Liveaboard Diving in Virgin Islands

With crystal clear waters, numerous reefs, immense coral, and famous wrecks, the British Virgin Islands are a scuba divers paradise.

Liveaboards in the Virgin Islands are offered on the Cuan Law, a sailing trimaran with all the things a diver needs on board. Virgin Island liveaboards take in the scenery of the beautiful Caribbean Islands whilst allowing you to visit wrecks and reefs a plenty. You will not be disappointed by everything liveaboard diving in the Virgin Islands has to offer. A sun bathing hotspot set sail in Virgin Islands to enjoy the life at sea. You will have the chance to visit the islands to shop and see the sights of these old Dutch and British Virgin islands whilst on your dive liveaboard. Scuba diving in the Virgin Islands you will find large schools of tropical fish, incredible reefs and some brilliant wrecks. The Coral gardens here will impress you and you will find lobster, turtles, moray eels, goliath grouper and Nurse sharks under water on your Virgin Islands tour. Your opportunity to take in famous ship wrecks is here on your Virgin Islands cruise.

Make sure you remember your camera for this spectacular dive cruise. The best Virgin Islands liveaboards have plenty of diving, relaxing and time to enjoy life on board. On a liveaboard tour in Virgin Islands you can expect 3 dives per day including morning, afternoon and night dives. Sailing in the Virgin Islands will allow you the opportunity to relax and enjoy your live aboard. Throughout the rest of your time you will have options to kayak, snorkel, Hobie Cat sailing or even add more dives. A bell rings to announce another dive and all divers gather to be thoroughly breifed on what to expect from the dive site. With only 20 divers on board the biggest Trimaran in the world there is plenty of space to get ready to dive and relax between dives. You will enjoy a cabin room with luxury facilities as well as other spaces to chill out, sleep or socialise. Each day you will be well fed from buffet style options so eat as much of what you like when you like.


Dive Sites and Areas of Virgin Islands

Wreck of the Rhone Probably the greatest dive tour option on a Virgin Islands itinerary. RMS Rhone has been a dive spot since 1975. Lots of parts of this ship are still surprisingly intact including a 15 ft propellor. You get a feel for the sheer size of the ship as you descend towards it. A favourite for many not just wreck enthusiasts.

Wreck of the Chikuzen This Korean refrigerator vessel was based in St. Maarten and is 246 foot. It used to service Japanese fishing fleets. In 1981 when warned to remove the ship before a hurricane the owners decided a great way to solve the problem was set it alight and send it adrift. This caused chaos and the Marina Cay area was under threat so tugboats tried to remove the ship eventuating in the attempt causing huge problems. Finally it sunk and now is an artificial reef for divers to enjoy.

Round Rock A lack of current on the British Virgin Islands means comfort on simple drift dives like this. Round Rock Drift is an underwater swim in the gap between two sets of exposed rocks. Large boulders here are covered in encrusted corals, soft corals and sponges. Schools of Bar Jacks, Brown Chromis and Creole Wrasse make their homes here.

The Blinders This dive tour takes you round gigantic boulders at 35 feet deep. They are heaped everywhere you look on this dive, covered in soft and fire corals and on the bottom sponges and orange cup corals. Many swim throughs on this dive and interesting overhangs offer you up snappers and squirrelfish. If you're lucky watch a Nurse shark swim by, or a Hawksbill Turtle.

When To Go

Enjoy your liveaboard boats in the Virgin Islands year round. Here you can expect surface temperatures of 24-32 degrees celsius and water temperatures at around 24 - 27 degrees celsius. You will enjoy 18- 30 meters visibility. All in all making for great dive safari conditions. Check the conditions carefully to plan your wetsuit choices, whilst most should be good in a shorty others may need a 5mm full suit in these waters.

Tips For Travellers

The currency at the Virgin Islands is the US dollar. You will need to remember your travel adapters for American plug types (110V) if you wish to charge the all important camera so you can take your memories away with you. Visa requirements will differ for different passport holders please check with your government's website for updates on this. Sun cream is all important when BVI diving, the temperatures may not feel too hot but when on deck you will need to keep yourself protected.

How To Get There & Ports Of Departure

Liveaboard boats in the Virgin Islands depart from Tortula. This port can be reached by flights through San Juan, Puerto Rico. Direct flights to San Juan are available from many U.S. cities. A less expensive option is to fly to St Thomas and take the short ferry (1 hour) across to Tortula.

Considerations

Luxury liveaboard options here cost in the region of $400 per person per day including marine park fees, port taxes and fuel charges. Dive equipment, Nitox, travel insurance and gratuities are not included. It is a place to visit as a beginner diver as well as some sites for the more experienced divers needing a challenge. You can customise your trip to include enhancing your skills with tailor made teaching packages available onboard. When visiting British Virgin Islands you will need passports with at least 6 months validity on entry, a spare page for a stamp and you must check with your home country's government website about visa requirements.


Virgin Islands Diving Reviews

  • 9.5 Exceptional
  • 8 Verified Reviews
  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Helen W
  • United States United States

The crew on the Cuan Law made it a breeze - safety was a priority.

Diving Virgin Islands in July on the All Star Cuan Law

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Anita V
  • United States United States

Super fun and nice friendly faces. Sites were great and water was refreshing

Diving Virgin Islands in February on the All Star Cuan Law

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Monica H
  • United States United States

It was a wonderful experience.

Diving Virgin Islands in March on the All Star Cuan Law

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Aaron S
  • United States United States

Wonderful diving, great food on the island, and beautiful landscapes make this a Caribbean gem to dive and stay at.

Diving Virgin Islands in January on the BVI Aggressor

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Stephanie S
  • United States United States

It was good. Not my favorite diving destination but we did see some rare gems like octopus, seahorses, and spotted Eagle rays. Some dives were boring with lower visibility but most were good with a few amazing dives on the Rhône wreck.

Diving Virgin Islands in February on the BVI Aggressor

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Joe H
  • United States United States

Reef not as vibrant as in some other areas of the Caribbean. Not as much marine life.

Diving Virgin Islands in August on the BVI Aggressor

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Todd B. P
  • United States United States

Absolutely beautiful views, sunsets, and diving

Diving Virgin Islands in August on the BVI Aggressor

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Laura G
  • United States United States

It was warm easy diving. Lots of coral sea fans and fish. Not a lot of sharks. We did see a few at carrot shoal on the last day but they were small.

Diving Virgin Islands in October on the BVI Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Kevin M
  • United States United States

It was the worst Diving that I’ve done in a long time. If I’m being very honest, the conditions were rotten, but the Sea Life wasn’t much and the coral was bleached out. The conditions were horrible, but the staff made it as good as could be.

Diving Virgin Islands in February on the BVI Aggressor