Scuba Diving Jamaica: Reefs, Walls and Wrecks

Why Divers Choose Jamaica

Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Caribbean, and most visitors know it for beaches, music and food. Under the water it is just as varied. The north coast sits close to deep water, so many reefs start in the shallows and fall away to walls within a short swim. The west end around Negril has calmer, shallower water that suits new divers and snorkelers. On the south coast, the cays off Port Royal hide wrecks and the remains of a seventeenth-century city that sank in the earthquake of 1692.

Three of the island's best-known dive areas sit inside protected marine parks: Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. Rules in these parks limit fishing and anchoring, and dive boats tie up to moorings instead of dropping anchor on the coral. Expect sponges, sea fans, turtles, eagle rays, moray eels and the occasional nurse shark, along with the reef fish you would see anywhere in the Caribbean.

Getting here is easy. Most divers fly into Montego Bay, and the main dive towns are all within a drive of the airport. The water stays warm year-round, and most of the diving is done from small boats, so trips stay relaxed and personal.