Best 5 Sandals Resorts for Scuba
All of the adults-only all-inclusive Sandals resorts in the Caribbean are great for scuba diving vacations because certified divers get complimentary dives. However, some of the islands offer better scuba diving experiences than others.
Read on to learn about the best 5 Sandals resorts for scuba so you can plan your next underwater adventure!
Best 5 Sandals Resorts for Scuba Quick Take
The best Sandals resorts for scuba diving are those located in the top diving destinations of The Bahamas, Curacao, St. Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados.
Sandals Royal Bahamian, The Bahamas
Sandals Royal Bahamian is often considered the best Sandals resort for diving for couples who live in the U.S. because it’s so close—just an hour’s flight from Miami—so you can get your vacation started right away.
Located in Nassau, Sandals Royal Bahamian offers scuba in beautiful crystal clear water at top spots like the Southwest Reef, which features shallow diving and thriving coral. Other great locations are the Hollywood Bowl and Thunderball Grotto. You can see all sorts of marine life in The Bahamas including nurse sharks, moray eels, tropical fish like yellow goatfish and parrotfish, stingrays, and sea turtles.
Sandals Royal Curacao
Curacao is another top diving destination, offering dives right off of the shore in its nearly 100 dive sites. Whether you like shipwrecks, coral reefs, drift dives, or wall dives, you’ll find something wonderful when you dive at Sandals Royal Curacao. Popular spots are the Mushroom Forest, the Tugboat, Alice in Wonderland, Watamula, and the Blue Room.
You can see really cool fish here like frogfish, flame black angels, pygmy angelfish, and gobies and blennies, as well as creatures such as lettuce sea slugs and red night shrimp. Another benefit to this Sandals is that Curacao is not in the hurricane zone, so it’s a safe scuba vacation destination during the summer.
Sandals Resorts in St Lucia
The top dive destination of St. Lucia actually features three Sandals resorts: Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Sandals Regency la Toc, and Sandals Halcyon Beach. Each has a distinctive vibe, but all three offer scuba diving (although the dive boats all leave from the dock at Sandals Grande St. Lucian). You also get access to all the facilities and amenities at all three, regardless of which one you stay at.
Home to the impressive Piton mountains, St. Lucia offers amazing diving at their base—an 1800-foot drop off. You can also dive in protected marine parks like Anse Chastenet, along vibrant coral reefs, and at shipwrecks, and see more than 150 types of fish as well as a huge variety of marine life like octopuses, sea snakes, and eels. Top spots include Keyhole Pinnacle, Fairyland, and the Anse Cochon Reefs.
Sandals Grenada
Conveniently located just 5 minutes from the airport on a spectacular beach, Sandals Grenada is a top-rated Sandals resort and one of our favorites. Grenada is another of the best Caribbean islands for scuba diving, known especially for its many shipwrecks as well as the world’s first Underwater Sculpture Park.
Some of the best diving spots in Grenada include the reef known as Purple Rain, which features purple marine life that appears to be “raining” down on it; Shark Reef; Happy Valley: Flamingo Bay; and a huge shipwreck called the Mighty Bianca C. Some of the sea life you’ll encounter includes nurse sharks, sea turtles, octopuses, and barracuda, as well as all sorts of fish.
Sandals Resorts in Barbados
There are two Sandals locations in Barbados: Sandals Barbados and Sandals Royal Barbados. They are located right next to each other so you can easily access both resorts.
Barbados has crystal clear water and a variety of diving spots including shipwrecks and vibrant coral reefs. Some of the top spots include the reef and the shipwrecks in Carlisle Bay (including the Cornwallis, the Eillon, the Barge, and the Berwyn), Bloom Shallows, and Friars Craig. Marine life you can see here includes turtles, octopuses, rays, parrot fish, seahorses, sea slugs, and barracudas.
Scuba at Sandals FAQs
Do all Sandals resorts offer scuba diving?
Yes, all Sandals resorts offer scuba diving. It is part of the complimentary inclusions and is available to any guest who is a certified diver. They also offer certification courses that you can complete during your stay, then be able to take advantage of the free dives.
Is Sandals scuba diving worth it?
Scuba diving at Sandals is a complimentary inclusion for certified divers, so it’s definitely worth it if you like to dive. And while all of the resorts offer diving, the locations above have some of the best scuba diving in the Caribbean.
Is scuba at Sandals really free?
Scuba diving at Sandals is free for certified divers. Up to two dives a day are included in your stay. If you want to get certified on your trip, you can take a course (which costs extra) and then enjoy one complimentary dive a day for the rest of your stay.
Scuba at Sandals includes all the equipment you need and transportation on special boats from the resort to the dive sites. If you want a wet suit, those are not free but are available for rent.
Does Sandals St. Vincent have scuba diving?
Yes, like all Sandals resorts, there is scuba diving at Sandals St. Vincent.
Now that you’ve read our list of the best 5 Sandals resorts for scuba, where do you want to go? Let us know in the comments!
If you’re ready to plan your trip, feel free to ask for our professional help—we are certified Sandals specialists and can make sure you get the scuba vacation of your dreams.
