__ Often described as America's Paradise in the Caribbean, the USVI offers many benefits to the traveler such as: English spoken everywhere, US dollar currency, US Postal Service, US Customs & Immigration, American style food, and friendly American style service. Although lumped together as the USVI, the islands of St. Thomas, St John, and St. Croix offer distinctly different topside and underwater experiences.

St. Thomas hosts more divers than any island in the eastern Caribbean - but most of this traffic is one-day and first-time business from the many cruise ships that stop over in the popular port of Charlotte Amalie. The majority of dive sites are shallow, and feature low to mid-relief reef structure, with the most dramatic terrain found on the rock ledges and boulder piles that flank points of land and small offshore cayes. There are also a number of excellent wrecks in the waters around St. Thomas. Divers wishing to visit wrecks and more advanced sites should select a dive operator that caters to experienced divers.

St. John is an island for nature lovers, and its underwater terrain, while relatively mild and shallow, is well suited to new or occasional divers who enjoy spending time on shallow, lively coral reefs that are largely free of current and surge.

St. Croix has drop-offs to offer advanced divers, including one of the finest walls in the Caribbean. The entire north shore of the island plunges precipitously to depths of several thousand feet, and Salt River Canyon is considered a must-do for visiting divers. Visibility is said to be the best during summer months, and swells may also be smaller at this time. The famous pier at Frederiksted has been replaced by a new structure, but the signature sea horse population is said to be returning. The island also offers wreck diving, but nothing that rivals St. Thomas, and the underwater National Park at Buck Island remains a favorite with first-time snorkelers.

For more information about visiting the USVI, click on the links below.