Scuba diving locations in Saint Martin:

When to scuba dive in Saint Martin:

The water is warm all year.

Local standards for gear:

The best scuba diving spots in Saint Martin:

• On Saint-Martin in the north:
  • Basse Espagnole lies in the channel between Saint Martin and Tintamarre and is characterized by slabs of rocks that have become completely covered in corals and surrounded by fish.
  • Chico is located on the southern side of Tintamarre. From 35ft to 70 ft, the site has plenty of fan corals, swaying back and forth in the current.
  • Circus is about 45 feet to the bottom and there are various caves and swim-throughs which make for an awesome dive, with loads of great examples of elkhorn coral, which is an endangered species.
• On Sint Maarten in the south:
  • The Bridge, or Le Pont in French, just in front of the Dutch entrance to the Simpson Bay Lagoon, has a maximum depth of 50 feet and it is really four dive sites in one. It is a mix of I-beams and unrecognizable slabs of wood and metal which has attracted a lot of life, and the diving centers have gotten together and scuttled three other smaller sailing vessels.
  • The Roro is an artificial wreck that lies in 80 feet of water on a sandy bottom. About 100 foot long, the wreck has been modified for divers, allowing us to enter and explore the large open passages.

The best spots to snorkel in Saint Martin:

Fun scuba facts:

Country data:

Administrative details

• Currency: Euro (EUR) in Saint-Martin in the north, Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) in Sint Maarten in the south.
• Population: is about 36,000 (2008) in Saint-Martin in the north, 37,000 in Sint Maarten in the south.
• Time Zone: (GMT-4)
• Main languages spoken: French in Saint-Martin in the north, Dutch in Sint Maarten in the south. ## Diveable overseas territories: France for Saint-Martin in the north, Netherlands for Sint Maarten in the south.

Martinian diving federations:

• For Saint-Martin in the north, le Fédération Française d'Etudes et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM), which is a member of the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS).

Local diving laws and regulations (and PADI-equivalent certifications):

For Saint-Martin in the north, PADI and some of the other well-known diving certifications are not directly recognized by French diving legislation. Roughly speaking, the entry level qualification in the FFESSM system, Niveau 1 (N1), is equivalent to PADI Open Water (OW), with Niveau 2 (N2), the second level, loosely equating to PADI Advanced Open Water (AOW), although the FFESSM levels tend to have stricter requirements and so further certification or evidence of relevant experience, such as a logbook, may be required to get some diving centres ("centres de plongée") to recognize your qualifications.