Shallow Caribbean reefs nestled in front of the Parque Nacional del Este national park with coral and marine sponges, as well as typical Caribbean marine life.

Dive site with an artificial reef that is under care of our dive center. Sandy bottom with natural reef and artificial structure with corals.

Length 73 m / 240 ft , Stern 31 m / 102 ft , Top of the wreck 15 m / 50 ft , Distance from Viva Dominicus beach 800m / 0.5 mile
Originally known as M.V. Norbrae, the St. George was built in 1962, in Ardrossan shipyard in Strathclyde, Scotland. This 240 feet long, transatlantic cargo freighter, which transported wheat and barley between Norway and the Americas, was abandoned in Santo Domingo harbor after 20 years of service and was renamed after taking the full brunt of Hurricane George in 1999.
On June 12th 1999 the St.George was sunk offshore of La Romana-Bayahibe to create an artificial reef and an interesting diving location.

The evolution of an artificial reef
Artificial reefs are created worldwide to enhance recreational diving opportunities while providing habitat for marine organisms. To create an artificial reef, stable and environmentally safe material, such as the St. George, is placed on the ocean floor.
Once in the ocean, the ship provides hard substrate necessary to establish a reef community. Although the substrate is manmade there is nothing artificial about the host of marine organisms that inhabit virtually all available space. Coral polyps attach to the substrate and colonize the area together with a myriad of sponges and algae. These marine organisms provide both food and shelter for a variety of more complex reef creatures like crustaceans and reef fish.
Given the diverse assemblage of organisms, large predators, such as barracudas who have been known to stake out their territory within hours of sinking a ship, make the St. George their home.

The Atlantic Princess, which ran around Bayahibe in the past was getting ready to be intentionally sunk and turned into an artificial reef for scuba divers. On 15 August 2008 during Tropical Storm Fay big waves took it to the beach beside Dreams La Romana Resort.
The local paper said: “The boat was an attraction for tourists staying at hotels in the east, especially in the La Romana, Dominicus and Bayahibe area during the winter holidays….. It has been decontaminated and prepared for the sinking. The Environment and Tourism Ministries as well as the Navy will take part in this venture. Officials say the boat will be ready in about 15 days, once 100,000 gallons of contaminated water on board the ship have all been removed.”
Well it took a bit longer, another date was set for December and then one day, May 6 2009 exactly, the boat disappeared by itself, unfortunately in a shallow location, and many experts say that a surge from any major storm will probably destroy it. But for now we have a new wreck that can be enjoyed even b y new divers.

Cañón Catalina is a marvelous marine canyon and just a short swim away is La Pared or The Wall, where the seabed drops away into the depths of the ocean. The lower part of the wall sequesters green and black coral, as well as huge sea sponges.

A shallow Caribbean reef with very good visability and a 1m to 3m drop. Here you will see coral and marine sponges, as well as typical Caribbean marine life.

This deep Caribbean reef holds many of the area’s hard and soft corals and sea fans.

An amazing Caribbean reef rests on this shallow garden and has a variety of corals and sea sponges, here typical Caribbean marine life flourishes.

A shallow garden surrounds this beautiful Caribbean reef containing a great variety of corals and sea sponges in a variety of vibrant colors, populated by typical Caribbean marine life.

This sand-filled space between small coral walls is home to a large collection of colorful fish and canons from a shipwreck dating back to the 1700’s and at a depth of just 12m – 14m, it is ideal for beginners as well as for taking beautiful underwater photos.

Dominicus reef, as the name suggests, is in front of our resort.
An awesome dive site with beautiful corals and marine life to look at. It is part of the same reef that goes from Viva Shallow and continues along the coast all the way to El Peñon and Piscina Natural.

Bajon dive site is located on the way to Catalina island, in front of Rio Chavon. It is a underwater mountain with the minimum depth of 18 meter. Very healthy coral formations,reach depths of more than 60 meter.