Lily Blue Caraïbes Dive Center
A private catamaran, an artist and a master instructor — St Barth's most intimate way underwater.
Why Go
Most dive operators stack you onto a shared boat and count heads at the mooring line. Lily Blue does the opposite: one 15-metre Privilège catamaran, a hard cap of eight guests, and the whole vessel booked as yours for the outing. It's less 'dive tour' and more 'private yacht that happens to carry tanks,' run by a couple who've fused 25 years of technical diving with a genuinely artistic reading of the reef.
The Experience
You meet the boat in Baie de Corossol — the sleepy fishing bay just around the headland from Gustavia, where pelicans still outnumber tourists. Yann, a state-certified skipper and former dive-centre director, handles the navigation and the regulators; Lily, a working modern artist, handles the way you actually see what's down there. The Privilège 495 gives you shaded cockpit space, a proper swim platform and enough deck to spread out between dives without tripping over strangers' fins. Because everything is privatised, the day flexes to your group: certified divers can chase the drop-offs at Pain de Sucre and Gros Îlets, complete beginners can do a supervised baptême in a sheltered cove, and mixed families can alternate snorkelling and diving off the same anchor. Sessions come in three shapes — a half-day morning or afternoon, a full 8.5-hour marine exploration that pushes further out toward Île Fourchue, and a 2.5-hour sunset night snorkel with underwater torches when the parrotfish tuck in and the octopuses come out.
What to Try
If you're already certified, ask for the full-day so you can reach the outer sites the day-tripper boats skip — the swim-throughs at Les Gros Îlets and, on flat days, La Baleine. If you've never breathed underwater, book the discovery dive (baptême); Yann teaches instructors, so you're getting the top of the food chain on your first-ever descent. Non-divers should not skip the night snorkel — Corossol's shallows light up completely differently after dusk, and the guided torch-work turns it into something closer to a slow-motion aquarium walk than a swim.
Insider Tip
Book the sunset night snorkel on the same day you have dinner reservations in Gustavia — you'll come off the boat around 8pm, ten minutes from the harbour restaurants, salt-crusted and starving in the best possible way. And because the catamaran is fully privatised, it's worth pooling with another couple or two: the per-person cost drops sharply once you fill closer to the eight-guest cap, and you effectively get a private day-charter with dive gear thrown in.
The Practical Stuff
Location: Baie de Corossol, a five-minute drive northwest of Gustavia — park along the beach road, the boat is at the mooring. Contact: +590 690 81 89 82 or contact.lilybluecaraibes@gmail.com; advance booking is essential as they only run one boat. Bring: swimsuit, towel, reef-safe sunscreen, a light layer for the sunset trip, and your certification card if you have one. All dive gear (BCD, regs, tanks, weights, wetsuits) is provided; snorkel masks and fins too. Sessions run year-round; visibility is best November through June. Kids are welcome on snorkel outings; minimum age for a discovery dive is typically 8 with parental sign-off — confirm when you book.
Pair It With
- Abyss Restaurant Guide — A short hop from the Corossol mooring — ideal for a late lunch after a morning dive, or drinks while your hair dries.
- 6e SENS Massage Wellness Beauty Saint Barth Guide — Book a post-dive massage to unknot the shoulders after a full-day two-tank outing.
- 1493 Lodges St Barth Guide — If you want to base yourself near the quiet, dive-friendly northwest coast rather than in busy Gustavia, this Colombier property puts you minutes from the boat.
- A fleur de peau - St Barth Guide — Saint-Jean boutique for a lightweight sarong or beach dress to change into after the boat drops you back.
