When scuba aficionados select the choicest dive locations, the Caribbean consistently makes the cut. The area is blessed with excellent underwater visibility, warm water temperatures and an abundance of marine life and dive sites that appeal to both beginners and seasoned divers. Most impressive is the wide range of treasures to be found: wondrous shipwrecks, dramatic drop-off wall sites, drift dives galore, underwater cave adventures, shore and boat diving.

On the conservation side, the Caribbean is devoted to the preservation of the underwater environment. It has a host of protected marine parks with thriving aquatic life. indeed, the area offers the most varied examples of tropical marine life imaginable, including anglefish, barracuda, crabs, dancing eels, goat fish, grouper, lobster, octopus, parrot fish, seahorses, sea turtles, sharks, snappers, spiny puffers, and stingrays.

Every Sandals and Beaches Resort has dive facilities that appeal to both beginners, who probably don't know a regulator from a wet suit, and experienced certified divers. What does the program include? Just about everything. There's a variety of dive vacations to suit your every whim, a trained professional staff who lead all dives and provide instruction, a high-quality line of Cressi SUB equipment, a resort course for non-certified divers [a fee applies], and PADI (Professional Association of Dive instructors) or NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) certification courses, available for an additional fee.

"We're extremely proud of the professional dive program that we've built over the years," remarks Noylis Amair, group director of water sports for Sandals and Beaches Resorts. "Our aim is to get our guests excited about the program and turn them on to this terrific adventure sport."

The Scuba program is as popular as ever. Approximately 3,000 guests per property take the resort course (additional fee) each year. The three hour class is usually conducted in a separate scuba-certification pool. Lessons include a medical questionnaire, 150-meter swim, basic scuba instruction, and hands-on training in mask clearing, regulator recovery, fin pivot, buoyancy checks, and full-gear swimming. Diving begins the day after course completion.

With two guided dives - ranging in depth from 20 to 90 feet - scheduled per day (there are night dives as well, for a nominal fee) at each Sandals and Beaches Resort, there are plenty of underwater adventures to anticipate. Certified divers can dive twice per day; non-certified divers dive once daily after completing the resort course. Since there's so much to see, we've prepared a page listing a few popular dive sites and sightings.

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