St Maarten vs St Thomas which option is better.

Ok I'm trying to figure out the best way to do everything. Only ds and dh will do the scuba diving I will be left behind on the ship.

First off :

Do you think we have enough time to go to Orient beach before scuba diving (2-4)in st Maarten? we are scheduled to dock at 10:00.

my next question which is the best option

going to orient beach for the day and parasail on st marteen and then scuba dive in st Thomas ?

or

Scuba dive in st Maarten and take a catamaran day sail to st johns in st thomas?

Have only snorkeled on St Martin, this was @ Creole Rock which is supposed to be their "claim to fame" for snorkeling. Not good at all. St Martin is not known by any stretch of the imagination as a diving destination. We did do a Shore Dive off of Coki Beach which was okay, the boat dive's we did from St John even better.

Soooooo, if it was me I'd set up your diving while in St Thomas and spend your beach day at Orient Beach on St Martin. Orient Beach is one of my favorite beaches anywhere by the way, even better with less ships in Port.

it would be a discover dive so off shore I'm sure. it says it is coki beach in st thomas. How deep did you go. Ds has only scuba dived in a pool and really wants to try it in open water.

The discover dive in st martin says it is a shipwreck and down 25 feet.

St Martin is not known for great scuba, according to those who do a lot of it

I would go to Orient and do the parasailing, jetskis, etc. and leave the scuba for St. Thomas.

Here is a link to a photorama of Orient Beach. If you click on the names of the bars, restaurants, etc, a web page will open up listing what each place has to offer. Not all the links are active now, tho.

http://edsandra.com/photos2005/LargeOrientPanorama.htm

This photo is almost 4 years old but most of the places are still the same.

it would be a discover dive so off shore I'm sure. it says it is coki beach in st thomas. How deep did you go. Ds has only scuba dived in a pool and really wants to try it in open water.

 

The discover dive in st martin says it is a shipwreck and down 25 feet.

Definately Coki Beach then. This will be a shore entry which is alot less intimidating than jumping in off of a boat. Usually Discover Dives don't go over 30 feet in depth, if your DS is uncomfortable at going over a certain depth just tell your instructor. Even with being certified we only got to a depth of 60ft when we dove there. I would think this would be the perfect place for a Discovery Dive.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I decided to go with Orient beach in St martin and scuba diving at coki beach in St thomas.