Diving the wrecks of Barbados

About Diving the wrecks of Barbados

By the ULTIMATE Barbados Editorial Team

Barbados is a wreck diver’s island: six wrecks in the shallow, protected water of Carlisle Bay, and a big wreck for advanced divers that West Side Scuba ranks among the world’s top ten.

Carlisle Bay

Carlisle Bay, beside Bridgetown, is a protected marine park with six wrecks in tranquil water between 10 and 52 ft deep, the oldest from the First World War, according to West Side Scuba. It suits beginners and Discover Scuba dives, and snorkellers can swim over the wrecks too.

The Stavronikita

The SS Stavronikita is a 365 ft freighter, which West Side Scuba ranks among the top ten wrecks in the world, with its bow at 70 ft and its propeller at 140 ft, and the top of the mast just 15 ft below the surface. West Side Scuba lists it as an advanced dive requiring Advanced Open Water certification.

Nine shipwrecks lie within a mile of the dive shop on the Hilton peninsula.

Dive centres

Barbados Blue, a PADI 5-Star dive centre on the Hilton peninsula, has nine shipwrecks within a mile of its shop and teaches courses up to divemaster, plus freediving. West Side Scuba, a family-run shop founded in 1993, keeps its boats to 12 divers at most.

Snorkelling

If you don’t dive, Barbados Blue’s Turtle & Shipwreck Snorkeling Safari is a five-minute boat ride from the shop, and Folkestone Marine Park off Holetown has snorkelling close to shore.

Good to know

Bring your certification card and logbook, allow 24 hours between your last dive and your flight home, and dive with an operator who uses mooring buoys.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Diving the wrecks of Barbados before you go.