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World | Caribbean | Diving Carriacou:
Carriacou overview
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Scuba Diving in Carriacou, Caribbean
Water temperature: |
Temperatures range from 25 to 30°C (77 to 86°F), and average 28°C (83°F) |
Suit: |
3mm wetsuit or shortie |
Visibility: |
Visibility ranges from 10 to 45 metres (30 - 150 feet) and averages 30 metres (100 feet) |
Type of diving: |
Mostly sloping reefs and wall dives as well as a few wrecks |
Marine life: |
Nurse sharks, reef sharks, turtles, stingrays, eagle rays, barracuda, moray eels, angelfish, snapper, shrimps, lobsters, nudibranchs |
When to go: |
Any time of year. The air temperature remains a fairly constant 28-29oC (82-84oF) and the wind is generally blowing at between 18 and 45 km per hour. The rainy season is from June to November, but the weather is still sunny during this time, just with some showers occurring |
How to get there: |
Fly to Grenada where flights are available from SVG Air www.svgair.com, alternatively you can travel by power-catmaran using www.ospreylines.com.
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Carriacou is a pristine, tiny island in the Caribbean that is only 13 miles long. It is surrounded by miles of white sandy beaches and palm trees, has year-round good weather and sits in the path of the trade winds. Petite Martinique to the east of Carriacou and Carriacou itself are the sister islands of Grenada, which is located south of Carriacou. It remains quite an untouched region of the Caribbean and if you visit the island you can expect to see it in a natural state, as conservation is of high priority. The tourist industry is simple and there are no high-rise hotels on the island or any big resorts. Hillsborough is the only town and is the 'capital' of the island. To travel around the island, most people walk or cycle and there are local buses. There are few cars on the island and road infrastructure is minimal with roads being replaced with footpaths. The community is small (at around 6000), friendly and hardworking, and jobs are mostly in fishing and agriculture. The official language on Carriacou is English, although there is a local French-African dialect spoken. The currency is the East-Caribbean dollar, but US and Canadian dollars and the English pound are widely used. There are only two banks on the island.
Aside from diving, walking and nature trails are a good way to explore the island. The pretty beaches make an ideal place to relax with a glass of local rum as well as being good places to swim, snorkel and sunbathe. Annually, there are two big events on Carriacou: a carnival in February or early March and a boat regatta with four days of racing in August. From the late 18th Century until 1974, Great Britain governed Carriacou and not much has changed during this time. Hillsborough is home to original shops and a museum that was once a cotton ginnery. In Windward locals still build wooden boats by hand without power tools.
Most of the diving in Carriacou is done on sloping reefs or steeper walls with reef tops at about 7 metres dropping away to anywhere between 20 and 40 metres. You can expect to find clear, clean and warm seas filled with fish and healthy coral. All diving is done from boats and the majority of sites are only a 10-15 minute trip. If doing two dives a day, you will get a relaxing lunch break in between. Carriacou Silver Diving is currently working with the local authorities to establish a marine park as part of the commitment to preserve Carriacou's underwater habitat.
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