Saint Lucia: The Caribbean’s Best Kept Diving Secret

St. Lucia's best-kept diving secret.

Summary

In this episode of the Island Vacation Travel Podcast, host Al Filojen explores the hidden diving gems of St. Lucia, a Caribbean island often overlooked by divers. He highlights the island's unique underwater topography, diverse marine life, and sustainable diving practices. From stunning dive sites like Superman's Flight to the vibrant marine reserves, Al shares personal stories and insights about the beauty and adventure that await divers in St. Lucia. The episode also touches on snorkeling opportunities, local culinary delights, and the importance of conservation in preserving the island's underwater paradise.

Takeaways

St. Lucia is often overlooked as a diving destination.

The island features diverse underwater topography and marine life.

Diving in St. Lucia offers a more intimate experience with fewer crowds.

Unique dive sites include Superman's Flight and Keyhole Pinnacles.

Sustainable diving practices are prioritized in St. Lucia.

The island's coral reefs are in pristine condition.

Snorkeling is accessible for beginners and families.

Local cuisine enhances the diving experience with fresh seafood.

Personal stories from divers highlight the magic of St. Lucia.

St. Lucia is a hidden paradise waiting to be explored.

Chapters

00:00 Discovering St. Lucia's Hidden Diving Gems

04:27 Exploring Unique Dive Sites

10:05 Diving Experiences and Marine Life

11:34 Sustainable Diving and Conservation

13:24 Snorkeling and Culinary Delights

17:23 Conclusion: The Untapped Paradise of St. Lucia

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Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Saint Lucia, the Caribbean's best, kept diving secret.
Did you know St. Lucia is home to some of the
Caribbean's most heathen and inspiring diving sports?
Where volcanic volcanic formations made Technicolor

(00:22):
coral reefs and rare marine lifedances beneath the waves?
Today we're going to be discussing about that and
discussing my homeland, St. Lucia.
Hey everyone, welcome to the Island Vacation travel podcast.
I am your host, Al Philosian AKAMatlow.

(00:48):
Today, we're plunging into the deep blue to uncover the whites,
and Lucia might just be the Caribbean's most best kept
diving secret. No, you haven't thought about
that. Whether you're a beginner or
even a seasoned dive master, this island has something truly

(01:10):
magical within beneath the surface for everyone.
Now, when most divers plan a trip to the Caribbean, their
mines go straight to destinations like Belize,
Bahamas or Warner. That's a Dutch island.

(01:34):
The three bees, Yes, Yep. The three bees.
These are actually well known well tread and yes,
unfortunately sometimes overcrowded, right today we're

(01:56):
going to take the dive. All right guys.
Now, despite it's been overcrowded, that's not a reason
to not go diving or go snorkeling or anything like

(02:16):
that, but that's where the problem actually lies.
Many divers completely, like just completely overlook the
island of Saint Lucia, despite it overseering some of the most
diverse underwater topography inthe whole region of the
Caribbean. Steep waterfalls, volcanic

(02:40):
spirals, shipwrecks, and even vibrant marine sanctuaries,
actually all in the island of Saint Lucia.
As you have to remember, it's a volcanic island.
So there's a whole world beneaththe water, right?
And your springs. And here's the kicker, because

(03:02):
it's not a mass market, a dive destination, you often have to,
you often have like the entire reef to yourself, which is a
plus. Well, to me, I think it's a
plus, right? But getting the wood out
actually hasn't been very easy. As travel agents, as people from

(03:24):
the island, we have to try and talk about it.
But yeah, it hasn't been very easy.
The government of Samosa has marketed quite a bit.
Now guys, let's just take a quick break, right?
Love uncovering hidden gems likethis.
Then you want to check out islandvacas.com that is

(03:49):
ISLANDVAC as.com where we curateexclusive travel experiences
right like dive tours. Who said Lucia's most trusted
guides? Book your dive adventure today
on islandvakis.com. That is www.islandvakis.com for

(04:17):
your next getaway to travel beyond the brochure right now.
Let us talk about dive sites now.
St. Lucia isn't just pretty on the
surface, it's turning. Below you've got Superman's

(04:41):
flight. Yes, Superman's flight, just
beneath the Pitons, named after the scene from Superman 2 that
was actually filmed in the island.
It's a wall dive where you actually drift effortlessly onto
the like the strong currents, pass barrel sponge, black coral,

(05:05):
and schools of Jack. Yes, lots of Jack out there yes,
like Jackfish, that's what we'retalking about.
So that's one of the spots that you could actually be visit
Superman's flight that's in Sofre next on the list.
We have one of my favorite hotels and Chasm because it's

(05:27):
connected to the Jazz Mountain, perfect for beginners and night
divers. The water is absolutely
phenomenal out there, so perfectfor night divers with calm, very
calm conditions. You have lobsters, octopuses

(05:48):
picking from reefs like I like in the evening at dusk because
you know, they go hunting in theevening at dusk.
You get to see all of that rightthere.
Evening time divers, this is perfect for you and Chastney
Reef. Don't forget that.
Next we have on the list KeyholePinnacles.

(06:12):
This is 4 coral covered volcanicpeaks rising from the seabed
like cathedral spirals teeming with life, trumpet fish, Moray
eels, and even seahorses. Have you seen a Have you ever
seen the seahorse before? They're actually very amazing
creatures and you need to study about them.

(06:33):
You'll hear some amazing stuff that is unlike no other biology
on the planet right now. Also octopuses as well.
That's why it's so interesting with marine life.
It's that guys feel like you're entered a hidden realm that the
mainstream hasn't spoiled as yet.

(06:53):
No, they have not found it as yet.
That's why we're talking about it a little bit.
Of course, it's a plus and A minus when you're talking about
those places, but it's my duty to tell you all about the
beautiful stuff that I know thatI've seen.
In this case, it's actually my island.
That's what travelling around the world brought back to me
that I realized in my island, weprobably have some of the

(07:14):
greatest stuff and it's just overlooked and we still haven't
been pristine condition. Now guys, let's take another
quick break so that we could paysome bills right now.
Looking for dive friendly gear that double S as travel fashion?

(07:35):
Swing by the IVTA Ware Travel store.
Yes, we have some new stuff in there To check out our new dive
deep travel light collections, Rush guards light with backpacks
and echo conscious teas for explorers like you don't forget,

(07:58):
visit the website ivtastore.com.Check it at the bottom where
travel meets lifestyle. Now guys, let's share a moment.
One of the divers, one of our guests actually shared with me,
which I I felt was really, really inspiring, really nice,

(08:21):
made me really proud. So I'm going to go ahead and
share it with you guys. Let's just tell me that it was a
sunrise dive at True Diably. I hope I pronounced that
properly. Just north of Sufre, as they
descended into the Stillwater, visibility stretched over like
maybe what is it like about 100 feet.

(08:42):
You can see as far as this ice could possibly see.
Probably about 100 feet. Going at around 50 feet, they
spotted eagle ray. I'm not sure if you've ever seen
the eagle ray in your life. Gliding right towards them and
there's nothing to be scared of.Followed by a massive green

(09:03):
turtle. Have you ever seen a turtle in
the water? It's amazing.
Then suddenly, as if on cue, a pod of squid began pulsing
through the water in formation. We were saying it was a moment
where like silence, like the marine life actually came
together in a perfect harmony. And it all happened just off the

(09:25):
coast of the island that most divers still don't even consider
right. That was the dive that actually
changed the game for the client.They decided, you know what,
they're divers now and they're going to go travel in the world
and go and find out all the great dive sites that are around

(09:45):
the world. And that's what he explained to
me. I personally was fascinated.
Right now, guys, as you know, westill have a lot of bills to
pay, so we've got to take another quick break.
Do you want to have a moment like that for yourself?

(10:05):
We partner with Saint Lucia's Top Party Certified Dive Centres
to offer guided small group tours and experiences from reef
dives to deep wreck explorationsas well, right?
Visit islandvacas.com. That is www.islandvacas dot com

(10:33):
and book a discovery call with me to plan your dive holiday.
Remember, you call him professional consultants right
now and hey, for the first time divers, we also have you
covered. We've got your back with full

(10:56):
beginners packages and we have direct access to the government
of Saint Lucia. We've also partnered with
Sandals. Sandals has a great dive program
along with body Holiday as well,right?
So we're the guys contact for that.
Salacious dicing isn't just beautiful, it's diverse and also

(11:19):
most importantly, it is sustainable.
So we have it for a long time. Fingers crossed forever.
All right now you'll find marinereserves like Sufre Marine
Management Area, where marine buoys protect coral reefs and
guides at trade in conservation first practices very important.

(11:47):
Then there's also wreck diving at Leslyn M.
That's a cargo ship sunk in like18.
No, sorry about that. 1986, if Iremember correctly.
Now it's transformed into a bustling artificial reef that's

(12:08):
home to puffer fish, barracudas,and also coral and crustaceans.
So it's booming with marine lifeand we love that right now dive
operations there are truly understand the need for
unbalance, ecotourism and marinepreservation.

(12:28):
It all goes hand in hand, and the best part is dive groups are
actually small, intimate, and led by passionate locals who
know the reef like their backyards or even their
backhands, right? The island also even goes

(12:48):
underwater photography tours, which are amazing.
I know a few islands actually dothat, but St.
Lucia specializes in that as well, where professionals teach
you how to shoot marine life respectfully and beautifully.
So if this is something you wantto consider as a photographer or
a photographer or something likethat, as I said, we specialize
in small business travel as well.

(13:10):
There's a great place to actually go practice.
It would be difficult to do it in Belize like at the Blue hole
or Bonaire to be pretty difficult right?
For non divers, there is also like Snorkeling Haven, which not
everyone can actually dive, especially at Sugar Beach, the

(13:36):
world famous beautiful Sugar Beach nestled between the two
pitons. Yes, those big peaks that you
see the representation of Saint Lucia.
Yes, Sugar Beaches is between there and you could actually
snorkel out there. It is heaven, Yes.
Where the shallow coral gardens are actually perfect for kids,

(14:00):
couples or even first timers so you don't have to go very deep.
Yeah, it's a great way to start the kids off.
And I would say for couples, butwe like the romantic stuff.
So that's for everyone, right? And foodies.
You love the Apri I've seen. Yes.
Apri that's after think grilled lionfish tacos, fresh mango

(14:27):
juice and a local rum like ancillary fries, ancillaries,
Friday night fish fry or even spinnakers in Rodney B.
These are some places I frequent.
These are some places I love. Guys, if you haven't had a
lionfish Taco as yet with a cup of mango juice, whoo, Yeah, you

(14:52):
ain't have nothing yet. And then to back it up, look
around Bounty, preferably, or Chairman's Reserve, right?
Or even Admiral Rodney, Right. And as I said, ancillaries,
Friday night fish fry is amazing.

(15:14):
Grossly, Friday night also has fish out there as well.
Then you have spinnakers in Rodney Bay, so you have lots of
options. St.
Lucia is actually all about fishing.
We have lots of fishing villages, right?
So whether you're coming for thecoral or stain for the
community, Saint Lucia's Waters delivers.

(15:38):
Yes, yes. Now guys enjoying this episode,
help us grow by hitting the subscribe button and leaving a
review or comment on Spotify. We see loads of consumption
hours, loads of views, guys, butwe need some interaction, so

(16:02):
feel free to leave a review. Let us know where you've dived
and where's your favorite dive spot around the world.
It doesn't necessarily have to be St.
Lucia. It really helps the spotlight.
The undeveloped sides of the Caribbean travel.
Sorry about that. Off Caribbean travel for behind

(16:22):
the scenes look at dive sports of fishing spots or even my
family fishing in Antigua because they do the fishing
stuff out there. Follow us on Instagram at Island
under score travel on Instagram and tag us in your dive photos

(16:45):
or your videos. We would really, really, really,
really appreciate that, right? And you could use the hashtag
Lucian Dive life. Let us know what's going on.
Let us know where you dived, right?
We would appreciate it check us out on Instagram guys.

(17:07):
We really, really, really, really want it.
As you can see, we put the Instagram right at the bottom
right now. Let us build a community of
ocean levels together. That is the hope right now,
guys. To conclude, St.
Lucia may not be the Caribbean'smost famous dive site or dive

(17:28):
destination, right, But it's certainly one of the most
rewarding out of all of them. I can promise you that.
From volcanic walls to shipwrecks and pristine coral
reefs, not bleached out or anything like that, where our

(17:49):
coral reefs are in pristine condition.
It's a paradise waiting to be explored by those willing to
look just a little deeper, just a little deeper.
What's been your most memorable dive?
Let us know, share it with us. Or maybe you've got a question
about getting certified party certified or something like

(18:10):
that. We could assist you with that.
We could direct you as well, which we could actually lead you
to the professionals Drop, drop a comment, Share your story or
DM us directly. As I said at Instagram or on
Spotify, and if you want more hidden travel secrets across the

(18:31):
Caribbean, check out our next video right links in the
description. Let's skip the adventure going,
guys. Let's move stop.
Thanks for diving deep with me today on the island vacation
travel podcast. My name, of course, is Phil

(18:53):
Ocean and well, where the sea isalways calling and paradise is
just a plain or a plunge away. It's how we have fun in the sun.
Until next time, my friends, Stay curious.
Also stay caridian and thank youfor all the unwavering support.

(19:20):
We appreciate you and we are outfor all the followers guys.