Scuba Diving in Barbados

If you think Barbados is all about its beaches, wait until you dive beneath its waves. 

The scuba diving here is just as beautiful, with colourful reefs, historic shipwrecks, and incredible marine life waiting to be explored by both beginner and experienced divers.

Keep an eye out for stingrays, eagle rays, vibrant coral, seahorses, and the real show-stopper: sea turtles. Watching one chomp down on some coral up close was a highlight of my dive!

Let’s get right into everything you need to know about scuba diving in Barbados, including the best time to visit and diving tips.

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Barbados Blue Diving. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Scuba Diving in Barbados 

Scuba diving in Barbados offers something for divers of all skill levels. It’s a shipwreck paradise! With plenty of shallow shipwrecks in Carlisle Bay and even a 120 ft deep shipwreck along the west coast for advanced divers. 

These warm Caribbean waters have great visibility year round, with it being the most clear during the dry season of December-May. And plenty of the 30+ dive sites are a short boat ride away from dive shops. 

Diving in Barbados is the same price as diving in Antigua and more expensive than Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras, BUT the diving was great.

And to make it more unique, while many of the islands in the Caribbean are volcanic in origin, Barbados was formed by coral. So there’s no shortage of coral to see!

During my trip to Barbados, I did a two-tank dive and here are the dive sites I visited:

Dive Site – Bloom Shallows 

Bloom Shallows is a reef dive site off Barbados’ south coast in Christchurch Parish. 

This 35-80 ft depth site contains a colourful reef, starting shallow and going deeper. In the dive area, you can see turtles, octopuses, stingrays, eagle rays, and seahorses. 

During my Bloom Shallows dive, I saw a stingray, a turtle, colourful fish, and corals of purple, orange, and yellow. It was my first time seeing turtles while diving, and it made me so happy. Way better than just swimming near them. 

Dive Sites – Asta Reef & Friars Crag Wreck

Asta Reef is a reef dive site off the south coast of Barbados, and beside it is Friars Crag wreck. The two are often dived together in a drift dive. Which one is explored first depends on the direction of the current.

These 30-90 ft depth sites feature an endless reef and the wreck of a Dutch freighter at 55 ft. In the dive area, you can look for turtles, octopus, squid, eels in Asta Reef and turtles, octopus, and stingrays at Friars Crag. 

During my Asta Reef dive, I saw a turtle eating some coral, another turtle, beautiful blue fish, and colourful corals.

And seeing the shipwreck was so cool! Unfortunately, my camera messed up the footage, but the shipwreck was split into 3 pieces across the ocean floor. I was looking for an octopus but didn’t spot any. One of the dive masters saw a reef tip shark in the far distance when we were at the wreck, but I didn’t see it. 

This was my favourite of the two dives in Barbados, visiting both a reef and a wreck into a single tank dive. 

What It’s Like Diving in Barbados

Once you’ve booked your dive and arrive on your diving day, you will fit check for a mask, wetsuit, and fin size. 

You’ll carry your gear from the dive shop to the dive boat waiting on the beach. This was the largest dive group I’d been with, 14 of us in total with our divemasters Ajani and Nicole.

Once on the boat, you’ll put your own gear together and check that everything is in proper working order. It was my first time since getting my Open Water License that a dive shop didn’t set up its guests’ gear. It shocked me, but helps keep you on top of your skills. I much preferred diving princess mode like when I was diving in Thailand and other destinations.

At the dive site, you’ll gear up, safety check your buddy and get in the water. It’s time to go diving! 

When we arrived at our first dive site for the day, the dive masters told me how we’d be descending without a mooring line and I panicked for a moment. As someone who struggles to equalize while descending, the mooring line is my best friend. But, the dive master and I came up with a solution, that we’d link arms and go down slowly together, which worked so well.

The diving in Barbados surprised me. While snorkelling in Barbados can be hit or miss, the scuba diving was great. I thought we’d only be diving in Carlisle Bay, but both of our dives were on the south side of the island instead, so I was happy to be exploring somewhere new.

Highlights of my Barbados diving were seeing turtles and a shipwreck. I loved watching a turtle eat and it was so chill with us watching. I only wish my Insta360 didn’t fail me during the second dive, because I was so excited to see the footage later. 

Barbados Dive Shops

• Barbados Blue WaterSports – who I went diving with
• Dive West Side Scuba 
• Roger’s Scuba Shack

Tips for Diving Barbados

• Scuba in Barbados is possible year-round, but the best visibility is between December – May.
• Take motion sickness meds if you need them. The water can be very rough in places. The boat was very rocky when we were setting up for the second dive, so I was glad I took some while still on land
• Bring an underwater camera to capture what marine life you find. I brought my Insta360 with a dive case to take pictures and videos, but it failed me during the later part of my second dive. Other divers had GoPros.
• Drink plenty of water before, in between dives, and after to stay hydrated. They offer water, banana bread and orange slices on the boat.

Where to Stay in Barbados

Hilton Barbados Resort – a 4.5-star hotel right on Carlisle Bay, right next to a dive shop

Yellow Bird Hotel – a 3-star hotel with a pool near Dover Beach

Radisson Aquatica Resort Barbados – a 4-star hotel in Carlisle Bay (I stayed here)

Final Thoughts on Scuba in Barbados

Barbados is more than just sun and sand – it’s a great place to go scuba diving. 

With warm waters, great visibility, and a chance to see sea turtles, it’s a great destination for divers of all levels. You can even dive the wrecks in Carlisle Bay as a beginner, you can’t find opportunities like that everywhere!

So get ready to book your dive adventure and then go try some of the other fun activities in Barbados.

Happy travelling!