Ocho Rios Diving
Scuba diving in Ochi
Ocho Rios also called "Ochi", is located on the northern coast of Jamaica. Ochi combines the attractions of one of the Caribbean's most popular sports -diving- with the splendid calm weather and beautiful surrounding nature. Ochi well known as the tourists’ destination, they come from all over the world to enjoy scuba diving and other water sports. Ochi have diversity of dive sites Shallow, deep and artificial wrecks, which are home to many kinds of underwater life.
Always dive according to your level of training.
Never enter the water without checking with the local dive center for safety,
additional information, level required for each dive site and without being accompanied by a professional.
All the information provided is purely informative for our readers and shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Visibility often averaging:0
Possible to dive all year round
Ocho Rios dive centers are well equipped, and instructions are available all the time. Ocho Rios offers diversity of dive challenges, snorkeling, shallow and deep dives. If you are not well trained diver, glass bottom boat is a good choice, you will be fascinated by the wonderful underwater life, colorful fish and beautiful seascapes, all without getting wet. Snorkeling is done not far from Ochi’s golden beach, find shallow reefs which you can explore and enjoy the beauty of the marine life. Ochi dive sites attract you by their breathtaking aqua life, sites like Devil’s reef and Jack’s Hall, which are home to nurse sharks, scorpion fish, lettuce sea slug and coral with different attractive colors.
Some of Ocho Rios dive sites are:
Jack’s Hall is a reef at depth of 40 ft (12m). This area consists of a series of reefs and sand chutes. This remarkable site is occupied by beautiful sea creatures like scorpion fish which blends with the reef’s colors perfectly. Lettuce sea slug, many kinds of coral such as finger coral, brain coral, star coral, elkhorn coral and a variety of sponges are found here. You can also spot nurse sharks napping in the sands.
Devil’s reef is only a boat ride away. This dive starts at 65ft (20m) deep before it drops down to very deep water about 130ft (40m) under the water. Watch blackball sponges and staghorn coral growing in the area. Schools of bogas, creole wrasse, atlantic spade fish, barracuda and ceros will pass you by in your way to deeper parts. Large green moray eels maybe seen in the cracks and holes of the reef.
Runaway Bay is a beautiful dive site. Grouper, stingrays and snapper, sharks, green moray eels, turtle and barracuda inhabits this reef.
Top of the mountain is a reef at a depth of 60 ft (18m). The reef is covered with corals of different kinds and colors like brain coral, star coral, small coral heads. Also present are clusters of smooth flower coral as well as many other species like soft gorgonians sea rods, sea plumes and sea fans. You may also see glasseye snappers hiding in coral heads, graysbys, squirrelfish, indigo, shy hamlets and red band parrot fish moves around the reef.
Wreck of the Kathryn is the most popular dive site in Ocho Rios. It is an artificial reef at depth of 50ft (15m). An old minesweeper was sunk in 1991 to create this reef. This reef is home to a wide variety of aqua life like squirrel fish, bluehead wrasse, hamlets, grunts and snappers, black coral also grows in the area.