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Dive Sites
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Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios, JAMAICA
Negril
Negril, JAMAICA
Turks & Caicos
Providenciales, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
Whiteface
The name of this dive site has nothing to do with the underwater topography, but comes from the steep white cliffs along the shoreline. Along the top of the wall is particularly profuse reef with some impressive stands of pillar coral. The fish population includes barracuda, parrot fish French angelfish and Nassau grouper. Just north of the mooring is a crack in the wall with a large anchor embedded at 70 feet. The wall is well undercut to a depth of about 100ft.
Avg. Depth: 70 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 100 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Half Mile Reef
As the name suggests, this reef is roughly half a mile long and lies to the east of French Cay. A popular section of the reef is located in a large bowl on the wall which tends to eliminate the effects of currents encountered elsewhere on the reef. Large schools of barracuda and mahogany snappers are always present and two large (7-8 feet across) elephant ear sponges are found twenty feet apart at the 85ft contour.
West Sand Spit
About 27 miles southeast of Provo the West Sand Spit is an area of sand in the open ocean which has about 50 feet of sand exposed and dry at low tide. The wall starts in 60ft and drops to about 150ft. Large schools of goatfish call this area home, as well as many other species. The REEF Survey completed in 1996 identified more than 120 different types of fish at this site, including three Jewfish. The sand area is also home to four 5ft+ stingrays. During the year, seasonal visitors to the Sand Spit include Sargassum Triggers, Ocean Triggers, and a variety of pelagics. Frequent currents combined with it's remote location make this a healthy vibrant reef.
Avg. Depth: 50 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 150 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Coral Gables
A gentle slope to the wall allows divers to pick their depth. Sand chutes stop just below the top of the wall and give way to large stacks of coral, home to grunts, snappers and groupers.
Aquarium
Enormous schools of grunts and snappers form an almost continuous school on top of the wall at the Aquarium. The wall is an exaggerated spur and groove type formation with some spectacular sand chutes that run on down through the reef to a depth of around 100ft.
Shark Hotel
At the top of the Shark Hotel wall, divers find schools of grunts, snappers, and goatfish. The wall begins in about 45ft and drops straight down to 80 to 100ft where a plateau juts out and forms a shelf before plunging into the depths. As the name suggests, this site is a good place to spot small reef sharks. Close to the mooring is a huge stand of pillar coral, some of the largest to be seen in the Turks and Caicos.
Avg. Depth: 45 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 100 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Amphitheater
There are large pillar coral under the boat and an abundance of horse eyed jacks. The wall drops vertically to an amphitheater formation that is undercut 10-15 feet to a sandy bottom in 85 feet. One prominent feature of this site is a large elephant ear sponge with black coral along the top lip of the undercut, and some rare orange rope sponges at about 90ft. In front of the amphitheater is a buttress with some beautiful examples of plate corals.
South West Reef
This reef has a deeper wall starting in 50-70ft. The wall is vertical with enormous barrel sponges, deep water gorgonians and frequent sightings of sharks and eagle rays. Currents are frequently encountered at this spot. You may even spot Jojo the Dolphin!
Avg. Depth: 50 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Eagle Ray Pass
Another site in this area is Eagle Ray Pass. A sand gulley leading off from under the mooring takes the diver out to the top of a sloping wall. This site has a tremendous selection of corals down to a sand bottom at 100ft.
Avg. Depth: 100 ft.
Skill level: Master
Max Depth: 110 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Football Field
The Football Field dive site is a good example of the ocean floor topography in this area where the mooring pin is in 50ft at the top of a steeply sloping wall. Divers can expect this area to be teeming with schools of juvenile barracudas, jacks, Bermuda chub, and groupers. Swimming away from the wall brings the diver to a large area of sand in 70' of water, home to many lobsters.
Avg. Depth: 70 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 80 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Highway to Heaven
Located at the north end of West Caicos, the dive begins in 50ft with a large colony of garden eels in the sand flat. The site is also popular because of the many stingrays that play in the sand. This is one of the deeper dives out at West Caicos with coral arches and swim throughs around 80-100ft. Lots of large marine life and frequent shark sightings.
Avg. Depth: 50 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 100 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Grouper Hole
The mooring is by a deep sandy grotto, the Grouper Hole, with a large coral head in the middle of a sand chute that leads divers to a gently sloping wall. In the days before the formation of the marine park in Provo this was a spot that grouper feeding took place.
The Crack
This site's name comes from the deep crevice that cuts down the wall from a depth of 50 to about 100ft. Large grouper and snapper tend to hang out in the crack among black coral and deep water gorgonian. There is always a good chance to spot sharks and spotted eagle rays at this site.
Avg. Depth: 50 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 100 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
The Hole in the Wall
This is a crack or hole that drops vertically from 55ft and emerges from the face of the wall at 95ft. Space is limited to one diver in the hole at a time, but the sensation of emerging into the blue water is an incredible one. Extensive sheet coral formations are also found here.
Avg. Depth: 55 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 95 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Gulley
The wall begins in about 50ft and the top lip of the wall is a dense coral reef with many cleaning stations. The gulley gets it's name from the cut in the reef that forms two distinct sections before dropping off vertically. The vertical wall here has many undercuts covered in sponges and black corals.
Double D
Located just offshore from the bird sanctuary on deserted French Cay, Double D's name comes from two large pinnacles rising from the ocean floor. The wall here is a fairly gradual slope with a profuse carpet of corals along it's entire length. The area around the Double D pinnacles and the boat mooring is home to large numbers of jack, black durgon, and grouper.
Driveway
Under the boat in about 40 feet of water lies a sand area with scattered coral heads leading into a sand chute that extends down through the reef from 50fsw to a ledge at around 80-100ft where the wall drops vertically to the depths. Marine life includes sharks, groupers, black durgons, and the ledge area features some excellent growth of plate and star corals. As with many of the sites at West Caicos all along the wall divers will find black coral and purple tube sponges.
Avg. Depth: 40 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 100 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Elephant Ear Canyon
Divers know they are at this site when they see the elephant ear sponge 11 feet in diameter. The reef at the top of the wall is about 50ft split into sections by sand chutes. Under the boat at the end of the dive, divers can see garden eels, stingrays, and tilefish.
Molasses Reef
This reef on the edge of the shallow banks and the wall appears as the boat approaches as a line of waves and a golden brown color from the coral reef breaking the surface. This reef is the site of several historic shipwrecks, however, the dive takes place on the deep water side along the wall. Spotted eagle rays and sharks are common over the top of the wall, with Nassau groupers and jacks abundant under the boat. You may even be able to meet Jojo the Dolphin!
Graceland
This site has a large sand chute under the dive boat and a swim-through leading to the wall at 50ft. The wall has many buttresses and indentations with a good possibility of reef sharks swimming in the depths off the wall.
Sands Club
The reef has a medium profile and is made up of individual coral heads, soft gorgonians, and purple sea fans. French Grunt, Goatfish and Squirrelfish gather at the base of barrel sponges and yellow and brown tube sponges. Black surgeon and yellow and brown chromis can be seen. Many more cluster of brown tube sponges grow on the wall, which is deeply undercut in many places. These overhang are overgrown with black coral , wire and whip coral and a multitude of sponges. You may discover a spotted drum, or a very shy queen angelfish against the wall. Fairy basslets hang upside down from the ceiling and the encrusting sponges add splashes of color.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Frenchman Hole
A dive located directly offshore from Orange River - many ledges. A cave very similar to the Throne Room, known for nurse sharks and the odd hammerhead. Morays, groupers, etc. This site is seldom used.
Avg. Depth: 60 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Gallery
Interesting overhangs and ledges. Coral reef with lots of places to explore. Large crabs, turtles, nurse sharks, sting rays, morays, black coral and the occasional Sea Horse are often seen here.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Deep Plane
This is where our Divemasters love to hang. Small plane sunk to provide reef. Frequented by turtles, Barracuda, Spade Fish, and the territorial Ocean Trigger Fish. Drift along the outer edge before the Caribbean drops off to the deep.
Skill level: Advanced
Dive site is Accessible from:
Fish Pond
This site is perfect for training. Majority of the reef is flat, and consist patches of sand and colorful sponges, corals, goatfish and snapper. At times the current is very strong.
Skill level: Novice
Dive site is Accessible from:
Tug Boat
This wreck was sunk in 1993 to provide the sealife with an artificial reef. Settled on a sandy patch, the reef in this area is worth checking out as well. Look for Barracuda, Scrawled File Fish, and the occasional Eagle Ray passing through the area. Swim in through the boat and out into beautiful coral. The tug boat is 55ft in length.
Avg. Depth: 70 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 90 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Arches
We often combine the shallow plane with this 33' dive. There are many overhangs and ledges. Nurse sharks and very large sting rays are common. Swim through the arches and notice the purple and yellow fairy bassets. They align themselves to the substratum and are upside down on the ceilings of the arches and caverns. Resort divers stay at the reef around 30ft. 45ft distance to sand bottom.
Avg. Depth: 33 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 45 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Booby Cay
The island has been almost surrounded with mooring buoys installed by the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society with the help of Reef Relief from Florida, Sandals Negril and many more. Weather dictates which side of the island to use. The North West side has some healthy Elk Horn Coral near the surface and a lot of very large Bloody Bay coral heads.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 40 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Shallow Plane
Wreck dive of a Cessna 152 Airplane resting next to a beautifully overhanging reef. Look for Queen Angelfish, Spotted Drum Fish, and the occasional dolphin at this site. This dive is an extension of Arches reef dive.
Avg. Depth: 40 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 60 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Middle Shoal Reef (Advanced)
There is a small single engine plane located at this site at a depth of 90'. This dive is known for spade fish and barracuda. Beautiful coral, barrel, sponge, gorgonians, etc. Farther out, there is drop-off up to 200'.
Avg. Depth: 80 ft.
Skill level: Master
Max Depth: 90 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Middle Shoal Reef (Beginner)
One of the most frequently visited 30' dive sites. Used mainly for our PADI introductory (Resort) Scuba Course dive #1. Nice coral reef to 30' sand bed. Very large aggregation of French grunts at cleaning stations on coral heads. Squirrel fish aggregations at other cleaning sites. Turtles often seen on the edge of a sand bed. Many blue chromis, creole wrans, parrots, etc.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 60 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Shark's Reef
Follow the coral reef and overhangs down to a sandy bottom sloping seaward at 75'. Nurse sharks and large sting rays are seen here often. Note: This dive site is not commonly used.
Avg. Depth: 60 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 80 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Sands Club
The reef has a medium profile and is made up of individual coral heads, soft gorgonians, and purple sea fans. French Grunt, Goatfish and Squirrelfish gather at the base of barrel sponges and yellow and brown tube sponges. Black surgeon and yellow and brown chromis can be seen. Many more cluster of brown tube sponges grow on the wall, which is deeply undercut in many places. These overhang are overgrown with black coral , wire and whip coral and a multitude of sponges. You may discover a spotted drum, or a very shy queen angelfish against the wall. Fairy basslets hang upside down from the ceiling and the encrusting sponges add splashes of color.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Frenchman Hole
A dive located directly offshore from Orange River - many ledges. A cave very similar to the Throne Room, known for nurse sharks and the odd hammerhead. Morays, groupers, etc. This site is seldom used.
Avg. Depth: 60 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Gallery
Interesting overhangs and ledges. Coral reef with lots of places to explore. Large crabs, turtles, nurse sharks, sting rays, morays, black coral and the occasional Sea Horse are often seen here.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Deep Plane
This is where our Divemasters love to hang. Small plane sunk to provide reef. Frequented by turtles, Barracuda, Spade Fish, and the territorial Ocean Trigger Fish. Drift along the outer edge before the Caribbean drops off to the deep.
Fish Pond
This site is perfect for training. Majority of the reef is flat, and consist patches of sand and colorful sponges, corals, goatfish and snapper. At times the current is very strong.
Tug Boat
This wreck was sunk in 1993 to provide the sealife with an artificial reef. Settled on a sandy patch, the reef in this area is worth checking out as well. Look for Barracuda, Scrawled File Fish, and the occasional Eagle Ray passing through the area. Swim in through the boat and out into beautiful coral. The tug boat is 55ft in length.
Avg. Depth: 70 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 90 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Shark's Reef
Follow the coral reef and overhangs down to a sandy bottom sloping seaward at 75'. Nurse sharks and large sting rays are seen here often. Note: This dive site is not commonly used.
Avg. Depth: 60 ft.
Skill level: Advanced
Max Depth: 80 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Shallow Plane
Wreck dive of a Cessna 152 Airplane resting next to a beautifully overhanging reef. Look for Queen Angelfish, Spotted Drum Fish, and the occasional dolphin at this site. This dive is an extension of Arches reef dive.
Avg. Depth: 40 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 60 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Arches
We often combine the shallow plane with this 33' dive. There are many overhangs and ledges. Nurse sharks and very large sting rays are common. Swim through the arches and notice the purple and yellow fairy bassets. They align themselves to the substratum and are upside down on the ceilings of the arches and caverns. Resort divers stay at the reef around 30ft. 45ft distance to sand bottom.
Avg. Depth: 33 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 45 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Middle Shoal Reef (Advanced)
There is a small single engine plane located at this site at a depth of 90'. This dive is known for spade fish and barracuda. Beautiful coral, barrel, sponge, gorgonians, etc. Farther out, there is drop-off up to 200'.
Avg. Depth: 80 ft.
Skill level: Master
Max Depth: 90 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Middle Shoal Reef (Beginner)
One of the most frequently visited 30' dive sites. Used mainly for our PADI introductory (Resort) Scuba Course dive #1. Nice coral reef to 30' sand bed. Very large aggregation of French grunts at cleaning stations on coral heads. Squirrel fish aggregations at other cleaning sites. Turtles often seen on the edge of a sand bed. Many blue chromis, creole wrans, parrots, etc.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 60 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Booby Cay
The island has been almost surrounded with mooring buoys installed by the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society with the help of Reef Relief from Florida, Sandals Negril and many more. Weather dictates which side of the island to use. The North West side has some healthy Elk Horn Coral near the surface and a lot of very large Bloody Bay coral heads.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 40 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
King Fish Point
This is a beautiful dive site for divers who seek to find various species of fishes. It also has beautiful overhanging ledges, which leads into a 130ft great wall. This reef is the home to turtles and great back whales and occasionally the Hammer Head shark can be seen. This is one of Negril's best wall dives.
Chinese Reef
This is a great diving site where you can see many different fascinating things. From the numerous brown and black corals to the huge sponges that occupy the reef. Here, there are multiple overhanging ledges which may or may not conceal some of the reef's beautiful creatures and this will allow for an exciting diving experience.
Throne Room
The entrance is a fairly wide but low cavern with a crack in the reef about 25 ft. long and 8 ft. wide. When using the entrance you need to be really careful not to damage the coral around the opening. The walls on the inside are covered with colorful sponges. The bottom is covered with fine sediments, which when disturbed will immediately reduce the visibility. Leaving the throne room, you swim through a large opening forming a window of sorts; coming into the deeper reef at 70 ft. This window provides great photo opportunities.
Avg. Depth: 40 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Surprise Reef
There's a few caverns perfect for hiding of nurse sharks and turtles colorful sponges lots of black durgeon, French grunt Maroon spotted fish and schools of blue chromis, and that's what makes this reef so surprisingly cool.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 70 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
David's Reef
Things to See: turtles, nurse sharks, eels, rays, barrel sponges, sea fans
Boscobel Flat
This site is between 25-30 feet at the top of the reef and 40-45 feet in the sand area. This reef is apart of a barrier reef which goes on for miles. Things you normally see on this site are Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrot fish, lobster, lion fish and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 25 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 45 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Derrick's Reef, St. Mary
This reef is between 55-60 feet at the top and drop off to 110-130 feet in the sand area. This reef is apart of a barrier reef, which goes on for miles. Things you normally see on this site are Turtles, Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lionfish and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 55 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 130 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
John Lafaye (Ship Wreck)
This site is between 40-45 feet at the top of the wreck and 50-55 feet in the sand area. this wreck is about 100-110 feet long, judging from the coral growth on the side of the wreck it has been there for over 12 years. Things you normally see on this site are Turtles, Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, lobster, parrot fish, lion fish, sting ray and quite a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 40 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 55 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Steps Reef
This site is between 18-28 feet at the top of the reef and 40-45 feet in the sand area. This reef also has a lot of cracks in the reef and swim through. Things you normally see on this site are Turtles, Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lionfish, lobster, stingray and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 18 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 45 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
James Bond Reef
This site is between 15-28 feet at the top of the reef and 40-45 feet in the sand area. Things you normally see on this site are Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lionfish, stingray, conch and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 15 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 45 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Golden Eye Reef
This site is between 20-28 feet at the top of the reef and 40 feet in the sand area. This reef also has a lot of cracks in the reef and swim through which make it great for nurse sharks. Things you normally see on this site are Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lionfish, stingray, nurse shark, conch and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 20 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 40 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Coral Alley Reef
This site is between 28 feet at the top of the reef and 40-45 feet in the sand area. This site has a lot of cluster of reef where divers can swim around hence the name. Things you normally see on this site are Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lionfish, stingray, conch and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 28 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 45 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Island Reef
This site is between 25-35 feet at the top of the reef and drop off between 50-130 feet in the sand area. Things you normally see on this site are Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lion fish, sting ray, conch, Spanish mackerel, horse eye jack, spot snapper, lobster and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 25 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 130 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Dumps Reef
This site is between 25-35 feet at the top of the reef and drop off between 40-130 feet in the sand area. Things you normally see on this site are Puffer Fish, Squirrel Fish, Glass Eye snapper, parrotfish, lionfish, stingray, conch, Spanish mackerel, lobster and a lot of tropical fish.
Avg. Depth: 25 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 130 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
The Catherine (Ship Wreck)
This wreck dive is the most popular dive site in Ocho Rios. It is an artificial reef at depth of 50ft. An old minesweeper was sunk in 1991 to create this reef. The ship is approximately 120ft in length. From the surface to the uppermost part of the ship it is 20 ft. This reef is home to a wide variety of aquatic life like squirrel fish, bluehead wrasse, hamlets, grunts, snappers and black coral also grows in the area. Behind the wreck are the caverns, eels, sergeant majors, barrel sponges, sting rays, flaming scallops, nurse sharks, lobsters, sea snakes and sea fans.
Maffesanti Reef
Mountainous variety of coral at 30ft and a flat trench-like formation at 60ft. Many lobster, conch, coral fish and occasional ray.
Avg. Depth: 30 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 60 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Silver Reef
Flat formation of coral with trenches, various corals, sea fans and sponges. Many small coral fish.
Avg. Depth: 40 ft.
Skill level: Novice
Max Depth: 60 ft.
Dive site is Accessible from:
Devil's Reef
This dive starts at 65ft deep before it drops down to very deep water about 130ft under the water. Watch blackball sponges and staghorn coral growing in the area. Schools of bogas, creole wrasse, atlantic spade fish, barracuda and ceros will pass you by in your way to deeper parts. Large green moray eels maybe seen in the cracks and holes of the reef. Other things to see: turtles, jacks, nurse sharks, barrel sponges and sea fans.
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