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Dive Review of Scuba St. Lucia/Anse Chastanet in
St. Lucia

Scuba St. Lucia/Anse Chastanet, Jun, 2006,

by Tripp Jones MD, South Carolina, USA (Top Contributor Top Contributor 72 reports with 29 Helpful votes). Report 2532.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments [Our group, Wateree Dive Center of Columbia, SC, went on our "Mystery trip" and did not know destination until about a week prior to trip. Clues were given out over 3 months and this was a lot of fun. St. Lucia is beautiful; one of the prettiest places we have been. The resort is about an hour from the airport, and some of the roads, so they pass over peaks and gorges, can be breathtaking. The entire Anse Chastanet setup, from airport pickup to return, was done extremely well. The airport checkin was unbelievably efficient (Delta). The food and service were excellent, probably the best we have encountered in the Caribean. Be prepared for the steps, however; this will be a stress test,(if you haven't already had one)since the boats are about 120 steps or so from the restaurants on a fairly steep hillside. The rooms are above that, so be sure you can physically stand stress. There is no air conditioning and no phone, TV, or Internet. Take plenty of reading material. Electricity is 220 volts, so a converter is needed. Frogs can be loud at night. Mosquitoes and "no seeums" can be a problem. This place is gorgeous, and security is evident, but not intrusive. Optional treks, biking, etc for nondivers is also available.

The diving is all guided, and I can't gripe too much about that. The dive operation was extremely helpful, with many workers asking how we could be helped moreso. The boats are quite good, comfortable and front loading from the beach. Nitrox is available and not too expensive as others . The visibility was fair, since there is a lot of rain and the runoff from the mountains will always have some effect to decrease visibility. Most dives were drift dives and our 24 divers were grouped in 3 sets of 8 so we weren't bumping into each other. There were a lot of critters and the macro is superb. We saw a few turtles, but no pelagics and no large fish. The coral is healthy for the most part, other than a rare area of bleaching. The wreck is nice (Lesleen M) and a small octopus was seen. There are lobsters, crabs, spotted, golden and chain morays also in relative abundance.

We did 2 boat dives in the AM, and could do afternoon shore dive, although had to have this guided with a divemaster, and sometimes they were hard to find. Night dives (2) were nice with very nice variety of critters.

Overall, this was a great trip. You have to trust your dive shop to come through to have a great trip and Wateree Dive Center did so. This is not a place I'd go every year, but about every 3-4 years. I have no complaints and I would return.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving [All over Caribean, Truk, Australia
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy Seas calm, currents, noCurrents
Water Temp 78-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 15-60 Ft/ 5-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions All dives guided.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Adequate.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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