Scuba Diving in Jamaica

 Jamaica's dive locations and scuba operators

Jamaica isn't a scuba diving capital like the nearby Cayman Islands, but there are many good spots to explore. At all the major resort areas, you'll find scuba operators that offer a variety of day and night dives. To scuba dive, you will need to show a C-card. If you are not certified, you'll find both resort courses (one-day sessions designed to give you a feel for diving, ending with a shallow-water dive just offshore) and full certification courses offered at many resorts. Many properties don't charge for resort courses.


Montego Bay

This is one of the island's best-known scuba destinations. As home of the country's first marine park, Montego Bay is making efforts to protect and preserve its marine life through more stringent laws and environmental restrictions. Just offshore are good reefs and walls. Basket Reef, one of the most popular, drops to a depth of 150 feet and is known for its parrotfish, rock beauties and dolphins. Another top dive is Airport Reef, on the southwest edge of town, which features canyons and tunnels.

Ocho Rios

East of Ocho Rios, the Devil's Reef drops to over 200 feet and has a sand shelf at 130 feet. Nearby is Caverns, which has resident nurse sharks.

Kingston

Kingston offers several dives, the most unusual of which is Port Royal, home of sunken ships and wreckage from the 1692 earthquake. Here you'll see a sunken wall from the old city of Port Royal. The shipwreck of the Kim and Trader, a lumber ship, is also popular.

Falmouth

Falmouth has an excellent wall dive that starts at just 30 feet below the surface. Chubb Castle is a favorite with all levels of divers, who swim around its corals and sponges. More advanced divers will be able to explore a chimney that drops to 90 feet and leads the way to tunnels and caves.

Runaway Bay

Runaway Bay shares a wall with Falmouth that becomes the Cayman Trench. A well-known site is The Canyon, with two parallel walls.

Negril

Negril has a variety of dive sites, most fairly shallow, and there's something to suit all skill levels. Sites range from walls and reefs to caves. Drift diving is popular here.

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Primary Language: English

Capital City: Kingston

Population: 2,695,867 (July 2003)

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