St. Kitts is no stranger to astounding success! Recently, the destination was awarded at the 2022 World Travel Awards as the Caribbean’s Leading Dive Destination 2022.
St. Kitts was chosen ahead of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Martinique, The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands at the 2022 hosting of the World Travel Awards held at Sandals Resort, Jamaica on August 31.
This is the first time that St. Kitts has won the Caribbean’s Leading Dive Destination Award, becoming the second Caribbean destination to do so.
“From near-shore reef diving to subaquatic caves, and shipwrecks, we’re incredibly proud to be recognized for our beautiful and diverse underwater landscapes,” the St. Kitts Tourism Authority said in a social post.
Scuba divers of all ages and abilities delight in St. Kitts’ glorious underwater world, with many sites virtually unexplored. Bordered by the Caribbean and the Atlantic, the island offers a range of options, from near-shore reefs to subaquatic caves.
Underwater visibility ranges from 30 to 100 feet deep, meaning you’ll have crystal-clear views of walls, ledges, under hangs, coral towers, and sunken ships, all swarming with sea life. St. Kitts’ sister island, Nevis, also offers supreme diving, along with the channel between the two.
Scuba diving in St. Kitts includes:
Reef diving. Our reefs provide a good hiding place for Spotted Drum, High Hat Arrow Crab and large lobsters. Divers love the Hot Vent at 90 feet, fizzing with 100oF water. Depths range from 35 feet to 95 feet.
Wreck dives. More than 400 ships have sunk off the shores of St. Kitts, with only a dozen or so having been identified to date.The most popular wreck dive, especially for novices, is River Taw, a 144-foot-long freighter sunk at 50 feet in 1985. A large variety of reef fish, including Squirrel Fish, Barracuda, Glassed Eye Snapper, and Angel Fish, flit about its encrusted coral.
Cave diving. Divers at Devil’s Cave, north of Charlestown on Nevis’ west coast, navigate through coral grottos and around overhangs crowded with Glassy Sweepers, Blue Tang, Nurse Sharks, Sting Rays, and on occasion Black Tip Reef Shark. Depths are up to 40 feet.
Resort courses are offered at many of the properties to introduce clients to the world below without having to be a Certified Scuba Diver. The adventure starts with a session in the pool and a briefing on the basics of scuba diving. Once potential divers master the basic rules, including how to clear the mask, clear your ears, breathe underwater, signal OK, signal out of air and control buoyancy, a dive boat will take you out to sea for a one-tank dive. Experienced PADI instructors supervise the entire dive. Resort course participants must be at least 10 years of age. Most courses limit the dive to a depth of 30 feet.
Meanwhile, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority was nominated alongside 11 other Caribbean Tourism Authorities for the 2022 Caribbean’s Leading Tourism Board Award and the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and the Royal Beach Casino were also nominated for the 2022 Caribbean’s Leading Casino Resort Award.
The finest travel brands from across the Americas and the Caribbean have been unveiled at a star-studded Gala Ceremony in Jamaica. The elite of the travel industry assembled for the World Travel Awards (WTA) Caribbean & The America’s Gala Ceremony 2022 to find out who amongst them had been crowned best of the best.
The red carpet evening, hosted at Sandals Montego Bay, marked the opening leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2022 – an international search for the finest travel and tourism organizations in the world.
Winners on the night included the paradise island of St. Lucia, which fended off stiff competition to emerge as ‘Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination’, whilst Turks & Caicos was voted ‘Caribbean’s Leading Beach Destination’. The Bahamas took the title of ‘Caribbean’s Leading Luxury Island Destination’. Jamaica emerged triumphantly a multiple winner, picking up the ultimate title for ‘Caribbean’s Leading Destination’, along with ‘Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination’ and ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’.
