About Sint Maarten Diving
 For a morning 2 Tank Dive (DTD or
2TD) - St Maarten offers some really great diving along the South
coast. With a combination of reefs and wrecks there is
something for everyone. Fish life is varied and quite
prolific and the shark, turtle and stingray population is
abundant – especially the sharks in the Man of War Shoal
Marine Park area. Dives are generally kept to 45 minutes to
minimize the surface interval. With an average depth of 55ft
and very little current our sites are considered “easy
profile”; however these dive sites are all ¼ to ¾ miles off
the coast and as such are considered “open ocean” dive
sites.
Dive sites are decided on the
morning of the dive as they are weather dependent, and the
site chosen may change on the way out if another dive boat
is already on that mooring. Generally the dive boat tries to
take you to the best site for the day – after all the dive
masters want to have a good dive too :)
 Shark Diving – there is no
“shark feed dive” as it has been banned on the island. While
sharks are never guaranteed, they are very common on any of
the dive sites in the Man of War Shoal Marine Park. The
smaller sharks are not shy and often swim right between the
divers. To learn more about these important creatures add the PADI Shark Conservation
specialty course to any 2 Tank Dive.
For an afternoon Single Tank Dive
(STD) -
While the dive shops sometimes schedule a single dive to the
above sites, most single tank dive trips, Discover Scuba and
training dives will be to Little Bay. This dive site is a
nice, shallow, inshore dive site that all the dive shops use
for training. Surface conditions are always calm.
Visibility, averaging 40 to 50ft, is not as good as the off
shore dive sites. While this dive site does have a diverse
fish population, and can have turtles and even spotted eagle
rays, it does not have the sharks and larger fish and coral
population you will find on the deeper sites. I enjoy this
dive site every time, but then I am happy blowing bubbles in
a swimming pool. It may also be possible for non-divers to
join the boat as snorkelers or “riders”.
Citizen Science
Besides teaching several conservation focused PADI specialty
courses we currently run 2 Citizen Science projects - PADI Dives
Against Debris and REEF Volunteer Fish Surveys. After some
training with us you are able join us on these dives and to
contribute to this scientific research by collecting and
submitting data, not just in Sint Maarten, but on other
dives world wide.
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Click here to
Book your St Maarten / St Martin Dive Trip or Dive Course
- Let us know when you will be on island, where you
will be staying, a little bit about yourself and how you
like to dive.
Cruise Passengers - please specify what
day you are in port and your arrival and departure times as
not all shops are able to accommodate your schedule.
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Discover Scuba Dives (DSD) - these are usually
done in the afternoon. Starting with a short PADI eLearning
on your phone to learn
the basic theory of diving, you are then kitted out in dive
gear and you do your first dive skills training in our
swimming pool. Once you
are comfortable with your scuba gear and newly learned
skills it is on to the dive boat and out to a nice, easy
shallow dive site for your first dive. Most Discover Scuba
Dives will be to Little Bay. It is possible for certified
divers to join the dive part of this trip as a single tank
diver. It may also be possible for non-divers to join the
boat as snorkelers or “riders”. 
PADI SCUBA Courses - it takes as little as 3 days to
complete your PADI Open Water Diver certification. After
completing the theory you will have a
confined water session in our pool to learn and practice dive skills.
Then it is on to our dive boat to complete your course with 4 x open water dives.
No matter who you are diving
with, whether you are just starting
out with your Open Water Course
or are progressing to the
Professional Level, The Scuba
Shop welcomes you into the sport
of diving with great Dive
Student Store Discounts - be
sure to let us know what course
you are doing
and what plans you have for your
dive future and we can suggest
the perfect gear for you.