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Dive Review of Patagon Dive Center/Westin in
Virgin Islands/St. John

Patagon Dive Center/Westin: "Pleasant Diving with Top Notch Operation", Jun, 2014,

by Marco Accattatis, NJ, US (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 7807.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Having never been to St. John before I did some research on the various dive operators on the island prior to heading there. St. John is not a prime dive destination so there was not much information out there – especially on Patagon – but, after the fact, I feel we made the right choice. Cody and the rest of the crew were really knowledgeable and went out of their way to accommodate our needs (including holding the boat one morning because we couldn't find our car keys; more on that later).

Although all three major operators on the island enforce a 45 min dive limit, Patagon will let you extend your profile to 60 min if their boat is not scheduled to go out in the afternoon. In addition, unlike the other two operators – Cruz Bay Watersports and Low Key Watersports who both run cattle boats – Patagon's dive boat accommodates a maximum of 6 divers; on one day, in fact, it was just the two of us.

The boat leaves at a civilized 9 am which gave us ample time to get to Caneel Bay Resort (where the dive center is located) without getting up too early and do things like finding our car keys in the trash! There is a little bit of walk from the parking lot to the dive shop so plan to leave your gear there if you are diving with them for multiple days – they will rinse, store, and set up your gear if you do so. Make sure you request weight belts in case you plan on using them before you get on the boat.

While most operators tend to take divers nearby, because Patagon has a sister operation at the Ritz Carlton in St. Thomas, we had the chance to dive there the last two days of our trip: there, we dived The Ledges of Little St. James, the Straggles, Calf, and Cow. In St. John Carval Rock and Congo west are also very nice with several tarpons on the first dive. All dives are above 60 feet.

In retrospect, I wish I had done more research on grocery stores. Since we had a villa at the Westin with a full kitchen we stocked up in St. Thomas thinking that prices would be higher in St. John. While we were correct, we still found prices in St. Thomas to be pretty high (we shopped to Gourmet Gallery). Next time we'll shop at Pueblo which is where the locals go.

Finally, we managed to go out twice to dinner and both restaurants were excellent from A to Z: Asolare and Zozo's at the Sugar Mill. At Asolare, try to get there early (6pm) if you want a table with unobstructed view. While we tried to book Ted's Supper Club we were let down by the owner (Ted) who inexplicably stopped returning my calls after booking us.
Websites Patagon Dive Center   Westin

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Barbados, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Italy, North Carolina, Sipadan, St. Kitts & Nives.
Closest Airport St. Thomas Getting There Rent a car at St. Thomas airport and catch a ferry to St. John.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 81-86°F / 27-30°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Forty-five minutes.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments No rinse tank on boat.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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