St. Kitts · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Reef · Wall
Paradise Reef
Healthy corals on a mini wall just past Brimstone Hill
A reef and mini wall just past the Brimstone Hill fortress on the leeward coast, and a favourite with many divers. Healthy corals and clear water make the upper part a dive for all levels, while the deeper reaches toward 40 m (130 ft) are left to more experienced divers. Anchors lie on the sea bed here too, left from the battles fought off this coast between the French and English.
Where it is and how deep
17.3469° N, 62.8364° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef starts at about 12 m (40 ft) and runs down a mini wall to 40 m (130 ft), usually in mild current. Coral heads 3–5 m (10–15 ft) high stand only 1.5–2 m (5–6 ft) apart on the sand, which gives the bottom an unusual contour. Eels, lobsters, rays, turtles and garden eels live among them, with schools of jacks above.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime |
Season follows St. Kitts: December to May is the dry, busy season; June to November is hurricane season, wettest around September.
Dive videos
SCUBA Dive at Paradise Reef, St. Kitts, Caribbean. · Yeah Baby SCUBA Adventures on YouTube
Sources
- Dive Sites | Kenneth's Dive Center — Kenneth's Dive Center
- Diving St Kitts — Dive the World
Photo credits
- Stone walls and green lawns of a hilltop fortress above a wooded slope, with blue sea beyond by David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in St. Kitts
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More than a dozen colonial anchors on a single dive
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Coral formations sloping from 15 m (50 ft) to 40 m (130 ft)
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Creviced volcanic reef cut by sandy channels
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Nurse and reef sharks along a sloping reef and wall
Wreck
A tug standing upright in sand, ringed by reef
Pristine hard coral ringed by sand strips to 37 m (120 ft)
Huge coral-covered rocks under the Nags Head cliff
Wreck
An upright freighter crusted in corals and sponges
Similar dives elsewhere
A staircase entry onto a reef that tips over at 9 metres
Coral in 6 m a short swim off the beach, wall to 43 m
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Plateau in a few metres, drop-offs to 40 m
A full lap of the islet, shallow or deep