Scuba Season
Underwater reef at Salt Island
Declining

Salt Island

British Virgin Islands · Caribbean

Salt Island's main draw is the RMS Rhone, a 310-ft Royal Mail Ship that went down in an 1867 hurricane in two pieces — bow at 24m, stern at 6m. The wreck is home to thousands of fish, soft coral overgrowth and the occasional spotted drum. The shallow stern section is accessible to Open Water divers.

How this reef is doing

ⓘ How we measure this

Reef state

Declining

RMS Rhone wreck is the iconic dive. Reef cover around the island has declined.

Coral cover

22%
LowHealthy
Moderate

Fish life

Not surveyed

Heat

SafeBleaching

Warmer than usual right now, but not hot enough to bleach.

Warming

Fishing

QuietBusy

Some fishing is allowed here, in marked zones.

Limited

Sources · MERMAID and partner coral surveys · NOAA Coral Reef Watch · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity

What you will see

11 species across the dive sites here

Dive sites

What divers say

The Rhone is what got me into wreck diving. Once you see a ship that big sitting on the seafloor it rewires something.
— Caribbean dive guide

Good to know

Park permit

BVI National Parks Trust day permit required. Most operators include it.

Gear & getting wet

  • Basic kit

    • Mask and fins
    • BCD and regulator
    • 3mm full wetsuit · warm water
    • Dive computer

  • For specific sites

    • Primary torch · RMS Rhone
    • Reef hook or SMB · RMS Rhone