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Guided and custom dive safaris for divers with an eye towards marine animal behavior and symbiotic relationships.

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Blog & Trip Reports

Review our past dive trips for inspiration.

U.S. Virgin Islands is Open for Tourism | How to Travel Here During COVID-19

February 15, 2021 by Kristine Hobson Leave a Comment

The U.S. Virgin Islands has been open and allowing tourists in for a while but with the NEW U.S. travel policy requiring U.S. Citizens to have PCR tests when returning to the U.S. there has been some confusion. Let us clear this up for you and give you a little information on how to safely travel here during COVID 19 and just how “OPEN” for business we are on the island of St. Croix, where Symbiosis Diving Tours and Travel is based.

Here’s a Quick List, Details Below

  • U.S. Citizens do NOT need a passport.
  • If traveling from the U.S. You must upload a negative PCR, an Antigen test within 5 days of commencement of travel or a positive Antibody test obtained within four months prior to the commencement of travel.
  • If you are a U.S. citizen and traveling from a foreign country you must upload a negative PCR or Antigen test within 3 days of commencement of travel.
  • You do NOT need a PCR test to return to the USA nor do you need to quarantine. Unless your final destination (see more below for a list of States) requires it.

Travel Restrictions to Get to the USVI

If you are a U.S. Citizen you do NOT need a passport to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands is requiring all travelers ages 5 and up arriving in the US Virgin Island to present a COVID-19 negative test result (PCR or Antigen) obtained within 5-days* of commencement** of travel to the US Virgin Islands or a positive Antibody test obtained within four months prior to the commencement of travel. Prior to travel, you must upload your results to the USVI Travel Portal. Specifics of acceptable tests are also listed on this Portal link.

*If you are a U.S. citizen traveling from a foreign country you must have a valid PCR or Antigen test within 3-days prior to travel.

Image result for usvi covid test map

**What that means is no more than 5 days before you fly you must get your test. You must have your test results back and uploaded before you check-in for your flight (i.e. You are scheduled to depart for the USVI on Friday. You must take your test sometime between Sunday-Thursday and upload the results to the portal no later than Thursday).

Travel Restrictions from the USVI to the U.S. Mainland

As you can see here at the bottom of page 3, the recent CDC COVID-19 travel requirements DO NOT apply to persons traveling directly from the US Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland. Since the U.S. Virgin islands is NOT a foreign country this policy is NOT applicable. However, the state (or local health department) you are traveling back to MAY have its own restrictions so you should click here to check that states policy.

My Return Destination Requires a PCR Test, What Should I Do?

Testing on St. Croix is simple and straightforward. For $95 (or acceptable insurance) you can go to the Plessen Urgent Care in Sunny Isles – open 7 days a week – get your test done, and have it back by 3pm the same day.

USVI Open for Business

The USVI has been open for tourism for a while and eager to welcome you. There are some government COVID-19 protocols in place (in addition to the WTTC – World Travel Tourism Council’s global safety stamp and protocols) but with a little observance and patience, you can still have a great time on St. Croix. You’ll find most businesses are open, we’ve even had a few new restaurants open during the last few months! We still have regularly scheduled events taking place like live music, trivia and bingo. The St. Croix calendar has a weekly list to help you plan for your time here. If you can, try and make reservations as most establishments can only operate at 50% capacity. Dive shops are operational and dive boats are going out on their regular schedules. Take a look at the Symbiosis St. Croix Dive and Hotel Package page for special rates.

Scenes from around the Buccaneer Hotel St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands

Many operators and tour companies are open and eager to show you our island. Are you ready for lunch and rum punch on the beach after a day of snorkeling at Buck Island National Park, or maybe you’ve always dreamed of riding horses on the beach? Are the Tide Pools on your list; maybe take a 4×4 Jeep tour to see them and some of our famous historic sugar mills. There are so many options, it’s not possible to do them all in a week’s vacation. Check out some of the excursions on the links above and come on down. St. Croix is open and waiting for you to come and see our little slice of paradise!

Mocko Jumbies at the sugar mill The Buccaneer Resort St. Croix Virgin Islands


NO Mask NO Service – The government has put a strict no mask no service policy in place. So make sure if you are indoors (taxis, hotel lobbies, walking to your dining table…etc) you are wearing your mask. All service personnel are required to wear masks for your protection. Businesses and patrons not following the protocols can be fined if caught in violation. Non-household members are encouraged to social distance at least 6′ wherever possible. Please remember this is a government policy and in order to stay open all businesses must follow this policy, if you don’t like this policy please don’t take it out on the employee or business owner – like you, they’re just doing what they need to do to stay open.

Protecting Yourself and Traveling to St. Croix After You’ve Tested

You’re almost here and ready to get a rum drink in your hand and your toes in the sand but before you come you may want to think about taking extra precautions while traveling. Who wants to get all this way and come down with a cold or worse?!?

Good friends, good times and good rum. #DiscoverCruzanRum. pic.twitter.com/Agr7Lqp8yo

— Cruzan Rum (@CruzanRum) September 8, 2016

By now you’re probably used to the routine, I mean you stayed healthy enough to pass the PCR test right? And let’s face it most airlines have HEPA filters recirculating the air. However, traveling in a steel metal tube and waiting in enclosed airports and in close quarters can have it’s challenges too. Here are a few tips.

Not all masks are created equal and all airlines are requiring you to wear them. But did you know that you CANNOT wear a mask with a breathing valve, hole, or vent? That’s right! Since the purpose of wearing a mask is to prevent you from spreading germs, the airlines will require you to wear a mask that helps stop the spread. Consider using an N95 or surgical mask that fits properly. If you don’t have those available to you, a cloth mask will do.

When you get here you can buy refills of Mutiny vodka hand sanitizer, made by our local distillery. But until then you should travel with your own supply and keep those hands sanitized and washed! Do you ever wonder how flight attendants stay healthy, having to fly day in and day out??? They wash their hands, sanitize and disinfect their seat armrest, tray table and surroundings when they travel.

Speaking of disinfecting. It’s a good idea to get in the habit of wiping down your rental car and hotel room upon arrival. Although local car rental agencies and hotels have a strict protocol for disinfecting it’s always a good idea to look after yourself and your loved ones.

Travel Insurance is always recommended and it’s a good idea to double-check your airline, hotel and rental car cancellation policies. Most are pretty relaxed during this pandemic but forewarned is forearmed, perish the thought that Murphy’s Law jumps up and bites you on the butt!

Just a little added incentive here’s a recent search, airfares are cheap! As of 2/15/2022, here’s an example of round-trip airfares to St. Croix from the following destinations (terms and conditions apply, prices subject to change).

So, now you know. Please be safe and enjoy your island experience! And don’t forget to check out our specials.

Filed Under: Blog & Trip Reports, St. Croix Tagged With: Covid-19 Travel, U.S. Virgin Islands, USVI travel restrictions

Trip Report – Halmahera to Lembeh 2019

August 20, 2019 by Kristine Hobson Leave a Comment

The beauty of having three days between cruises is that you get to explore a new place before going back out and the island of Ternate was just the spot! Sitting at the base of Gamalama volcano was lovely little Villa Ma’rasai. Our group couldn’t have been happier. Locally owned, this little boutique villa was filled with art, musical instruments, furniture, and literature the owners had collected on their travels throughout. This was the perfect stop for us to relax, give our ears a break, try the local cuisine and watch the sunset with views of nearby Tidore volcano with a cold beverage in hand.

The second trip was more of the same with a great group and outstanding diving throughout. The islands around Halmahera have abundant and diverse dive sites. A string of four volcanos run up the West side of the main island and these provide excellent black sand muck diving, walls and wonderful hard coral reefs. Sprinkled throughout the region are seamounts and pinnacles covered with soft corals and marine animals. We were able to explore some new places before heading west for Sulawesi and the islands off her north-east corner.

  • Independent Journeys

But first, we stopped in the strait between Halmahera and Sulawesi at an island group called Palau Tifore. In the water around a seamount just offshore, the main island is a school of barracuda that numbers more than one thousand. It was here that we had what most people considered the most surreal dive of the cruise. There are not a lot of places where it is still possible to see a school like that. The dive was so unbelievable we did it twice. Some beautiful dives off the island of Taliese and then we made our way to Lembeh Strait for a couple last dives in its critter rich waters.

(Edit)

Filed Under: Blog & Trip Reports, Halmahera, Lembeh

Trip Report – Raja Ampat to Halmahera 2019

August 5, 2019 by Kristine Hobson Leave a Comment

Tambora covered over 425 miles, our group did 35 dives and we enjoyed 11 fabulous nights at sea! Our nights were filled with spectacular sunsets, amazing night dives, Bintang beer, tasty Indonesian fare and excited talk about our dives and the itinerary for the next day. What an amazing group of divers!

The diving in Raja Ampat (R4) is, quite simply, out of this world. The reefs are a painter’s palette of color and variety; home to over 1500 species of fish and more marine life than anywhere else on the planet. It is literally the center of marine biodiversity and this dive safari didn’t disappoint. Visibility in the south of R4 was excellent and the magic continued on into Halmahera making the viewing of large seascapes possible. There were abundant opportunities to observe all sorts of symbiotic relationships but sometimes the clouds of fish and invertebrate density on the reefs, in some instances, was a bit of a sensory overload.

Having last been in Raja back in 2017 we were amazed at the amount of reef fish and sharks. The conservation initiatives started in 2008 by Misool Eco-Resort done a great job in the area, continue to bear fruit. It’s not really surprising that if you stop taking fish out of a large, vibrant swath of ocean the result is a bio-mass explosion (YES! The worldwide love of Raja’s uniqueness has enabled it’s protection, resulting in a relationship where both sides are benefiting. A fine example of symbiotic mutualism.).


Most liveaboards head out of R4 in April for points south but Tambora, usually one of the last to leave the area, points her bow to the west. The owner prefers the pristine diving and near-complete lack of other boats found in Halmahera. This worked out fantastic for us as there were only a few ships remaining in south Raja and once we left the Marine Protected Area we basically had the ocean to ourselves for the rest of the cruise.

One of the coolest things about Halmahera is the diversity of the dives sites. Our dives included seamounts, pinnacles, underwater rock formations covered in sea life and towering volcanoes with walls and black sand slopes, covered with critters. It is the perfect environment for new and experienced photographers alike (I love this shot of these two goofy eels Scott Penwarden captured). Scott and I were both practicing with our new Olympus TG-5’s. I was quite pleased with this cuttlefish .

  • Moray Eel

There were many epic dive events on the cruise but certainly towards the top of the list was what must have been a mating aggregation of fifty+ dogtooth tuna, circling the Halmahera version of a site called Batu Mandi, before swimming off for who knows where. Naturally, no useful imagery was captured. But the memories live on. How lucky are we when we get to view this natural animal behavior!

The whole safari was an example of what happens when you bring together a group of cool people who love the ocean and put them on a purpose-built boat in one of the richest marine ecosystems on the planet.

Filed Under: Blog & Trip Reports, Raja Ampat

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