We Planned Scuba Diving In Grenada
On our Windstar cruise to the Caribbean, we took it easy in many of the ports. We escaped the cold in Toronto and we really just wanted to relax, Â In St Kitts, we flew through the air on our zipline adventure. Â We snorkelled on several different port stops. But we wanted to scuba dive on a least one stop. When we visited Grenada on our cruise in the southern Caribbean, we did a great snorkel trip to see the underwater sculptures in Grenada. A quick note to Grenada Seafaris and we got a recommendation for scuba diving in Grenada.
Grenada was the only port where we were actually docked. By 8am the ship was secured to the dock. It was a short walk off the ship at the cruise port in the main harbour. When we cruised to Grenada in the past, the ships were docked on the long pier on the other side of Fort George.
We were picked up at the cruise dock by Eco Dive and Trek and taken up the coast to their base of operations at the Coyoba Beach Resort in Grand Anse.
Heading Out To Dive
We quickly did the mandatory paperwork. Since we scuba dived in St Lucia two months before, there was no issue with currency. This time I did not bring my own BCD so had to get fitted for rental. I was happy at least that the BCD had integrated weights. Even if I did need a secondary weight belt for some small weight on my back. I did not want to give up my perfect trim.
The boat backed into the bay and we all carried our gear to the boat. I was very glad the trek across the sand was not the long haul we did when we scuba dived in the Red Sea. After that dive, I was much less happy with shored based dive operations.
It was a short 20 minutes to the dive site on the other side of St. George’s. We were ready to go scuba diving in Grenada.
A Great First Dive
The first dive was a slightly deeper dive along the coral at Flamingo Bay. With the flash on the underwater camera, we could see the bright colours on the coral.
The group moved nice and slow along got reef and looked in the nooks and crannies. Our dive leader Ron did a good job of scouting. We found several different eels as they snarled at us to back up. Lobster antennas led us to the lobster dens.
The highlight of scuba diving in Grenada was the sight of the octopus all puffed out. He was beautiful. And then he scurried back into the rocks.
It was a great first dive.
Finishing Up With A Shallow Drift Dive
The boat was moved during the surface interval. We could see the shallow wreck below us when we stopped. When we dropped into the water, we headed straight for the wreck. It was a small overturned boat that was starting to grow coral. David made sure to capture the rockfish nestled into the wreck. He was so well camouflaged that you would not know he was there unless you looked close.
From there we headed out for a swim over the water grass. We kept a lookout for stingrays but on this dive we were not lucky. After what seemed forever, we hit the edge of the reef again. And a strong current. From that point on, we barely needed to kick other than to change direction or stop to see something.
The reef was in good shape and the visibility was great. We moved with the current and stopped when we found something a bit more interesting. The coral was colourful and varied. Fish swam in pairs and in large schools around us.
Just as we were preparing to stop the dive, someone spotted turtles out in the grass. The inexperienced diver in the group when off to chase the turtles. But the turtles were faster.
We climbed out after an hour. As the boat headed back to the main harbour, we dismantled our gear and packed up. The boat took us back to the dock close to our cruise ship. And they picked up some other people from our cruise ship for the afternoon dives.
It was a great morning scuba diving in Grenada.
Finally Diving With A Dive Computer
Other than David’s very expensive Citizen Dive Computer watch, we have never owned our own new dive computers. When we went on scuba diving vacations, we often rented dive computers. If we were only doing a couple of dives, we generally went without dive computers. On our recent trip scuba diving in St. Lucia, we did a very long deep dive for the first dive. On the second dive, we had to rely on the dive leader to keep us at safe limits. This did not make us comfortable.
Before we left for this trip, we finally purchased matching dive computers. We had been looking for the perfect dive computer for a long time but never found one that seemed just right. The Mares Quad dive computer finally looked like it had everything we wanted. The biggest factor we considered was the size of the display. Our underwater vision is not getting better with age. So we needed a big display that was easy to read. The Mares Quad supported air and nitrox diving. Buttons on the device were simple and easy to operate.
We took the dive computers in snorkelling for a quick leak test. And then we got a chance to try the new dive computers out when we went scuba diving in Grenada.
They were easy to operate and easy to read underwater. We were easily able to keep track of time and depth. And they even had a count down timer for the 3 minutes at the 15’ safety stop. When we were ready to fill in our dive logs, it was easy to access the dive computer and get the key dive numbers. We did not yet get the cables to connect to our computer and get a full download of dive data.
But we were very happy that we finally bought a dive computer. It would keep us safer not having to rely on others!
So Glad We Went Scuba Diving In Grenada
The scuba diving in Grenada was great. Despite the storms in the area, we found the visibility to be great. The work being done to preserve the reefs has resulted in good colour and variety of coral. There was a lot of fish around. We were just disappointed that we didn’t see the stingrays or have the turtles come closer. But we were glad we planned scuba diving in Grenada.  It was a great way to get some exercise and work towards our weight loss goals for this cruise.
We headed back underwater to snorkel on our catamaran adventure in Martinique. We just couldn’t resist the lure of the underwater world!
Have you tried scuba diving in Grenada? What was your favourite dive site?
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Wow this looks unbelievable! I went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, but the coral and marine life is clearly much better and more colorful in Grenada! That’s so amazing you were able to capture the octopus all puffed out on camera, what a once in a lifetime experience! I had never even though of scuba diving in Grenada but I clearly need to go, this sounds amazing!
Julia, I am glad this gave you a good taste of scuba diving in Grenada! We went snorkelling there to see the underwater statues. That was enough of a tease that we wanted to try scuba diving on our return. So glad we did! Hope you get to try it. Linda
I love your photography. The flash really does bring out the color. I dive with a Mares Puck and really wish I could automatically download and log my dives. Grenada looks beautiful too. I love a good drift dive where I get to just focus on the fish and maximize the bottom time
Jenn and Ed, Thanks for the compliments on our photography. We managed to break our camera when the seal went on the underwater enclosure. So we are now looking for a replacement. We were surprised with how good the scuba diving in Grenada was. Love the floating part of a drift dive. Just not swimming back against it 🙂 Linda
Never been scuba diving but regardless this sounds like an amazing experience. Cant believe some of the creatures you got to see like the octopus! So cool you got to see turtles at the very end- love turtles!
Steph and Zach, It is always so amazing what we find under the water. The octopus was so cool. First time we saw one all puffed out. Turtles are also one of our favourites. Linda
I don’t scuba dive so seeing these images is special, that octopus is super cool. You really got to see some great things, sounds like a wonderful memory
Sherianne, I am so glad to share our images from scuba diving. It is such another world down there. I agree that the octopus was super cool. Linda
I used to do a lot of diving in the 80s and 90s. I haven’t gone recently, but that might be because the water is rather cold in New Zealand where I live and I’m a bit of a wimp. But Granada looks divine. That photo of the octopus is incredible. A real treat you managed to see him all displayed.
Rhonda, I know what you mean about scuba diving in cold water. We don’t scuba dive any more in the cold water at home in Canada. But we try to scuba dive when we get the chance. And were really pleased with how much we saw underwater in Granada. Linda
Beautiful photos. I have never been to Grenada but it seems like a great place for diving – so much sea life! I can’t believe you got to see that octopus, a sea turtle, and that rockfish all in one trip. Good eyes by the way – it took me a while to see the rockfish even when I was looking right at it in your photo. Sounds like you had a fantastic cruise!
Nick, Thanks for the feedback on the photos. My hubby moves very slowly to catch macro pics. So we see a lot when we scuba dive. We were so glad we chose to scuba dive in Grenada. Linda
What lovely photos! I’m glad you had good visibility on your dive, the colors are fantastic! You got really close to all of the wildlife, you’re much braver than I am on a dive! And you got to test out your new dive computers. I always love trying out new toys. Thanks for sharing.
Stevo, I am glad you liked our glimpse into the waters of Granada. We like to scuba dive slow so that we don’t miss anything to see. Good when we don’t get a big group that wants to race along the reef. Love the chance to see new things we had not seen before. Linda
These are awesome photos! They almost look like paintings! Nature at its best, really! More people should see this to remind them on how important it is to help save our planet’s oceans!
Kirstie, Thanks for your feedback on the photos! We love to capture and share our experiences under the water. Both for people who may never venture there and also as you said as a reminder of what we have to protect. Linda
Wow, what an amazing experience. Your underwater photos are so beautiful. I m a diver myself, but I find it difficult to take photos underwater. It seems like you are very skilled. I didnt know Grenada was so beautiful underwater.
Barb, Thanks for your feedback on our photos. We love to take pics underwater. We had a great underwater camera but it just broke. So I hope we find a great replacement. I too was surprised that Granada was so great underwater. Linda
These pictures look wonderful. I am somewhat middle aged and just learned to dive, and I am so impressed that it’s not just for youngsters like the internet suggests. Your pictures are wonderful (what camera did you use?) and the sea life looks so beautiful. I learned in safe but “unexciting” Mediterranean sea and loved every minute, and also felt safe in the knowledge of decent medical care and deco chamber should I ever require them
I learned to scuba dive later in life too. And love the new sights that the underwater world have opened up. We have an older Canon camera with an underwater enclosure. It has a mode for underwater which helps. And my hubby has been scuba diving his entire life so he knows how to get great underwater shots. Lots of great places in the Caribbean for scuba diving.