Admittedly, I wasn't actually thinking about a SCUBA trip on this vacation and we just happened…read moreupon Red Hook Dive Center. It's been 5 years since I last dove and I had never been on an ocean dive. Living in Kentucky limits my access to beaches but we have plenty of lakes, rivers, and quarries. We went in to purchase some souvenirs for our sons and I just asked on a whim if the young lady (Coralie) knew of any reputable dive crews that had any openings the week we were in the USVI. It took some convincing from my wife but I finally relented and signed up. I am so glad that I did. Fast forward a few days and we find ourselves in front of the Fool's Gold ship with a seasoned crew of divers and captains getting ready for an adventure of a lifetime! Both dives took place at Buck Island. Dive 1 was at Barracuda Point. It was a 41-minute dive of up to 65' - 70'. Dive 2 was at the wreck of the Cartanza Senora. It was a 49 minute dive of up to 50'. Having not been out for 5 years, I decided to enlist a private dive instructor at a small additional fee. Her name was Audrey and she was AMAZING! I was nervous and showing all the signs of a new diver (holding my breath, struggling with buoyancy, etc.). She put my mind at ease and by the end of the first dive, it was like riding a bicycle. We saw so much ocean life that I would have missed were it not for her. We saw spotted drum, blue tangs, moon jellyfish, a Caribbean reef shark, a nurse shark, green sea turtles, angelfish, yellowtail snappers, pink meanies, groupers, puffer fish, parrotfish, a hawksbill sea turtle (endangered), anemones, flounder, filefish, and a solo squid. I cannot finish this review without giving huge props to the entire crew of Becca, Paul, and Gus as well. They worked so well together and made the trip memorable for everyone on the boat and in the water. My wife, who did not dive or snorkel, even had a great time on the boat and floating in the water with pool noodles. If you are considering a dive while in St. Thomas or the USVI, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't make Red Hook Dive Center your first call. This was a trip I will always remember. Pro tip: Make sure you bring your GoPro or dive camera. The sea life is amazing and wondrous! I'm so glad I remembered mine.

I was VERY disappointed in my latest visit to RHDC (April 2026). After having dove with them in…read more2015, 2018, and 2023, I was REALLY excited to be back. The staff had completely changed and it showed. The ONLY person that I would give more than 1 star to for customer service was Audrey...5 stars isn't enough. She was FANTASTIC! A GREAT dive master and a GREAT customer service representative of the company! She walked around on the boat before and after the dives and talked to everyone to get to know them and see how they were doing. Truly a model employee! That's where it ends. EVERYONE else was mediocre at best. No personality, no interaction with the divers, no customer service skills. Sam was no help in the dive shop, the captains were just there for the paycheck...it was a complete turnaround from the staff that was there before. BY FAR, the WORST was May. She was the dive master on my third day of dives and was a complete and utter disappointment. She picked the WORST possible dive sites (NE side of St. Thomas across from Coral World at Thatch Cay), had ZERO personality or customer service skills, and was not ready to be leading divers. We spent the first ten minutes of the second dive swimming into a strong current and she had no clue. You could watch the rocks below and see that we weren't moving at all. She finally turned us around and we just flowed with it until the dive was over. No wildlife pointed out, no attempt at doing her job...it seemed like she was being burdened to have to take us out. Needless to say, I won't use RHDC again. If is wasn't for Audrey, I would give it 1 star. She was truly great at her job. The rest...not so much.

We had a dive excursion with underwater adventures while in St. Thomas during our cruise. This is…read moreby far the best dive trip we've experienced while cruising. I highly recommend this business, the crew are an outstanding bunch with great personalities that make you feel welcome and comfortable no matter what your experience level. I would like to personally thank, captain Kyle, Mike , Tim , and Ian for a great day. It was my first time seeing a wreck and it sits in about 40 feet of water, and a reef shark. If you're in St Thomas go out with underwater adventures you will not be disappointed

On this Holland America ship excursion, the diving was OK, but I was very surprised to see Aluminum…read more72cf scuba tanks being used instead of Aluminum 80cf tanks, which required adjusting my preset tank straps on my BCD. Although it was not a problem, I was just surprised to find these tanks on a Caribbean dive. In fact, this was the only dive operator I have used anywhere in the world that uses these tanks, but I doubt many of the divers had a clue at to what size tank they had. Although the air quantity was ultimately sufficient for the shallow, low dive time profiles (33.5 and 37 minute dives), I would have preferred to have Aluminum 80s, and longer dive times. In all fairness to the dive operator, this was a ship excursion with a lot of low experience divers on a very large dive boat, and they no doubt had a tight schedule to maintain. The crew did a nice job dealing with, and keeping safe, so many low experience divers. I would have rated this dive operator higher had they split the divers into compatible experienced divers to provide a better dive experience for everyone.

We booked months in advance a shore dive for Monday afternoon and a Boat Dive Tuesday morning with…read moreCoki Dive Center. They had my deposit and card on file and everything was taken care of. Fitting for fins and equipment takes a while. Good thing we arrived early (parking can be problematic) to get everything situated. The staff and crew of this shop are the most friendly and chill folks. Brett was awesome and chill with my teenage boys and eased and assured me they were in good hands. CDC also took underwater photos. We purchased the entire file of photos for $27. Worth it. Actually the shore dive and both dive was priceless and worth every penny. I would recommend Coki Dive Center for their dives in St Thomas.

Laura and Peter were super sweet and helpful! I came by myself and felt very comfortable on my dive…read morewith Laura. I am Open Water certified and haven't been diving in 5 years, so the Discover Scuba Dive was a great refresher and way to get back into diving! Would recommend!

I highly recommend these guys for diving on Vieques, especially if you or anyone in your group is…read morenew to scuba or kind of freaked out by it. They are competent, fun, and go to great lengths to make sure you're really comfortable with every aspect of diving. Even if you're kind of terrified by the idea of breathing underwater (what? It's scary!), you'll feel safe in their very capable hands. I went for PADI Open Water Diver certification with a group of 9 friends, all of whom had different levels of experience and comfort with diving. Arnaud, Tania, Shauna, and Carlito put us at ease right away with their easy-going yet professional attitude - all of us got plenty of personal attention, and they made sure we really learned and understood everything and didn't rush us through the exercises, even though we got a late start (our fault) on the first day. It's a lot of work over 3 pretty long days, but they kept it fun by joking around and telling us cool things about the island, and my husband (who had actually done open water certification before, but never mailed in his info to get the card) said they were much more thorough than the last outfit he did it with - important, when it comes to little things like being able to breathe! These guys, and particularly Tania, deserve some sort of medal for the way they handled me. I have tiny, crappy lungs and a healthy fear of the ocean, and after screwing up an exercise and gulping a bunch of water at 16' I declared myself DONE with scuba forever (even though Tania got a cleared regulator into my mouth so I could breathe almost instantly). When I didn't come back the next day, they pulled my husband aside and offered to work one-on-one with me to help me overcome my fear and get my SCUBA Diver Certification, which is kind of like Open Water Lite (you can dive up to 40 feet, with a guide). They could have easily just taken my money and walked, but they were genuinely invested in seeing me succeed. Tania worked one-on-one with me and was SO patient and kind: I had a freak-out almost as soon as I went under and she got me calmed down, had me practice surface skills, and then just swam around with me underwater and pointed out fish and turtles along the reef until I was comfortable enough to practice skills again. She has an incredibly nurturing, comforting vibe that comes across even underwater, and by the end of the day I was totally chilled out and excited about diving...a far cry from the hyperventilating mess who first entered the water! I honestly thought I would never dive again, but after working with Tania I actually ended up going back to finish up my Open Water Certification - with Isla Nena Scuba, of course!

Arnaud and Carlos were fantastic! Patient, efficient and thorough instructors who took us to some…read moreof the most wonderful sites for marine life and coral. They were able to answer all my random questions about the fishes we saw, as well as gave pointers on where to dive next. Arnaud has been diving for years and is more than willing to share what he knows to make the experience even more fulfilling. Equipment is top-notch, and he even provided snacks! If you are in Vieques and are in the mood for some diving, give Isla Nena Scuba a call and see if you can dive Arnaud's Reef (yes, named after the instructor himself!).

If you're looking for a nice relaxing day on a private island then this may be the trip for you!…read moreThis is a group tour that travels with more than just those you booked with. As long as 15 people are on the tour, they will take you to your Calebra. If less than 15 you stay local! There were well over 15 so we were able to tour Calebra. It was so beautiful! Once you get there, they pick you up on a ferry to take you to the boat . The boat travels for about an hour before getting to a private island and that is where you get the guided snorkeling or diving tour depending on what you selected! My friends and I did the snorkeling. As someone who can't swim (I know I know lol) I had a great time. The tour guides were very informative and helpful for all ages and swim levels. They do provide fruit, cold cut sandwiches and rum punch and when you stop . If you're looking for a "party" boat then this may not be for you. Don't expect lots of liquor and twerking etc it's a family type tour, Some of my friends were a bit disappointed by the price expecting that we'd stop somewhere that had a bar and restaurant but it was just a private island (we're in our high 20s low 30s). So idk I think it depends on your expectations but I was okay with everything and the service was great!

Never In my life did I think I would give a 1 Star but would not recommend this company. We…read morecontacted them weeks prior to our trip to inquire about getting scuba certified. We were told we had to first buy and complete the course work through PADI and from There they would do the water/ dive sessions and compete the certification. The shop also gets a kick back from Padi as work since it makes u select a dive shop where ur course work is sent to. Once we complete the course work, we each reached out to the dive shop about 2 - 1 1/2 weeks in advance to schedule the dates and times for the water sessions. We did not receive any type of response back from the shop. We attempted to message on whatsup as requested but still did not receive a confirmation or any type of communication. We called down to the shop, where we were told to just text them. We again tried to text the shop but did not receive any response. We flew to San Juan and arrived and immediately went to the shop, we were told to text them and they would get back to us.. we asked directly if they had availability and we were told they would check and get back to us via text.... A day goes by, we attempt to call and no response.. fully we get a text saying they are fully committed...... This was without doubt the worst type of un-reliable customer service and a refusal to communicate.. I would not trust this dive shop or operation. They should never have told us to use to do the course work with their shop and then refuse to complete our certification. Luckily Scuba Dogs next door came to our rescue when we told them about the horrible customer service we received. Just be aware this shop will not be reliable.

What a great time!! Super cool guys. Much respect. Our family had a fantastic time. Thanks for…read moreshowing us all around and making lifetime memories especially for my kids. You guys have a bright future. Thanks for bringing back real authentic customer service where people want to tip!

Wonderful day on a clean, comfortable boat with an excellent captain (Enzo) who was knowledgeable,…read morepersonable, fun to talk with, and took us to beautiful snorkel spots. This was our fourth time chartering with Island Roots over the last 9 years, and we have had perfect days each time. Highly recommended!

Craig and Bill took us out diving today and we had a blast! Top notch service, good equipment, cool…read moreexplanation about the dive sites and great visibility! Riley the dog came on the boat with us, that made our day! Def recommend and we'll be back when we visit st Thomas again!

Great island diving business. The staff was super nice. They efficiently processed everybody and in…read moreour group of nine was escorted to the boat and we made it to an interesting location despite a significant chop. Clearly these guys have been doing this for a long time because they were smooth and efficient. Decent dive and nice for snorkelers in the group too. Also stopped at a cool beach bar on the way back. That was cool. Prices are good and service top notch.

This is a great choice. We were served a light breakfast of fruits and muffins then taken to our…read morefirst snorkeling site. Given information on what to look for and where. After that was served lunch rolls, meats and cheese, shrimp, ceaser salad and fruit. Then onto two more sites for snorkeling. Crew was very helpful and informative. I have difficulty with my knees and they helped me on and on the boat. Fantastic time

The crew of the Snorkel Cat made our day! Captain Tuna was entertaining as well as great at finding…read moreexcellent snorkeling locations. Congratulations to Nate on his recent Masters license, and shout out to Bryan from Minnesota! Super friendly and great cooks! Watch out for Nate's special piña colada.