Coki Beach Dive Club - St. Thomas

I thought I would give you a report on diving with Coki Beach Dive Club on our recent cruises.

On 2/10/07 we returned from back-to-back cruises on the Crown Princess. During these two weeks we stopped in St. Thomas twice, two days apart, a Friday and a Sunday. I scheduled guided dives for Friday due to the lack of a dive buddy and I planned on diving unguided on Sunday because I had a dive buddy.

On Friday there was a group of 9 of us, 8 Canadians and myself. The Canadians were doing a one tank dive while I was doing two. The Dive Master, I forget his name, was very adept at covering a lot of ground quickly. I enjoy underwater photography and when I stopped to take a picture I found myself lagging way behind. A second Dive Master, Jason, tagged along behind and made sure no one got lost and kept me squared away.

After the first dive, Jason told me I was the only one going back out and we could go anytime I was ready. I took an hour surface interval and out we went. Jason preferred to go slow and easy, which was just what I wanted and he found several critters for me while I was busy taking photos of others. It was a great dive, so much so that I asked him to guide us on Sunday as well.

I tipped him $20 and he said I made his day because not a single Canadian left a tip. Perhaps tipping is not the norm in Canada, since it is not in many countries.

On Sunday, my dive buddy couldn't make it so I was glad I had booked Jason. He gave me two great dives where I was only other diver. I gave him an even bigger tip for his services.

Diving Coki Beach would be very easy if you have a dive buddy. There are two reefs, east and west. Cement blacks on the bottom mark where the beach is. The reefs begin straight out from the beach and are about 55 feet max. There is a slight current that seemed somewhat variable in direction and strength. It seemed to change direction on the first dive and became stronger. Even Jason remarked on it.

To do the either reef, go out to depth and go in the desired direction. I would recommend doing the bottom part of the reef first then, when at about half tank, reverse course up through the middle of the reef until you find the cement blocks and head for the beach. Our safety stop was done at the 15-18 foot level, still on the reef looking for more creatures.

There are not a lot of large animals on the Coki Beach reefs. Rather, it appears to be more like a nursery with many juveniles seen. It's not really an advanced dive but nonetheless, a very enjoyable day - and cheap.

For guided dives, Coki Beach Dive Club charges $50 for the first dive and $20 for a second dive. For cruise passengers they will also discount your fare by $10 to help compensate for the cab ride there ($18pp from Crown Bay). So two dives will cost you about $60 with your own gear. Rental gear is available, as is food, drink, lockers, lounge chairs, and restrooms. Lounge chairs are $5 each for the entire day.

I would highly recommend asking for Jason as your Dive Master.

Pictures will be posted online in the near future.

Thanks for the review on the Coki Beach Dive Club. I will be visiting St. Thomas in 3 weeks on the NCL Spirit and am considering diving with them. We will be there between 11am and 1am (yeah, just after midnight)...strange times. Because of this, I am considering doing a night dive at Coki Beach with them. Would you feel safe in this area at night with them? I have heard some people talking about worrying about safety in this particular area because of the locals.

I can only second your report about Coki Dive:

We used them in 2004 when we were in St. Thomas aboard the Disney Magic. But then they offered free transportation from the ship to Coki Beach, we only had to pay for the return trip, but as we were about 20 people (8 divers and the rest snorkelers) we took two of those pick-ups with benches on the bed, which was quite inexpensive.

Our highlight during those two dive was the sighting of a beautiful turtle at abot 40 feet depth.

Our diveguides were extremely friendly, pointed out lots of critters, and the rental gear was in top shape.

Russ - if they do night dives at Coki grab it. They are a good dive center and I don't think the locals are a problem, this is a tourist area and it is patrolled. Coral World is right next door and they have security as well. Seeing the observation tower at Coral World from below at night would be great.

I've dove with Coki Dive Center on two different cruises and was happy with them both times.

Just want to add for those who don't know that Coki Beach offers diving, snorkeling and a beach outing, so the whole family went. When I was done with my dive they allowed me to keep my gear there and kept an eye on it. This way I was able to go in the water and also go snorkeling without worrying about someone walking off with my gear.

Thanks to those who offered comments on Coki Beach Dive company. I still would love to hear how the night diving was there if anybody has done it there. I know it is a long shot since most people on cruises depart before dark, but maybe I will get lucky and find an opinion.

We used Coki Beach last year and was very happy with them. I would definitely dive with them again.