This Caribbean Island Has a Dive Fest With Reefs, Wrecks, and Food — Here’s Where to Stay

There’s another Saint Lucia waiting for you — one that begins the moment you slip beneath the surface. The water is impossibly clear, the sunlight dances on volcanic walls, and the sea life seems to move in rhythm all around you. This is the Saint Lucia that divers know well: a place of wrecks and reefs, coral gardens and walls that feel almost within reach of shore.

A Week for Divers

For years it’s been one of the Caribbean’s most quietly extraordinary dive destinations. Now, the island is opening its world beneath the waves to everyone with the launch of Dive Fest Saint Lucia, a week-long celebration of its marine life and dive culture, running Sept. 8–14, 2025.

It’s a festival designed for divers, snorkelers and ocean lovers — for anyone who wants to see a side of Saint Lucia that too often goes unnoticed.

It’s about immersion — not just in the sea, but in a culture that values its marine heritage. And it’s about giving travelers a new way to connect with an island whose story is written as much below the waterline as above it.

The key to Dive Fest is flexibility. You want to be able to dive-hop — to explore a different reef or wreck every day. That’s why the Bay Gardens Resorts are the perfect place to stay.

Bay Gardens Beach Resort & Spa: A beachfront resort on Reduit Beach with spacious rooms, direct sea views and the island’s liveliest stretch of sand.

Bay Gardens Hotel: A colorful, garden-filled property with a relaxed, boutique feel at the heart of Rodney Bay.

Bay Gardens Inn: An intimate, 33-room hideaway ideal for travelers seeking peace and privacy between dive days.

Bay Gardens Marina Haven: Set across from Rodney Bay Marina, perfect for divers who want to be steps from their boats each morning.

And while it’s not open yet, the company is adding the highly-anticipated new Sapphires Sands villa resort, too. 

More Than a Festival

Dive Fest isn’t just about logging dives — it’s about community. It’s about connecting visitors and Saint Lucians through the sea. The program includes conservation workshops, cultural events and celebrations that link the island’s marine environment with its people.

It’s an invitation to experience Saint Lucia differently: to see it not only as a place of mountains and beaches, but as one of the Caribbean’s great dive frontiers.

And with the Bay Gardens Resorts — from the beachfront energy of Reduit to the privacy of Water’s Edge Villas — the island’s underwater world is right at your doorstep.

Pricing at Bay Gardens

These aren’t just some of the Caribbean’s best family-owned resorts —they’re also tremendous value. That ranges from $150 for the Bay Gardens Inn to $224 per night for the Bay Gardens resort that week — with broad amenities, terrific service and excellent food. We always recommend these hotels to readers — and they’re popular for a reason.

How to Get to The Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is easily reached with nonstop flights from major U.S. gateways including Miami, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte and Boston, along with direct service from London and Toronto. Most international flights arrive at Hewanorra International Airport in the south of the island, about 90 minutes from Rodney Bay and Bay Gardens Resorts.