Diving in St. Lucia

The Anse Chastanet Reef – Great Shore Diving at Your Doorstep! 

Voted one of the ‘top five’ shore dives in the Caribbean by Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine and just feet away from the dive center is the Anse Chastanet Reef, one of St. Lucia’s top dive sites, located in the heart of St. Lucia’s world renowned Marine Park, the SOUFRIERE MARINE MANAGEMENT AREA (SMMA).

The Anse Chastanet reef, which is home to more than 150 different species of fish, is comprised of a marine plateau and dramatic slopes that fall away to a depth of more than 140ft.

The Anse Chastanet Reef is a required first dive for all our dive guests. This allows divers to feel comfortable that all equipment is functioning properly, that their buoyancy and other dive skills are adequate for entering the marine reserve and to provide an orientation to the type of diving for which St. Lucia is known. The reef is a favourite of professional underwater photographers and videographers who visit Scuba St. Lucia..

Boat Diving

Dive along dramatic walls beneath the majestic Piton Mountains, Superman’s Flight, a drift dive in the shadow of the Petit Piton, Coral Gardens and Jalousie under the Gross Piton, Piton Wall, the wreck of the “Lesleen M”, Anse La Raye and Anse Cochon.

Closer to home for our afternoon boat dives and equally spectacular are Fairyland, Turtle Reef, Grand Caille, Trou Diable and The Pinnacles. (see our map of dive sites below)

Wreck Diving

 

The wreck of the Lesleen M is located to the north of the dive center and our dive boats take approximately 15 minutes to reach this site. The 165 foot freighter was sunk in October 1986 as part of a project by the Department of Fisheries to provide artificial reefs. It is covered in soft coral, sponges and hydroids and provides an ideal habitat for many juvenile fishes. The wreck sits on an even keel on the sand. It is 30 feet to the deck and 65 feet at the deepest point. This site is an ideal introduction to wreck diving for the newly certified diver. Seasoned divers will also enjoy the prime condition of this wreck.

Night Diving

Looking for more adventure? Then join us for a night dive. After a briefing at dusk you enter the warm, clear water in search of eels, octopus, lobsters, sleeping parrot fish and even THE THING. Our guides are experts in finding all those little creatures you don’t see during the day. Join us for a night dive it could well be the highlight of your trip.

Night dives are offered at least twice weekly on the Anse Chastanet Reef, which really “wakes up” at night, with many interesting crustaceans on the move, large basket stars, sleeping parrot fish, octopus and squid, bioluminescence, and the “THING”.

Scuba St. Lucia’s Dive Sites

Anse La Raye Wall

A dramatic wall falls from the surface, covered in Sea Whips, Gorgonians and soft coral. Delicate soft corals and large feather duster worms can be found in this site.

Grand Caille

Patois for “Large Reef”, Grand Caille is known as a very dramatic dive site with deep water gorgonians and sea whips. On this dive site you can see huge brain corals and barrel sponges in pristine conditions.

Trou Diable

Patois for “Devil’s hole”, Trou Diable is a fascinating location with large barrel sponges and well developed coral heads with schools of chromis and grunts in profusion. One of the healthiest reefs you’ll ever dive on.

Wreck of the “Lesleen M”

A 165 foot freighter that was sunk in 1986. It is covered with deep sea Fans and Sponges with a variety of reef fish. Schools of Fish can be found in and around the wreck, as well as moray eels, frogfish, lobsters and much more.

Anse Couchon

A steep slope with large boulders covered in sponges and gorgonians. In the shallower parts of the reef Seahorses, Scorpion Fish and cleaner shrimps are found in abundance.

Pinnacles

Our most visually stunning dive site with four spectacular seamounts that rise dramatically from the depths to within a few feet from the surface. These structures provide a shelter for trumpet fish, filefish and sometimes seahorses.

Superman’s Flight

Situated at the base of the Petit Piton where the cliff face was used in the filming of Superman II. The steep slope is covered by many soft corals and there is a great profusion of fish life. Another fantastic drift dive.

Turtle Reef

A crescent-shaped reef that drops quickly from a plateau area starting at 40 feet to over 150 feet. Spectacular pillar coral and barrel sponges can be seen. On turtle reef you are very likely to see hawksbill and green turtles as it is adjacent to turtle grass beds.

Anse Chastanet Reef

This reef is just a few steps from the dive center. A plateau between 5-25 feet that drops away to 140 feet. The reef is covered in gorgonians, soft corals and sponges. The reef is covered with a variety of moray eels, parrot fish, blennies, crabs and big schools of needle fish. A great dive site for macro photography.

Piton Wall

Also at the base of the Petit Piton with a dramatic wall that drops to many hundreds of feet below. A great opportunity to see many varieties of crustaceans and critters.

Jalousie

Situated at the base of the Gros Piton with lots of schooling fish, creole wrasse, bar jack and occasionally the southern sennet. A great range of different corals and sponges can be seen.

Fairyland

This reef sparkles with vibrant colors of many varieties of corals and sponges. The plateau area slopes gently from 40 to 60 feet. Turtles are occasionally seen on this site. This dive site offers great drift diving along one of the most colorful walls in the Caribbean.

Coral Gardens

The unusual sargassum trigger fish can be spotted in the deeper areas with the odd barracuda. In the shallows you can swim through dense sea plumes forests. These forests are great hideaways for the juvenile offspring’s of the reef.