Negril offers some of the best and most challenging underwater life for scuba divers of any resort in Jamaica. There are no really deep walls prevalent along the North Coast, but the offshore reefs here teem with marine life. Many of them are shallow, making them ideal for neophytes who want to break into the sport. Even in front of Seven Mile Beach are undercuts and caverns, attracting the diver or snorkeler.
The most famous dive site is "The Throne Room", with a depth ranging from 12 to 21m (40-70 ft.). The site enables divers to enter at one end and ascend into the open air at the other. The orange elephant ear sponges that flourish here are the largest we've ever seen in Jamaica.
The Sands Reef Club, named after a nearby hotel, has a depth range of 12 to 24m (40-80 ft.). This shallow reef drops off to a sandy shelf, and is noted for its purplish sea fans and its gorgonians and coral heads. There is much to see here, from black durgeons to tube sponges, from squirrelfish to goatfish.
With a depth of 12 to 21m (40-70 ft.), "The Caves" indeed consists of sea caverns -- one large, the other small. There is a linking tunnel between the two. Black coral and sponges grow in profusion along with gorgonians. There is a sea kingdom of other residents, too, including sea cucumbers and stingrays.
Long a favorite with divers, Kingfish Point, with depths of around 27m (90 ft.), lures the most experienced divers because of its depths. The marine life here is the most varied of the dive sites, including both the elephant ear and the yellow tube sponge, the hogfish and the damselfish, along with both brain and star coral and marigold-colored crinoids. The huge boulders of star coral are among the most dramatic along the coast, along with deepwater sea fans and sea plumes.
Negril Scuba Centre, in the Negril Beach Club Hotel, Norman Manley Boulevard (tel. 800/818-2963 or 876/957-9641), is the most modern, best-equipped scuba facility in Negril. Beginner dive lessons are offered daily, as well as multiple-dive packages for certified divers; full scuba certifications and specialty courses are also available. A resort course, designed for first-time divers with basic swimming abilities, costs $75 and includes all instruction, equipment, a lecture on water and diving safety, and one open-water dive. A one-tank dive costs $35 per dive plus $5 for equipment rental (not necessary if divers bring their own gear). More economical ($55) is a two-tank dive, which must be completed in 1 day.
Watersports equipment is readily available at any of at the kiosks along Negril's beaches. Each of these outlets is operated by Seatec Water Sports (tel. 876/957-4401), charging roughly the same rates as Negril Scuba Centre . Jet skis cost $40 to $50 for a 30-minute ride; snorkeling is $15 to $20 per person for a 60-minute excursion by boat to an offshore reef with equipment; 20-minute banana-boat rides are $10; parasailing is $30 for a 12-minute ride; and water-skiing is $30 for a 15-minute tow-around.
