Dive Review of
Dive St. Vincent/Sunset Shores Hotel in
St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Bahamas, Bonaire, Cozumel, Dominica, Fiji, Honduras (Bay Islands), Little
Cayman, Papua New Guinea, Raja Ampat, St. Lucia, Solomon Islands, etc. 

Dive Conditions

No limits specified. Must have air in tank :)  

One rinse tank under seat on board. No camera prep surface to speak of
(this is not a liveaboard. Some shaded areas to keep camera.   

Overall Rating

This was my first return visit to a dive destination. My memories of St.
Vincent served me well. If small stuff is your predilection, this be the
place. If a caustic, but comic host is your cup of tea, Dive St. Vincent’s
Mr. Tewes fills the “Bill”.  Great weather with a perfect breeze cooling
the tropic heat at all times? You’ve got it. A beautiful island studded
with mountains and lush with vegetation? That too.

Bill Tewes remains one of the great diving enthusiasts and hosts on the
planet, IMHO. Five years after my first encounter with him, he remains
every bit as enthusiastic about diving and finding stuff. With his
ever-ready telescoping pointer and magnifying glass, he’s always scanning
for goodies. For an UW photog like myself, it’s like having a personal
valet. All I have to do is experiment with my settings; my subjects, if I
haven’t found them myself, are waiting for me at Bill’s or his divemaster’s
hands. 

There’s a reason many of the world’s great photographers visit here. The
requisite frog fish and seahorses are there in relative abundance. But also
all manner of tiny crustaceans, mollusks, echnoderms and others. Sea Hares,
nudibranchs, flatworms, shrimp of all sizes and kinds including virtually
microscopic wire coral shrimp. Eels of all types on every dive. Octopuses.
Scorpion fish large and small (Mushroom). 

As has often been said, Bill’s demeanor is not for everyone, though I find
it hard to believe that anyone could be offended by his always good-natured
ribbing. And I’ve got to say that he delights in “getting” as much as
“giving”. If you’re willing to play along, you can have a ball with this
very gregarious host. Bill almost always offers to meet his guests socially
as well. (He sprang for drinks for my buddy and me at Young Island. Word of
caution: Beware the “Island Special”!!)

I and a buddy stayed at the Sunset Shores, where I’d roomed on my last
visit in 2002. Breakfast is included in the Dive St. Vincent package. The
rooms are good sized; most have views with nice terraces. Outlets are 220
and accept the 3-square-pronged British variety plug with two parallel pins
and one perpendicular. The grounds are quite pretty and abut a small beach,
with views to Young Island beyond. The open air but roofed dining terrace
is comfortable, naturally cooled and has good views of the water. 

Bill’s boat leaves at 9:30 sharp. The standard package includes a two tank
dive each day, but each dive averages 90 minutes (some are 110 minutes or
more: it’s strictly a function of your air; deco isn’t usually an issue
since the depths can be very shallow). Surface intervals average 50 minutes
snoozing or chatting on the boat. My package included 16 dives during my
week’s stay. I and my buddy used ours up and then some, with a night dive
almost every night. There’s a $10 surcharge for those dives, even if within
the package amount, to pay for gas and the services of Callie, one of a
number of Bill’s long, long-term divemasters. Dives beyond the package
price run $57 plus VAT per. 

There are never more than 6 divers on a boat. For me and my Buddy, 4 was
the average. 3 divers max to a divemaster or Bill. The boat has a small
sheltered area and a larger open deck. Dive gear is set up on the tanks
which are stowed in the forward hold in molded slots until needed.  Gear is
rinsed and kept in mesh bags overnight at the shop, with the exception of
wetsuits. Callie, DJ and the other divemasters are extremely adept at
finding goodies and are very accommodating and helpful, though they are
very, very shy. Don’t expect to be chatted up, but don’t worry about
it---there’s no rudeness or hostility involved. 

Food is an issue for the budget minded on St. Vincent. Most restaurants are
very expensive: a pizza joint served us two nine-inch pizzas for about 40
bucks US. It goes up from there. Expect to pay $175 or more for a meal for
two with all the trimmings (sans wine) at the luxurious Young Island
Resort.  The Sunset Shores has reasonably good food, if not particularly
reasonably priced. There are some relatively cheap alternatives, such as
Callie’s sister’s fried chicken, served from a converted bus at the side of
the road, but you need to time your visits. Our problem was that night
dives brought us back at 8:30 or later and most kitchens closed at 9:00 or
earlier. 

Overall, I believe St. Vincent remains one of the unsung heroes of 
Caribbean diving and far surpasses many if not all of the super-hyped
destinations in that part of the world. It ain’t the South Pacific but it
doesn’t miss by much!
 

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