Beginner Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Two volcanic spires rising from the sea and continuing down underwater, with a reserve that gave the fish back to the fishermen
The two volcanic spires rising from the sea on the southwest coast don't stop at the shoreline: they keep descending underwater as a wall, and just a few meters from the beach the bottom is already thirty meters down.
In this profile you'll find how to dive the island's southwest coast, why its marine reserve is studied as a fisheries-management success story, what you'll see, when to go, and what level you need.
It's one of the Caribbean's best-documented examples of a marine reserve that increased artisanal fishing catches instead of reducing them, and that story is dived right above its reefs.
Geography and access
Saint Lucia is a volcanic island in the Lesser Antilles arc, mountainous, with a west coast sheltered from the prevailing wind.
At its southwest tip, two volcanic rock spires rise almost vertically from the sea and are the island's recognizable image.
That verticality continues underwater: the slope drops fast, forming walls and slopes that start a short distance from shore.
The proximity of the drop-off to the coast allows shore diving at several points, something uncommon in the Antillean arc.
The area is included in a marine reserve managed since the mid-1990s with zoning agreed with local fishermen.
Access is by international flight to the island and a road transfer to the southwest coast, where diving is concentrated.
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