If you want to explore and rediscover the TOP 10 SCUBA dive sites in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), all you need is proof of your PADI/NAUI certification.
Scuba diving is offered on most of our fully staffed charter yachts in the British Virgin Islands and is equipped to cater to your diving needs. With extensive experience in all the dive locations, your divemaster or instructor will take you diving in the best dive destinations in the beautiful BVI waters to experience a diverse variety of fish, coral, and other sea creatures. Dive on a wreck or glide over the most amazing underwater coral formations.
We have personally dived all of the sites below and recommend them from beginner to advanced.
Let’s look at some of the best diving sites.
1. Painted Walls
- Depth: 20 – 40 ft
- Level: Novice
- Accessible by small boat/tender
There is a buoy on the south side of Dead Chest Island. This visually stunning site is both popular and perfect for beginners. Painted Walls is fun to explore because a kaleidoscope of colors is created by encrusting corals and sponges on the walls of four canyons.
These colorful canyons create unique passageways for divers. In one of these gullies, there is a natural arch leading to a shallow pool with schools of fish. You may even spot a harmless nurse shark sleeping under huge boulders – they are wonderful to find! The dive is about 45 minutes long, beginning at the furthest gully and returning via the rest.
- Depth: 25 -45 ft
- Level: Novice/Intermediate
- Accessible by small boat/tender
This rocky pinnacle, located on the west side of Cistern Point on Cooper Island, is a vibrant underwater haven perfect for both snorkeling and beginner divers. The site boasts an array of colorful pillar coral and a teeming population of reef fish, creating an exciting environment for exploration. Keep an eye out for a green moray eel lurking in the crevices.
The dive is a circular route around the pinnacle, allowing for a quick 30-minute exploration or a more leisurely, extended adventure to fully appreciate the underwater beauty.
3. The Indians
- Depth: 35 -50 ft
- Level: Novice/Intermediate
- Accessible by charter yacht
Regarded as one of the best shallow dives in the BVI, these four rocky pinnacles offer a breathtaking underwater experience. Rising and descending roughly fifty feet above and below the water surface, they create a vibrant ecosystem teeming with life. Divers can explore abundant coral gardens, navigate an intriguing 15-foot tunnel, encounter schools of colorful fish, and discover an enchanting underwater cavern. This dive site is a true gem for those seeking an unforgettable underwater adventure in the clear, turquoise waters of the BVI.
4. The Playground
- Depth: 25 -45 ft
- Level: Intermediate
- Accessible by small boat/tender
Find a buoy on the Southside of Green Cay, next to Sandy Spit. and nearby tranquil Sandy Spit. Look for a large formation of pillar coral and a series of huge boulders on the exposed north side. They are covered with marine growth, including large fans, soft corals, and brightly colored sponges. Overhangs are filled with schools of smaller reef fish while larger fish swim freely around the rocks. Schools of barracudas patrol the outskirts. Turtles and sharks may be seen between the pinnacles. This dive site offers a vibrant underwater landscape teeming with diverse marine life, perfect for intermediate-level divers seeking an exciting and memorable experience.
5. The Chimney
- Depth: 25 -50 ft
- Level: Intermediate
- Accessible by charter yacht and swim to the site
The Chimney is a captivating dive site, named for the distinctive chimney-like gap formed by two converging rock formations. Exploring this location is an adventure, with canyons, ledges, walls, and overhangs creating an exciting underwater environment. For an even more mesmerizing experience, bring a dive light to illuminate the vibrant cup corals and brightly colored sponges that adorn the overhangs, painting a stunning underwater tapestry. Don’t forget your underwater camera to capture these breathtaking scenes!
6. Angelfish Reef
- Depth: 20 -45 ft
- Level: All levels
- Accessible by charter yacht and swim to the site
Angelfish Reef is a popular dive site known for its canyons and sloping ridges. Large barrel sponges are seen along the edge of the drop-off, and you will see angelfish and triggerfish among lobsters and eels. You stay at the deepest level first and then return via the small canyons. Visibility is typically very good.
7. Coral Gardens
- Depth: 20 -50 ft
- Level: Novice/Intermediate
Accessible by charter yacht
The remnants of Atlantic Air BVI’s Shorts 360 aircraft are situated within the coral gardens on the southern side of Great Dog Island. Following an aborted takeoff in 1993, the sole aircraft landed in the water approximately 200 feet from the runway’s end and was subsequently sunk as part of the BVI’s ongoing artificial reef initiative. Presently, the plane, devoid of wings and a tail, rests within a sandy area at a depth of approximately 40 feet.
8. The Wreck of the Rhone
- Depth: 30 -80 ft
- Level: Intermediate/Advanced
- Accessible by charter yacht
At least two dives are required to fully explore the RMS Rhone. Your first dive, lasting 25–30 minutes at 75 feet, will take you to the bow section. Following your mandatory 3-minute safety stop, enjoy a surface interval and learn about the Rhone’s history.
The wreck teems with coral, fish, and even a barracuda named Fang. You might also spot eels, octopus, lobster, and sea turtles. Notably, the 1977 film “The Deep” was shot here. While many wrenches were once visible, they’ve been collected over time. There’s still a “lucky porthole,” a brass one with intact glass, polished by divers for good luck. Keep an eye out for a silver teaspoon embedded in the gearbox.
The deepest point is around 80 ft, and the propeller can be free dived at 28 ft. This dive is definitely worth adding to your bucket list!
9. The Kodiak Queen
- Depth: 60 ft
- Level: Intermediate
- Accessible by charter yacht
We are grateful to DiveBVI for providing this information.
The Kodiak Queen, formerly a Navy fuel barge, survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. In March 2017, it transformed into an underwater art installation, becoming the newest dive site in the British Virgin Islands.
Launched in 1940 as U.S. Navy fuel barge YO-44, the Kodiak Queen is one of only five ships to have survived the Pearl Harbor attack. Subsequently, the vessel found a new purpose as a fishing boat. In 2012, Historian Mike Cochran discovered the ship in a Road Town junkyard and initiated a rescue effort through a website, garnering significant attention. Owen Buggy, a friend and photographer of Sir Richard Branson, visited the site and proposed the ship as an artificial reef.
Just a few months later, the Kodiak Queen was transported from Tortola to be submerged off the coast of Long Bay in Virgin Gorda.
- Level: Advanced
- Accessible by charter yacht
Local insights are provided here by DiveBVI.
Given its remote location, approximately 12 nautical miles northwest of Virgin Gorda, this site is recommended only for dives conducted by experienced instructors under favorable weather conditions. The site presents challenges due to regular swells, typically ranging from 3 to 5 feet. Furthermore, divers are advised not to enter the vessel because of unstable piping within.
The Chikuzen, a 246-foot refrigeration vessel formerly part of the fishing fleet in St. Maarten, was rendered inoperable two years prior to being moored at the fishing fleet dock, where it caused damage. To prevent further harm, the owners intentionally set the vessel ablaze off the docks; however, it did not sink and eventually drifted to the BVI, posing a threat to the beach on Marina Cay. It was subsequently taken under tow and sank without incident.
Now surrounded by miles of sand, this location serves as a crucial gathering place for marine life. Regular visitors include schools of barracuda, horse-eye jacks, snapper, stingrays, eagle rays, African pompano, Atlantic spadefish, nurse sharks, reef sharks, and a resident 600-pound Goliath Grouper.
We look forward to helping you from the minute you decide to go on a charter yacht vacation with Epic Yacht Charters until you arrive on board the yacht that you chose for an unforgettable vacation.
Call us: (954) 271 3005
Email: [email protected]
