Discover Adventure

For those without prior SCUBA experience, this program features PADI's Open Water Diver and Adventure Diver (Advanced Open Water) SCUBA certifications, sailing and seamanship training, and marine biology. This voyage will set a foundation for your future adventure travels.

It's easier than you think. Scuba diving is not an extreme sport. The only skill you need is to be comfortable in the water. When you learn, an instructor is in the water to explain everything you need to know. Initial dive training takes place with small groups in calm, blue waters that sparkle with sunlight and the beautiful colors of the coral reef. You will learn new skills and progresses at your own pace.

After your SCUBA certification, explore the spectacular walls, pinnacles, seamounts and shipwrecks throughout the archipelago. You will begin advancing your diver education with exciting night dives and learn about the underwater realm during underwater naturalist dives. Many people are drawn to the fishes, corals, and the countless other marine animals just from seeing them on video, in an aquarium or reading about them. But when you get in the open ocean and meet these animals for yourself, you’re compelled to protect them and their critical habitats.

Marine biology activities are at our core, we want to develope your understanding of the systems. Each yacht has a Marine Biologist and you will discover the deeply interconnected ways the coral, invertebrates, and fishes work together in amazing efficiency. All educational programs are taught in a hands-on approach in which you gain knowledge by doing, seeing and experiencing.

We live aboard sailing catamarans and sail the calm blue passages between the islands. You are the crew, learning to raise and lower the sails, navigate, be the helmsman, and drop the anchor all in time for water sports and island adventures.

Trip Details

  • 14 or 21 Days
  • No Experience Necessary
  • 2+ PADI SCUBA Certifications
    • Open Water Diver
    • Adventure Diver (Advanced Open Water)
  • 15+ Dives or 25+ Dives
  • Sail Training and Seamanship
  • Leadership Skills
  • Water sports
  • Island Exploration
  • Culture & Natural History of the Windward Islands
  • Marine Science Activities
    • Sample Marine Biology Activities Include:
    • Oceanography
    • Tropical Marine Ecosystems
    • Scientific & Marine Research Methods
    • Coral Reef Biology & Monitoring
    • Island Ecology

Choose a Date
14 Days

  • June 7 - June 20 - Spot just opened! Just 1 berth left
  • August 2 - August 15 - Very close to FULL
$5650 USD Tuition

21 Days

Saint Lucia to Grenada
  • June 21 - July 11 - Open to all
Grenada to Saint Lucia
  • July 12 - Aug 1- ONLY 2 berths available
$7150 USD Tuition

Enroll Now
For students ages 13 - 23
multiple vessels separating ages


Zoomable Voyage Photo Gallery
Odyssey Expeditions Windward Voyages Map

Day by Day Itinerary*

Day 1

Welcome to St Lucia! Arrive into the airport and journey on a scenic ride along the coastline and through the mountains to Rodney Bay, our home base in St Lucia, where you will join your yacht and meet your fellow shipmates and get settled in. Learn some knots, go to the pool and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean atmosphere.

285183534
Day 2

First a quick safety briefing with the captain before we begin to learn the ropes and all about sailing. After a chance to go shopping ashore, we cast our lines off the dock and head out to sea for our first sailing adventure with you as crew!. We learn to hoist the mainsail and bring out the jib, and complete a couple tacks and jibes as we turn the catamaran through the wind and learn some different points of sail. We sail across Rodney Bay to Fort Rodney and Pigeon Island, where we head ashore to explore an old English fort, checking out the dungeon and climbing to the peak to see Martinique in the distance to the north. Next we suit up in our snorkeling gear to check out some historic Carib indian caves and explore the reef along the shore, learning a bit about freediving and some of the fishes. We anchor here for the evening and enjoy the sound of music drifting across the water from the Sandals resort ashore.

6190413722
Day 3

With sun drenched days and warm winds, we are growing comfortable with life aboard and everyone gets to try out important roles like skipper, first-mate, chef and dive safety officer. We have a big sail today, departing St Lucia and heading north to Martinique, about a 20 mile journey. Possibly see some dolphins along our journey, we are starting to get the hang of the sailing and take turns at the helm practicing steering and handling the lines. After a couple hours we arrive in Petite Anse D’Arlet (its French, we are now actually in France, but what does all that mean you ask? Petite is ‘small’, Anse is ‘in the shape of a cup handle, also beach’ and D’Arlet is somebodies name, so ‘small beach named D’Arlet)... Here in this beautiful white sandy bay with swimming pool like conditions (except for the beautiful reef with tropical fishes), a perfect place for us to start our PADI Open Water SCUBA training.

Odyssey Yachts Sailing up Sir Francis Drake Channel
Day 4

We continue our SCUBA training with a couple more confined water dives on the easy sandy bottom with jaunts over to a small, beautiful reef. You follow this up with some watersports and then a journey ashore to check out some French pastries, see some beautiful architecture and meet some locals!

Odyssey Yachts at Pond Bay, Virgin Gorda BVI
Day 5

We hike to the rocky intertidal for biology investigations and assist in a community service effort to clean up the shoreline from plastic debris. A short sail to Anse Noir and we start developing our fish and creature identification skills with our resident marine biologist. We start our PADI Open Water Checkout Training dives and visit a secret hideaway pool few others know about for some cliff jumping.

6191134138
Day 6

Up early to visit one of the most stunning sites in the Martinique The Bat Caves. Gigantic caves into the hillside that are both above and below the waterline. Today we will be finishing our Open Water SCUBA certification and become certified divers. We get to do this at the Bat Caves. Later we sail up to Trois Islet and get a chance to go ashore for some cultural exploration and eating at a French restaurant for dinner.

4220302213
Day 7

With our SCUBA certification under our belt, its time to get down to business explore the reefs underwater! First we dive the Nahoon shipwreck (a mixed sail and steam ship from 1911) a wreck heavily colonized by corals and reef fish with some pelagics. From here we are going to deepen our scuba knowledge working on our PADI Advanced SCUBA certification. We sail up the coast to the North of Martinque to visit the reefs and shipwrecks around St Piere (which was infamously destroyed in the volcanic eruption of Mt Pele in 1904)

3084471323
Day 8

Today we do some island exploration with a climb up to the peak of Mt Pele! A semi-active volcano with a rainforest on it flanks as we climb up to a peak at 4000 feet! Exploring the town of St Piere later shows us the amazing resilience of the town and the beauty of their architecture and people.

4221056542
Day 9

Visiting the marine park at the north is a Pearl, Pearl Island and a island that looks like a submarine (La Sous Marin). The reefs in the marine park are spectacularly preserved and beautiful.

285179951
Day 10

We sail south to Pointe Bornese, a naturally protected lagoon fully colinized by corals and fauna like moray eels, seahorses and more. This is a great place for a night dive!

6189598411
Day 11

We sail from Martinique down to St Lucia today, diving first at the Diamond in the South, (Rochuer du Diamont -Diamond Rock), a tall rugged rocky island that Napoleon actually christened as a ship of war! Underneath is beautiful clear water, archways and more. THen we are off back to St Lucia, we sail down to the town of Soufriere and check in with customs before heading up to a hot spring waterfall!

4221037552
Day 12

We get to dive some of the clearest water in the Windwards today, diving along the Pitons of St Lucia at sites such as 'Supermans Flight' and 'Coral Gardens', then we head ashore a explore some resort time underneath the Pitons.

4221043864
Day 13

The last dive is a beauty, we travel back north a bit to Anse Cachone and dive a fantastic shipwreck, the Lesleen M, (the Wreck of a cargo vessel sunk as an artificial reef in 1986. Sits upright on a sandy bottom at a max depth of 65ft/20M. The 167ft/51M long wreck offers open access to the surface and is inhabited by many types of marine life including Lobster, Moray Eels and reef fish. Stunningly colourful and pretty dive.) and then sail up to our home port of Rodney Bay to enjoy a pizza party ashore.

4220283531
Day 14

We brush the sand from our feet and say our goodbyes. Good friends. Splash On...Its our final goodbyes as we depart the vessel, but the adventure is not over yet, on our way back south to the airport we stop by the ziplining adventure park for one more adventure with our shipmates.

6190743157
*The actual voyage itinrary and activities are subject to change due to weather or other elements outside of our control. The preceding is provided as a sample itinerary of what is planned.

Prerequisites

To take the PADI Open Water Diver course, you must be:

  • 12+ years old
  • Basic water skill comfort:
    • swim 200 meter/yards. There is no time limit for this, and you may use any swimming strokes you want.
    • Float and tread water for 10 minutes, again using any methods that you want.
  • For safety, all students complete a brief scuba Medical Statement (PDF) that asks about medical conditions that could be a problem while diving. If none of these apply, you sign the form and you’re ready to start. If any of these apply to you, as a safety precaution your physician must assess the condition as it relates to diving and sign a medical form that confirms that you’re fit to dive.


What people say

"Aurelie can not stop telling her friends about her summer aboard Odyssey Expeditions. Quiet kid who absorbed every minute of it. It took her some time to process it all, but now we see a much different kid - willing to try new things... so thanks for helping build her confidence. She also continues to be in touch with her buddies made last year aboard the boat." ~ Racheal D.

"My children Sarah and Zak had an amazing time on the Odyssey Expedition, it truly far exceeded our expectations, thank you for all that you do." ~ Mary P.

"I really wanted to say thanks. Odyssey was really a great experience for me, and as it turns out, a life changing one as well. It opened the doors for my passions, and I've decided to continue in my training as a diver. As of this summer I will be a scuba instructor! Hopefully someday I'll get to go back and work for you guys! I just wanted you all to know how much the trip meant to me, and I'm so thankful that my life will never be the same. You all are great!" ~ Melissa F.

Tropical Marine Biology Voyages

Learn to Dive and Sail - No Experience Necessary

Odyssey Tropical Marine Biology Voyages
5 Full star Full star Full star Full star Full star
read 53 reviews




.