“Friendly Island, Unforgettable Diving.”
Welcome to the Friendly Island Divers.
We are a proud Scuba Schools International dive center with a team passionate in giving top notch, quality dive training.
Discover Sint Maarten’s underwater world with a team that’s passionate, professional, and always friendly. At Friendly Island Divers, we keep our groups small and personal, so you can dive with comfort and confidence.
Our instructors combine expertise with warm island hospitality, guiding you whether it’s your very first dive or your next certification. With us, every dive feels safe, relaxed, and unforgettable.
Our instructors are also PADI instructors who can teach PADI courses/referrals upon request.
Fiel Efenio
01:10 09 Feb 26
Amazing experience at this newly opened dive shop! The instructor NAT was very knowledgeable, patient, and made everything easy to understand. She’s a fantastic teacher and made the whole learning process fun and stress-free. I earned my PADI certification with her and felt confident and well-prepared every step of the way. Highly recommend this shop to anyone looking to learn how to dive or continue their certifications!
andrew michael smout
16:53 08 Feb 26
Fantastic new dive centre. As the name implies, super friendly team. Everyone super helpful and informative. We juiced our air so we’re up in the first group, grateful for the guide for taking us up early and back safely! He gets my vote for shots this month!
florian ruumpol
21:09 07 Feb 26
A very good first time experience Diving the guys over there are very good at explaining at what to do. ( A vote for Sietse)
Olli Whitford
21:07 07 Feb 26
Instructors are great!! The entire experience was memorable and will be back in the water soon!!
Scott Roberts
12:51 31 Jan 26
I would highly recommend Friendly Island Dive Shop to any diver — whether you’re brand new or experienced.
From start to finish, everything was easy and well run. The shop is clean and organized, the boat is comfortable, and the whole operation feels professional but relaxed at the same time.
The captain was especially accommodating in the water. When we surfaced a little away from the boat, he repositioned quickly and made pickup simple and stress-free. That kind of attentiveness really stands out and makes you feel taken care of.
Natalie was fantastic and worked with our tight cruise ship schedule to make sure we could still get two great dives in. She made everything seamless and low-pressure, which we really appreciated.
The location couldn’t be more convenient — just minutes from the cruise port — so it was incredibly easy to get there and back without worrying about timing.
Great people, great service, and great diving. I wouldn’t hesitate to dive with them again.
From start to finish, everything was easy and well run. The shop is clean and organized, the boat is comfortable, and the whole operation feels professional but relaxed at the same time.
The captain was especially accommodating in the water. When we surfaced a little away from the boat, he repositioned quickly and made pickup simple and stress-free. That kind of attentiveness really stands out and makes you feel taken care of.
Natalie was fantastic and worked with our tight cruise ship schedule to make sure we could still get two great dives in. She made everything seamless and low-pressure, which we really appreciated.
The location couldn’t be more convenient — just minutes from the cruise port — so it was incredibly easy to get there and back without worrying about timing.
Great people, great service, and great diving. I wouldn’t hesitate to dive with them again.
Jacquelyn Parris
12:40 31 Jan 26
We had the absolute BEST dive day with Friendly Island Dive Shop. Truly the highlight of all our Caribbean dives this trip.
Natalie was incredible from start to finish. She was so attentive and tuned in to what we hoped to see that she basically manifested an octopus after I mentioned it on the boat and somehow, there it was! Such a fun, magical moment.
The dives themselves were beautiful and full of life: colorful coral, nudibranchs, a shark, barracuda, and more fish than we could count. Easily some of the most interesting and lively dives we’ve done anywhere in the Caribbean.
Everything about the operation is top-notch:
• Comfortable boat
• Extremely friendly, helpful staff with personalized attention
• Rental gear that was new and in perfect condition
• Spotless, cute shop with great facilities (changing room + rinse area)
And the location couldn’t be more convenient for cruise passengers. It’s less than a 5-minute ride from the port, even with traffic. It’s right next to a popular restaurant and dock shop, which made hanging out after the dive super easy.
One of our favorite moments? Sitting on their front porch after the dive, relaxing with a cold beer and chatting with the crew. It felt like diving with friends.
Our dive day truly could not have been better. We’ll absolutely be back next time we’re in St. Maarten.
Highly, highly recommend!
Natalie was incredible from start to finish. She was so attentive and tuned in to what we hoped to see that she basically manifested an octopus after I mentioned it on the boat and somehow, there it was! Such a fun, magical moment.
The dives themselves were beautiful and full of life: colorful coral, nudibranchs, a shark, barracuda, and more fish than we could count. Easily some of the most interesting and lively dives we’ve done anywhere in the Caribbean.
Everything about the operation is top-notch:
• Comfortable boat
• Extremely friendly, helpful staff with personalized attention
• Rental gear that was new and in perfect condition
• Spotless, cute shop with great facilities (changing room + rinse area)
And the location couldn’t be more convenient for cruise passengers. It’s less than a 5-minute ride from the port, even with traffic. It’s right next to a popular restaurant and dock shop, which made hanging out after the dive super easy.
One of our favorite moments? Sitting on their front porch after the dive, relaxing with a cold beer and chatting with the crew. It felt like diving with friends.
Our dive day truly could not have been better. We’ll absolutely be back next time we’re in St. Maarten.
Highly, highly recommend!
Steve Frenzel
17:47 28 Jan 26
Dagmar was an amazing PADI Scuba Instructor! Contacted Friendly Island Divers from the States about getting certified before coming to St. Maarten on vacation. They communicated excellently the whole time. Got me started on my e-learning while still at home. Completed that and did all of my training dives with them, plus one more recreational, fun one after getting certified. Training dives were done professionally and clearly and timely over three half-days. It was cool that their "pool" is a natural pool, so you are able to get right in and learn in the ocean rather than a normal swimming pool. Dagmar is a wonderfully, friendly, and energetic instructor and I felt comfortable the whole entire time! She had great communication and went at my pace. Natalie and Sietse run a great business, friendly, clean, new gear, new boat, felt very safe and taken care of the entire time! The whole crew here is really great! And lets not forget, Fish, the cutest dive dog that welcomes you every day! Thank you Dagmar and I will definitely be diving again with Friendly Island Divers whenever I am in St. Maarten!
Sebastiaan Hoendervangers
20:04 24 Jan 26
Did my refresher dive today, in the shallow sea. Which makes it way more realistic. Had a great time. Very clear instructions, Sietse knows his stuff. All brand new equipment. Will definitely recommend this place.
Scott Bryden
02:44 25 Dec 25
I cannot say enough good things about Friendly Island Divers, especially Natalie and Dagmar! I wanted to dive while on a cruise that stopped in Sint Maarten but I only had a small window within to schedule a dive. Natalie was so accommodating and organized a shore dive at Little Bay for the time I had available. The shop was only a 5 minute walk from the Cruise port terminal and they waited on me as I was later than planned. They had everything ready to go when I arrived and were so helpful and friendly. Dagmar was my divemaster and she was excellent. She pointed out so many creatures I would have missed and I don't think I have ever been on a dive where we saw so many different kinds of sea life! She was great at navigating to the best spots where we saw a helicopter, a submarine, a truck chassis and got to swim thru a plane fuselage! I saw lobster, sting rays, shrimp, moray eels, barracuda, drum fish, octopi, puffer fish, lion fish, parrot fish, spider crab, darter fish and so many more I cannot name them all!
Great staff all; Natalie, Dagmar, Tom and Seitse! Great dive masters, great instructors, so knowledgeable and so close to the cruise terminal. Natalie took video and pictures of the entire dive so I didn't have to worry about using my own camera - so convenient and excellent images! They even gave me a ride back to the cruise terminal, even though it was an easy walk. I will definitely be diving with this excellent dive company on my next trip to Sint Maarten! ps. Fish was such a great puppy, too!
Great staff all; Natalie, Dagmar, Tom and Seitse! Great dive masters, great instructors, so knowledgeable and so close to the cruise terminal. Natalie took video and pictures of the entire dive so I didn't have to worry about using my own camera - so convenient and excellent images! They even gave me a ride back to the cruise terminal, even though it was an easy walk. I will definitely be diving with this excellent dive company on my next trip to Sint Maarten! ps. Fish was such a great puppy, too!