Beginner U.S. Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
A wall you reach by swimming from the beach, and a pier that ranks among the Caribbean's best macro sites
On the north coast of the main island, you cross a beach, swim two hundred meters, and the bottom drops away: a wall begins that plunges out of sight. And at night, under a wooden pier, half an encyclopedia of macro life shows up.
In this profile you'll find how diving works across the islands, from the wall you can swim to from shore to the marine national parks and the macro pier, along with conditions, when to go, and what level you need.
These are the Caribbean islands where the most quality diving happens without a boat, and where the national park designation has spent longest applied to the seafloor as well as the land.
Geography and access
The territory groups three main islands and several islets at the northeastern end of the Antillean arc, east of Puerto Rico.
The main island, to the south, is separated from the other two by a deep channel and has a wall on its north coast that begins just a few hundred meters from shore.
That wall is the geographic feature that defines diving here: the edge of the shelf drops from around ten meters into hundreds of meters of water.
The northern islands share a shallow shelf with coral reefs, sheltered bays, and seagrass meadows, with less depth and more shelter.
Several areas are designated national park or marine national monument, including entire islands along with their reef.
Access is by direct international flight from North America, with ferry transfers between islands.
Keep reading with full access
This article is part of the full Encyclopedia. A donation from USD 10 unlocks every article, every species photo and the downloadable app, and helps sustain the Scuba Sign Paperless Diving Community project.