Nevis - diving and day trips
Oct 10th, 2005, 09:08 PM
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Nevis - diving and day trips
I'm considering a trip to Nevis and have two questions whose answers I have not stumbled over:
1) How is the diving ? I'm certainly not very experienced and I gather it's not the main selling point but I think on this vacation I'd like to give it a try again. If there are any experts out there - how much should I lower my expectations from my only other tropical diving reference Zanzibar/Chole in Tanzania ?
2)Although this and other sites imply there is certainly no need for it in order to keep yourself amused, could someone give me an idea whether it is possible and how much it would cost to do a day trip to St Barts ? Charter or some ferry combination ? (No, it's not the glitz factor, it's just that St Barthelemy was one of the two, and the only successful, colonization attempt of my small European home country and I find that curious enough to want to go...)
Any guidance would be appreciated.
1) How is the diving ? I'm certainly not very experienced and I gather it's not the main selling point but I think on this vacation I'd like to give it a try again. If there are any experts out there - how much should I lower my expectations from my only other tropical diving reference Zanzibar/Chole in Tanzania ?
2)Although this and other sites imply there is certainly no need for it in order to keep yourself amused, could someone give me an idea whether it is possible and how much it would cost to do a day trip to St Barts ? Charter or some ferry combination ? (No, it's not the glitz factor, it's just that St Barthelemy was one of the two, and the only successful, colonization attempt of my small European home country and I find that curious enough to want to go...)
Any guidance would be appreciated.
Oct 11th, 2005, 03:53 AM
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I have been diving on Nevis and probably wouldn't again.
Not many sites and not very good vis. The dive site we went to is the same that we had already snorkeled and been underwhelmed with, so I guess we should not have been surprised.
gt;
If you are just diving for the experience and would like to give it a try, it might be fun if you have the time. We have been to many of the premier Caribbean dive locations, so we are a bit spoiled.
I imagine you could fly to St Barts from either Nevis or St Kitts. Check into LIAT and Caribbean Star (and maybe Winair). I've not done that, so maybe someone who has more familiarity with the airlines/schedules can tell you.
St Kitts also makes for a nice day trip.
Not many sites and not very good vis. The dive site we went to is the same that we had already snorkeled and been underwhelmed with, so I guess we should not have been surprised.
gt;If you are just diving for the experience and would like to give it a try, it might be fun if you have the time. We have been to many of the premier Caribbean dive locations, so we are a bit spoiled.
I imagine you could fly to St Barts from either Nevis or St Kitts. Check into LIAT and Caribbean Star (and maybe Winair). I've not done that, so maybe someone who has more familiarity with the airlines/schedules can tell you.
St Kitts also makes for a nice day trip.
Oct 11th, 2005, 07:19 AM
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A website you might find helpful is www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com
Oct 11th, 2005, 10:29 AM
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Diving in the waters around Nevis is certainly not a major draw for tourists. Having never been to Zanzibar/Chole I can't compare it to what you've experienced but there are a great many other places in the Caribbean that are far better than Nevis for diving.
It's difficult to get to St. Barth's from Nevis unless you go on a private charter flight (figure around $1,200 to $1,400US for the Charter). If you are staying at the Four Seasons, they sometime arrange charter flights for their guests and perhaps you can link up with other guests who won't be utilizing the full plane. If you are not staying at the Four Seasons, once you are on-island check directly with Carib Aviation (they run most of the charters) to see if they have an extra seat or two on one of their charter flights. You'd have to remain flexible as to the day of travel and be prepared to travel on short notice since it is unlikely that Carib Aviation will have more than a day's notice of seat availability. If that type of arrangement is workable you can expect to pay around $250US PP for the trip.
You can get to St, Barth's from NEV by flying Winair (www.fly-winair.com) through SXM but the schedule is such that you'd have to stay overnight on St. Barth's if you wanted to be on that island for more than an hour before catching your return flight.
Sorry, Diana but neither LIAT and Caribbean Star fly to St. Barth's.
There's no scheduled ferry service between Nevis and St. Barth's. A charter power boat will cost you about $750 to $900 for the day but it will take about 3 1/2 to 4 hours one way for the trip and it will be very bumpy when you cross open water.
Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but it's the way things are.
I hope you enjoy your trip to Nevis, it has many wonderful things to enjoy despite the lack of diving and difficulty getting to St. Barth's.
It's difficult to get to St. Barth's from Nevis unless you go on a private charter flight (figure around $1,200 to $1,400US for the Charter). If you are staying at the Four Seasons, they sometime arrange charter flights for their guests and perhaps you can link up with other guests who won't be utilizing the full plane. If you are not staying at the Four Seasons, once you are on-island check directly with Carib Aviation (they run most of the charters) to see if they have an extra seat or two on one of their charter flights. You'd have to remain flexible as to the day of travel and be prepared to travel on short notice since it is unlikely that Carib Aviation will have more than a day's notice of seat availability. If that type of arrangement is workable you can expect to pay around $250US PP for the trip.
You can get to St, Barth's from NEV by flying Winair (www.fly-winair.com) through SXM but the schedule is such that you'd have to stay overnight on St. Barth's if you wanted to be on that island for more than an hour before catching your return flight.
Sorry, Diana but neither LIAT and Caribbean Star fly to St. Barth's.
There's no scheduled ferry service between Nevis and St. Barth's. A charter power boat will cost you about $750 to $900 for the day but it will take about 3 1/2 to 4 hours one way for the trip and it will be very bumpy when you cross open water.
Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but it's the way things are.
I hope you enjoy your trip to Nevis, it has many wonderful things to enjoy despite the lack of diving and difficulty getting to St. Barth's.
Oct 11th, 2005, 07:36 PM
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Diana - thanks, you're confirming what I feared. But then again I would, as you said, be diving as much for experience as for seeing things. I believe Zanzibar and especially Chole have set some very high standards...
Sunnyboy - thanks. Having done a bit of reading on this site I was kind of hoping for a solid Sunnyboy response and I got one. Not to worry, I'm not going to Nevis to, ummm, to go to St Barths ;-) It's good to know what the options are to make the St Barths trip if/when I end up going. If I settle for Nevis it'll be for peace, beauty and limited mass tourism.
Again thanks all.
Sunnyboy - thanks. Having done a bit of reading on this site I was kind of hoping for a solid Sunnyboy response and I got one. Not to worry, I'm not going to Nevis to, ummm, to go to St Barths ;-) It's good to know what the options are to make the St Barths trip if/when I end up going. If I settle for Nevis it'll be for peace, beauty and limited mass tourism.
Again thanks all.
May 18th, 2006, 10:29 AM
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Hi those who helped me out,
I did go to Nevis over New Year's and enjoyed it a lot. I got my peace, I got my quiet and I got my beauty. Stayed at Hurricane Cove and it was just right for us. Did a dive and although operators were friendly and everything was fine the diving itself was nowhere near East Africa but then again I was warned ;-). Thanks again for the advice!
I did go to Nevis over New Year's and enjoyed it a lot. I got my peace, I got my quiet and I got my beauty. Stayed at Hurricane Cove and it was just right for us. Did a dive and although operators were friendly and everything was fine the diving itself was nowhere near East Africa but then again I was warned ;-). Thanks again for the advice!
May 19th, 2006, 08:13 AM
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I will help with the second question first.
I am planning a trip as we write to St. Barts from Nevis. It will be my wifes and my 4th anniversary. We are planning to fly to St.Martain and then ferry over from there. The ferry is about 85US round trip. We will try to fly liat or win air, whatever the best price is. Right now it seems to be in the $200.00 range. You can fly into St. Barts, but I hear it is a very scary landing and since I have learned to swim and not fly I have gone with the ferry.
The Diving here is fun. I am a beginner diver and learned here. Ellis the dive master is a lot of fun and so is his team. They are very professional and there great at teaching and taking time to show you cool things on the reefs. The diving is not the best in the world, but it is fun. Clarity depends on the day and I have never been on a dive where I couldn't see super far at least 60-80 ft.
We went on the Christina dive last week and Ellis went to the site wanted to see the clarity and if it wasn't clear he was going to take us somewhere else. We looked down and saw the ship and it was great. The ship is 70ft under water and I could see it from the surface. So that is my 2 cents. I must remind you that this info is from a somewhat Bias person, but I try to give the best info possible. You will have fun, you will see neat things and you will be back!!! Everyone comes back. See you on the reef!!
Chef Jason
I am planning a trip as we write to St. Barts from Nevis. It will be my wifes and my 4th anniversary. We are planning to fly to St.Martain and then ferry over from there. The ferry is about 85US round trip. We will try to fly liat or win air, whatever the best price is. Right now it seems to be in the $200.00 range. You can fly into St. Barts, but I hear it is a very scary landing and since I have learned to swim and not fly I have gone with the ferry.
The Diving here is fun. I am a beginner diver and learned here. Ellis the dive master is a lot of fun and so is his team. They are very professional and there great at teaching and taking time to show you cool things on the reefs. The diving is not the best in the world, but it is fun. Clarity depends on the day and I have never been on a dive where I couldn't see super far at least 60-80 ft.
We went on the Christina dive last week and Ellis went to the site wanted to see the clarity and if it wasn't clear he was going to take us somewhere else. We looked down and saw the ship and it was great. The ship is 70ft under water and I could see it from the surface. So that is my 2 cents. I must remind you that this info is from a somewhat Bias person, but I try to give the best info possible. You will have fun, you will see neat things and you will be back!!! Everyone comes back. See you on the reef!!
Chef Jason
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