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St Vincent and the Grenadines / Special Interests / Scuba Diving

By James Henderson

The reefs and marine life of St Vincent and the Grenadines are typical of the eastern Caribbean and so you can expect to see brightly coloured hard and soft corals furring walls, fringing reefs and pinnacles on the islands’ submarine shores. The fish life is not in as good condition as in many other islands, however, as the islands, particularly St Vincent, do suffer severely from over-fishing. There few large reef fish to be seen off St Vincent itself, even many of the small reef fish have gone. In compensation, dive companies will point out the many smaller creatures, for instance crabs and starfish, which can be seen amongst the corals.

St Vincent and its Grenadines islands differ in their physical structure. St Vincent itself is much larger than the Grenadines and it is mountainous in nature, so it has steep-sided coves, the walls of which are clad with corals. The Grenadines tend to have shallower seas and often greater visibility because of their lighter sand. Here you will find a multitude of reefs with an excellent variety of wildlife. Bequia offers good diving and there are numerous dive sites in close proximity to the coasts. Dive sites include Pigeon Island, the boulders and the wall on the northern side of West Cay. In Canouan and Mustique there are also some good options and a nice variety of dive sites.

Diving takes place at all the islands around Union Island, including of course the Tobago Cays (made famous by Pirates of the Caribbean films and declared a government Wildlife Reserve), which can be reached from all of the islands in the area. One notable wreck dive is the Puruni off Mayreau. It was a gunship that served in British Guyana (now Guyana). Very occasionally there will be trips out to Sail Rock beyond the Tobago Cays, which is pristine, but pretty much unprotected in the Atlantic, so it is reserved for experienced divers on a favourable day only.

There are dive outfits in each of the islands and most hotels have an arrangement so that you will be picked up and taken to the dive site. The nearest recompression/hyperbaric chamber is in Barbados.

As almost every island is surrounded by shallow-water reefs, snorkelling is a feasible alternative to scuba with an equal ‘wow-factor’. The shallow water reefs are also perfect for snorkelers. Snorkel or swim with green turtles in the turquoise waters of the Tobago Cays.

Browse Diving on other islands

Anguilla | Antigua and Barbuda | Barbados | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada & Carriacou | Jamaica | Nevis | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | Tobago | Trinidad

Or read our other island guides

Anguilla | Antigua | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Bonaire | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Curacao | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada and Carriacou | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Nevis | Puerto Rico | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad | Turks & Caicos Islands | US Virgin Islands

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Looking for inspiration?

  1. Hike up St Vincent's 4000ft volcano, La Soufriere
  2. Take the Barracuda Express to the pretty harbour of Port Elizabeth, Bequia, for a day's sightseeing
  3. Enjoy a day sail and snorkelling trip to the stunning Tobago Cays
  4. Join in the carnival atmosphere and jump-up during Vincy Mas
  5. Rub shoulders with the rich and famous on Mustique

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