Best St. Thomas diving location choices?

Hello to all. I'll be in St. Thomas at the WICO dock on Nov 1 and plan to dive with Blue Island Diving. They're willign to accomdate my noon-diving GF as an extra passneger for $30 - very convenient. She wants to try her hand at snorkeling - she's an adequate but not a strong swimmer.

At this point I'm the only diver they have booked that morning and they've given me the choice of eithe one wreck site and one reef dive or two reefs. I've never dived a wreck but am leaning towards the reef. Are there any compelling reasons to dive a wreck? Will there be a greater abundance of aquatic life?

Also - any particular reef spots to suggest? I know that in Cozumel, for example, I'd suggest to anyone diving there for the first time that Palancar Gardens is a "must-see".

Also - theyr'e willing to do the surface interval in a relatively shallow reef area so my GF can have a good snorkeling experience. Any suggestions on that location or is it best just to let the dive operator do the choosing?

Well, if you haven't already dived an actual wreck, you should give it a try. For the most part when they are shallow, they tend to get broken up in the Caribbean by hurricanes, so it won't be like one of the artificial wrecks that have be sunk for divers and fishing. You will be able to identify parts of the ship. Just like a night dive, I think you should try it at least once.

We dove with Blue Island last December and they took us first to dive the Navy Barges, then to a wonderful shallow reef. The Navy Barges dive is shallow (40') and there's no current or surge. The swim throughs are easy, and you can see through the wreck at all times. I definitely recommend it, it would be a great wreck for someone who has never dove a wreck before.