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From the moment we arrive on St. Maarten, and eye the inviting azure-blue Caribbean Sea, we can’t stop thinking about getting into the water and exploring this tropical paradise.

[Just one of many gorgeous sea-splashed views from the Santino]

Aqua Mania Adventures, a local tour operator founded in 1986, has been in the business of providing a variety of tours both on and under the sea. The three founding partners are all former champion water-skiers and taught guests how to waterski in the Simpson Lagoon in the company’s early days.

Fast forward three years, when they invested in three motor boats (for scuba diving, snorkel trips, and boat tours to neighbouring Anguilla). All three were custom built in Florida and following that initial investment, the partners soon saw the need to expand their fleet, and purchased additional boats to include sunset sails and dinner cruises.

Formerly known as Pelican Watersports, Aqua Mania rebranded in order to promote departures from Simpson Bay to neighbouring islands including Anguilla, Saba, and St. Barts. You can visit a new island – and create new adventures – every day!

[The Santino is ready to board!]

We booked a tour around the island on the Santino, named after owner Stephen DiMaggio’s father, Santos. That name should be instantly recognizable to baseball fans: The family has a distant connection to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in cousins removed! And there’s a Canadian association too: Both father and and son have Montreal roots.

Aboard the Santino, we begin with a safety briefing and make our way to Long Beach for a short swim, our first dip into that gorgeous water.

[The best of both worlds: Dutch Gouda cheese and French baguette]

Back on the boat, the ideal dual-nation snack is prepared for us: Dutch Gouda cheese and slices of French baguette! Zipping along the waves is a sheer blast with music adding to the vibe as we make our way to Creole Rock.

[Creole Rock]

We spend 45 minutes here to snorkel around the rocks and sea life. After about 20 minutes in the water, I look down to spot a beautiful octopus gripping a rock below and almost instinctively hold my breath through the snorkel as I become transfixed with its presence.

The stunning creature lazily shifts positions a few times, but doesn’t appear ready to swim away. My GoPro records the moment of awe for us, visible proof that our eyes served us right.

[Click on YouTube logo, then YouTube on bottom right to view full screen]

Back on board for a short ride to Grand Case to enjoy a delicious and filling BBQ lunch at Cynthia’s Talk of the Town, a traditional outdoor restaurant known locally as a lolo in this colourful, petite Creole village.

[Lunch at Cynthia’s Talk of the Town]

A West Indies tradition, lolos are small establishments centered around a barbecue. Standard dishes include chicken curry, conch stew, freshly-caught fish, spicy shrimp, oxtail, crab colombo, plus finger-licking grilled chicken, ribs, and lobster.

As the intoxicating scent of meats and seafood stirs our appetites, we notice side dishes being prepared to bring to our tables alongside the grilled goods. Tour guests can choose between chicken, BBQ, a combo of the two, or fish (an extra USD $5).

After our busy morning swim and snorkel sessions, a filling plate of food is most welcome!

[Tintamarre Island]

Our day continues with a search for sea turtles on Tintamarre Island, then it’s over to Pinel Island, a chill space with beach bars and restaurants (also accessible by a regular five-minute ferry from Cul de Sac just north of Orient Bay).

[Approaching Pinel Island]

The tour departs from two locations: Simpson Bay (6 Bill Folly Road) and Divi Little Bay Resort (15 Longwall Road) on Tuesdays and Fridays. Unlimited rum punch, fruit juice, sodas, water, beer, white wine and rosé are available during the entire day out, and the boat can handle 28 people max.

This roughly seven-hour adventure is priced at USD $125 for adults, $70 for children (5-13 years old), and $15 for toddlers (0 to 4 years old).

We’d like to extend a big shout-out to Captain Roy and Skipper “Still” Noah for making this trip a blast for everyone on board!

If snorkeling isn’t your thing, consider one of their sunset sails or a Caribbean buffet dinner cruise aboard a catamaran as the day winds down and gentle sea breezes complement stunning scenery along the way.

And if you’ve always wanted to scuba dive here (or get PADI-certified), the warm, clear Caribbean waters are hard to beat! Even more thrilling is the option to go on a night dive aboard a 34-foot custom dive boat with a giant-stride-entry platform. With a 5pm check-in time, this three-hour tour has a max of 12 divers and includes two dive staff, dive lights, and on-board refreshments.

Cruise lovers will be interested to know that Aqua Mania offers several cruise-friendly trips timed for a day ashore: Discover Scuba Diving, Half-Day Snorkel, Watersports (SUP, kayak, wave runner rentals), Divi Beach Day, and Underwater Sculpture Park in Little Divi Bay.

Visit Aqua Mania Adventures online to view the entire range of day trips and activities on offer.

Our tour was kindly provided by Aqua Mania Adventures for the purpose of this feature. Opinions, as always, remain our own. Non-watermarked images courtesy of Aqua Mania Adventures.