the reef along the cliff. Initially, we saw mostly tired coral and sand. Then the creatures started to appear, many unusual or new to us: burr worms, several types of eel swimming free in the daylight, more urchins than I've ever seen in my life, a cloud of small fish which enveloped up for minutes. On and on we swam following the dive instructor who appeared to be engrossed in his own dive as he enjoying the sightseeing and took lots of photos - 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes. On the way back more good things to see, including our first frog fish. Surfacing in chest high water near the dive shop, A great dive, all 72 minutes of it and we all had plenty of air in reserve since the dive was shallow, 40 feet a the deepest and mostly in the 30 foot range. We looked forward to more diving Monday.
Jim Reilly
"
(Another day at the same site) Eels everywhere, lobsters, good sponges and coral, lots of smaller fish. Easy, relaxing diving. As we walked the beach on our way back to the shop, we asked why we could not do shore dives like that - even the same dive - every day. After all, the critters one sees changes so why not dive the same location?
Jim Reilly
In 1986 the Department of Fisheries sank the Lesleen M as a dive site and artificial reef. 50 m long, it lies upright on a sandy bottom at 20 m. A very pretty dive, the wreck is covered in corals, sponges and hydroids. You will see a hawksbill turtle, barracuda, frogfish, octopus and even sea horses. You can do this as a shore dive, but it is more commonly done from a boat. The engine room is penetrable and you can fin up the stairwell.
"A freighter sunk just outside our resort's cove, full of life and close to the resort."
Jim Reilly
The Pitons are two volcanic pinnacless in the southwest of the St Lucia, near Soufriere. They are part a World Heritage Site where coral reefs cover nearly 60% of the sea area. A survey has revealed 168 species of fish; 60 species of cnidians - coral, sea fans, sea anemones, etc; 8 types of mollusc, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and 8 annelid worms there.
The Marine Management Area is eleven km long by one km wide along the shore. It features a steeply sloping shelf with reefs covering more than 60% of the marine area. You can often see hawksbill turtles close to land whilst pilot whales and whale sharks live further out.
"We swam a reef with few fish and not very interesting coral. We saw a lobster, a small one. Not very exciting.
Jim Reilly
Soft corals, reef fish, barracuda. Look out for the sargassum trigger fish.
At the foot of Petit Piton. This dive is so called as the cliff above was used whilst filming Superman II. It also happens to be a good drift dive when the current is running.
Four dramatic seamounts covered with corals and sea fans rise to near the surface. Look out for seahorses.
Strong currents run over a plateau from 15-20 m which makes for a good drift dive. Even without a current it is a good dive. Large boulders create interest scenery. Many large shoals of fish plus turtles, sting rays and nurse sharks.
Recommend a dive operator or list your diving company on this page.
Island Divers
Ti Kaye
Anse Cochon
St. Lucia
West Indies
Tel: 758 456 8110
Fax: 758 456 8105
E-mail: islanddivers@candw.lc
"We have now been twice and have had great experiences with the resort and especially with the Dive Operation - in fact we are going back again very soon. My husband is a very experienced diver, me less so but the welcome is the same regardless. The diving has been some of the best we have done and the dive masters always been reliable, flexible and safe. The recent dives in ranged from close by (Lesleen M) to the Piton dives, the coral colours were fantastic and the sea life abundant and colourful. I would recommend Island Divers to anyone - its not a big dive concern like some of the others on St Lucia but in my book thats no bad thing.
Ti Kaye is a wonderful place to chill out and relax - its not the place to go to if you want a 'lively' holiday! We travel from Scotland and intend to continue to do so, and feel that Island Divers and Ti Kaye are worth the journey.
"
Eileen McLaren
" I found a wonderful crew and the reason the went to the other dive sites and did not dive the same site day to day. Yes, they is great diving to the front of the resort. The staff there take care of our gear after every dive. You don't touch your gear after a dive (but you can if you don't want them to wash it down for you) they call this the "set it and forget it" systerm. This meant every morning they took our gear out of the Locker room (yes they have lockers at no cost to you) and have it out for us to setup. They took it all to the small dive boat.
I will be back to dive with Island Divers St.Lucia some time soon.
"
Gorge
"I went diving with Island Divers at Ti Kaye Village. Some of us like small boats and love the idea of having a guide which makes it all better. I loverd the sites both near and far. All the sites you would read about are located in the south of the island and Ti kaye Resort. I loved the service and had lots of fun."
Dion, UK
"I am a keen resort diver having clocked up 12 dives. I have also stayed at Ti Kaye. I dived with divers from both Ti Kaye and Windjammer landing and had nothing but good experiences in recent years. I have also been with Scuba St Lucia so have had the best of both outfits. Small boats are not for everyone but I have never had a problem even though I am middle aged and slightly overweight. I dived the Lesleen in January and am really looking foward to going back later this year. "
Babs Steel
Scuba St Lucia
Anse Chastanet Resort
Soufriere
St. Lucia
West Indies
Tel: 758 465 8242
E-mail: E-mail
"
My husband and I stayed at Anse Chastanet resort that is also on the west coast of St. Lucia and just a few kilometres south of Ti Kaye (Anse Cochon). We dove with Scuba St Lucia. It is a dive operation right on the beach of Anse Chastanet. We had come to Anse Chastanet to do our Open Diver Certification and they made the experience wonderful. Our dive instructor was the fabulous Mr. Victor Antoine, a man who has completed a world record of 20,000 plus dives in his life time. He was patient and very safety conscious. Once we were officially certified, we signed up for 8 dives. We dove the following sites: Coral Gardens, Jalousie, Trou Diable, Grand Caille, Fairyland, Anse Chastanet Reef, Turtle Reef and the Lesleen "M".
Scuba St. Lucia had proper dive boats with railings and ladders, a boat crew and very safety conscious dive leaders. We received briefings before going in the water about the maximum depth (60 feet) and length of the dive as well as instruction on how to communicate when running low on air and safety stops. Once in the water, the dive leader waited for all to enter, and we descended together as a group.
Once we signalled that we were low on air, the dive leader signalled that our dive was over and that we needed to complete a safety stop. When we finally surfaced, there was a boat waiting for us and the crew assisted us by taking our fins and helping us onto the boat.
There were dives with strong currents including Fairyland and the Lesleen M wreck sights. However, our dive leaders ensured that we always stayed together and were safe.
I would recommend Scuba St. Lucia. They were excellent to dive with and their years of experience showed.
In addition, the Anse Chastanet resort was small and quiet with friendly staff and great Caribbean food. As it is located in a small quiet bay with calm waters, it was easy to just swim and relax in the water for hours. We can't wait to go back and do some more diving and drink a little more Camilla's Voodoo."
G and J Grueber
" I just returned from a week vacation in St. Lucia and also dove with Scuba St. Lucia, I can confirm that they are a world class dive operation and deserving of their PADI 5-Star National Geographic designation!
We had the pleasure of 4 dives with Victor, he's taken to wearing a diving hood with devil horns on it so it was easy to pick him out of the group. I had reg trouble - went through 2300 psi in 20 minutes and Ponti from Scuba St. Lucia was able to fix it up for me between dives at no charge! The Anse Chastanet Reef was phenomenal and very healthily alive, I don't anticipate ever diving in St. Lucia with any other shop, this one's the best!"
Sharon Siemer.
" I have dived with Scuba St Lucia for the last 4 years and the other commentators are right - they are world class, as we say in England they "ticked all the boxes". Bearnd Rac - the Manager takes people's experience into account and that counts for a lot. Victor, Ponti, Monty, Keither, Errol, Bernetta etc are all excellent dive guides as well as being good fun out of the water.
I also went to Scuba Steve's on my first trip to St Lucia - I only went there once!!"
Terry Crocker, 2011.
Two custom-built dive boats, 47 and 39 ft. Located along the west coast of St. Lucia, Marigot Bay. Operating in St. Lucia since 1992.
Soufriere
St. Lucia
West Indies
Tel: +1 (758) 459-5599
E-mail: E-mail
PADI Dive Centre offering Enriched Air Nitrox. Have licenced insured Boat Captains and a brand new boat and equipment. Owner operated.
Scuba Steve's Diving Ltd.
Harmony Marina Suites Hotel
Flamboyant Drive
Rodney Bay Village
Castries
St. Lucia
West Indies
Tel: +1 (758) 450 9433
Fax: +1 (758) 456 9433
What's Ap/Mobile: +1 (758) 489 0411
E-mail: E-mail
Branches at the Windjammer Landing Beach Resort & Spa and the Bay Gardens Beach Resorts.
P. O. Box RB 2607
Rodney Bay
Gros Islet
St. Lucia
West Indies
Tel: +1 (758) 456-9581
Mobile: +1 (758) 489-4645
E-mail: E-mail
Two custom-built dive boats, 47 and 39 ft. Located along the west coast of St. Lucia, Marigot Bay. Operating in St. Lucia since 1992.
P.O. Box MF7071
Castries
St. Lucia
West Indies
Tel: +1 (758) 451-7716
E-mail: E-mail
Ti Kaye is at Anse Cochon on St Lucia's west coast. It has 33 wooden cabins notched into the rain forested and landscaped hillside. About half share a common wall with a neighbor and the rest are stand-alone buildings. The architecture patterned housing we saw in villages, single story wooden cabins with a peaked roof and a front porch, was patterned in the resort cabins. Inside was a large single room, equipped with a fridge and a mosquito-netted poster king bed; a room to store our clothes; and room equipped with modern sink and toilet and a doorway leading to a beautifully landscaped outdoor shower fenced for privacy. Our shaded porch facing the ocean and was furnished with a hammock, two rocking chairs and a table. The cabin was beautiful. Our only complaint was, in the late afternoon when we closed the louvered windows, the air conditioning might have been a bit more powerful. But at night, with the AC and the ceiling fan running, the room was comfortable. We loved the outdoor shower, especially evenings showering under thousands of stars.
Breakfasts and dinners are served in the very graceful open sided dining/bar facility, which also housed the small hotel office, a gift shop and rest rooms. Gentlemen were asked to wear pants to dinner (so as to not offend the English guests, I was told by management) and we were asked to make dinner reservations each morning. Evenings we preferred to dine outside on the patio and enjoy the stars. Mornings we ate in the dining facility and were pestered by small birds which appeared to become increasingly bold as the week passed. The meals were ample, well prepared and the selection adequate. Drinks, which were not part of our meal plan, were very reasonably priced.
The resort existed at two levels. The cabins and dining facilities were located on a slope, which ended in a cliff about 150 feet above a cove with a nice volcanic sand beach. At the beach, a restaurant and dive facility were built close to the cliff. The dock for use by the dive shop was partially built and looked abandoned. Connecting these levels was a set of stairs and interim landings, where we frequently enjoyed the landscape and caught our breath. We were told it was 164 steps top to bottom. As the week went on, it felt as if there were more and more steps.
(We also had) a wonderful personalized tour of Soufriere, the National Botanical Garden (world class as was our all-personality, but very informative guide, Alexander the Great), a volcano and finally to a relaxing soak in a hot spring - all arranged by Ti Kaye.
Jim Reilly
The Anse Chastanet resort was small and quiet with friendly staff and great Caribbean food. As it is located in a small quiet bay with calm waters, it was easy to just swim and relax in the water for hours. We can't wait to go back and do some more diving and drink a little more Camilla's Voodoo."
G and J Grueber, diving with Scuba St Lucia
For St Lucia hotels see the Agoda site...
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