Traveler Description
At Ocean Explorers we believe that who you dive with is as important as the diving itself? Small groups, personalized attention and a relaxed atmosphere are what we offer on a daily basis. From outstanding reefs to fantastic wrecks, our waters are warm and inviting and the marine life abundant and friendly. Our Caribbean dive shop is located under the waving palms by this tranquil Kim Sha beach on the beautiful Caribbean island St. Maarten.

Address: 113 Welfare Rd
Phone: 599-544-5252

http://www.stmaartendiving.com/

Traveler Reviews

Best Diving In St Maarten = Ocean Explorers
Reviewed by Tedders78 on Mar 11, 2010


Dived with in there company many times and they are great... local knowledge of dive areas is unbeatable mixed with there love for ocean animals makes them the best on the island...Luciana tells me Jeff is in the 'Summer of sharks' movie as well ... If your looking for guaranteed good diving head to the beach and find them... Iain.

Thanks for the wonderful dive!
Reviewed by OHTraveler101 on Mar 10, 2010


I wanted to thank you all for a wonderful dive on 2/27/10. I appreciate your professionalism and the time each and every staff member took to make diving such a great experience, especially for me since I'm relatively new at this. As always we had a great stay in St. Maarten and we're glad we dove with you, as this is something we will now do everytime we visit. We might even get adventurous and go on the shark dive!! Take care and keep the sun shining!! Until next time, Roxana and Jose

A dive operation that feels almost like family
Reviewed by Apogee58 on Mar 9, 2010


I did my open water certif dives with Jef 6 years ago when he was at another shop and sought him out once Jef and Lu took over Ocean Explorers. Jef has the amazing ability to teach while keeping his students calm and relaxed under water. I've done 5 PADI courses with him over the years incuding my Advanced Open Water, Nitrox, night diving & two underwater photography courses. He is an amazing videographer and photographer and turned me on to underwater photography. He freely shares his secrets and tips on underwater composition and how to get better photographs under water. His weekly dive trip compilation CDs are truly professional quality. His skills as a shark wrangler are unparalled. I've done 4 shark dives and look forward to my visits with Scratch, Xena and Big Mama every year. I have returned anually to dive with Jef and Lu for over 5 years and do from 6 - 12 dives with them every year. Even though the sites can be the same, we explore in more detail to keep things fresh. Every year they always seem to surprise me with a site I've never been to. While Jef and his divemasters looks after underwater end, Lu does an amazing job with scheduling, accounting and keepling the shop running. The dives operations are personalized boutique style. No cattle boat operations here. Only friendly personalized dives. I truly feel that I am more than a number with them. The dive masters are first rate and attentive to client needs. Their attention to dive safety is first rate. The equipment and boat are always well maintained. I would H I G H L Y recommend Ocean Explorers for anyone looking for a first class diving experience on St Maarten.

Ocean Explorers in St. Martin
Reviewed by dfranck on Mar 1, 2010


I was last week in St. Martin and did 10 dives with Ocean Explorers. The staff was very friendly and professional. I did also the shark dive that was my favorite. I would recommend them with the guarantee that you will be happy with the results.

Highly recommended!
Reviewed by kamaaina_cutie on Feb 25, 2010


I highly recommend Ocean Explorers for diving St. Maarten! Friendly, knowledgeable staff, small boats (6 divers total on the day I went), great dive sites, and cruise ship friendly! My boyfriend and I dove in St. Maarten on Feb 10 and had a really wonderful time. We were coming off a cruise ship and the staff of Ocean Explorers was very accomodating of our itinerary. I chose to book with them rather than with the cruise ship operation because of their small boat, and I was very happy that I did so! Ocean Explorers offered very personalized and friendly service. Pre-dive: I received prompt and informative email replies from the very helpful Luciana while planning the trip. Once in St. Maarten, we took a taxi ($15 for a 20 min ride) from the cruise ship dock to the dive shop and arrived around 8am. Dive #1: Really neat wreck with some cool swim throughs. We saw a few stingrays, an awesome bearded fireworm, and a variety of fish. We basically went at our own pace, with the only stipulation being that we kept the dive master in view. Max depth was ~60 ft at the bottom of the wreck, dive time 45 min. We then took a 45 min surface interval on the boat -- water bottles were provided. Dive #2: This reef dive, which was called "lobster hotel", lived up to its name. We saw three huge lobsters and a baby one as well. Lots of other cool stuff too, including a brittle star, cleaner shrimp, a flounder and more stingrays. Again, the dive was very relaxed, with one of the dive masters showing us around for the first 10 min or so, and then letting us explore for the rest of the time. Max depth was ~50 ft, dive time ~45 min. Really enjoyable dives! We were back at the shop around noon. I can't say enough good things about Ocean Explorers! We will definitely dive with them next time we are in St. Maarten! They sent me this video after our trip, so I thought I'd include the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2LtJzZQsc