The Frederiksted Pier

Frederiksted's pier is where the cruise ships tie up, and it is also, improbably, one of the finest shore dives in the region. The concrete pilings beneath it are encrusted with sponges, corals and hydroids in colours that do not occur on the reef, and the community living on them is unusual: seahorses, frogfish, batfish, octopus, juvenile fish of species that are rare elsewhere. It is shallow, protected and easy, and night dives here are the ones divers talk about afterwards. Access is controlled around ship movements. The town of Frederiksted beside it has Danish colonial buildings and a fort on the waterfront.

What you actually see

• The pilings - encrusted with sponge and coral in vivid colours.
• Seahorses and frogfish - the residents divers come for.
• Night diving - when the pier's strangest animals come out.
• Frederiksted town - Danish colonial buildings and the fort alongside.

When to go

December to April is the dry season, though the west coast is sheltered and diveable most of the year. Access is closed when a cruise ship is alongside, so check the port schedule. Night dives run through the year and are the highlight.

Honest expectations

The pier is a working cruise berth and diving is prohibited when a ship is in or manoeuvring, which cancels plans regularly; check the schedule. Boat traffic in the area requires a surface marker. Frederiksted itself is quiet and parts are run down. The dive is shallow and easy but the pier structure has entanglement hazards.

Nearby

Frederiksted town and fort are on the waterfront; the rainforest road runs inland.