The U.S. Virgin Islands, and St. Croix in particular, continues to rank highly among scuba diving enthusiasts, according to the 2001 Top 100 Reader Ratings from Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine.
St. Croix inexplicably fell out of the top ten best destinations overall in the Caribbean/Atlantic and the top five best value destinations for the region, compared to the 2000 rankings. But the USVI still ranked in the top five for the Caribbean/Atlantic area in best snorkeling (4th), best beginner diving (3rd) and best shore diving (3rd).
Dive operator Ultimate Bluewater Adventure on St. Croix was in the No. 4 spot among most popular dive operators in the world and No. 9 for best dive operator in the Caribbean/Atlantic.
The Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos and Bonaire took top spots in many categories in this year's poll.
Acting Tourism Commissioner Monique Sibilly-Hodge said in a statement, "The Department is proud of the recent awards and offers our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the many divers, dive shops and dive enthusiasts that make it possible for the territory to receive these accolades."
She said awards for the USVI's rankings will be presented at the upcoming Dive Equipment Manufacturers Association show in New Orleans.
Rodale's first started putting together its Top 100 listing in 1995. Thousands of magazine subscribers and Web users decide the results, rating their dive experiences on a scale of one to five. Final scores represent the percentage of fours (very good) and fives (excellent) awarded.
The results appear in the January/February 2001 issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving. For previous results and more information, click here to go to Rodale's Web site.
