Where would you snorkel

In December we are cruising to Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. Of these ports we have only ever been to St. Thomas where we did a sail and snorkel excursion at Turtle Cove. Where would you say is the best place to snorkel given these options?

St. Thomas or Grand Turk. Take a snorkel tour in Grand Turk to the Wall.

Amber Cove!!! We cruised there for the first time last Fall, and are going back in a couple weeks. Did the Snorkel with lunch trip from the ship, and it was AWESOME!! We have snorkled/snuba in almost every port Carnival has and this was some of the BEST snorkeling I have done in a while! And the lunch and people on board the boat were the BEST!

Love Snuba at Coral World in St. Thomas.. we do this everytime we port there.

Also, I think the shore snorkeling you can do your self in Grand Turk ain't too bad... and if you take your own mask/fins/snorkel like we do, you can do it for free! They have some cool stuff... big anchor, cannon, etc. that they have out there and lots of fish. Spent a couple hours floating around out there a couple months ago and loved it. Beach is right there when you get off the ship in the main "complex" with chairs, etc.

San Juan, not really a snorkel port at all.

Grand Turk. We did a snorkel tour there once and it was gorgeous. The wind was pretty high so I struggled and didn't spend as much time in the water as I would have liked, but it was one of the prettiest places.

The Wall and the Coral Gardens off Grand Turk IMO, are the best snorkel spots amongst your ports. You will need an excursion boat to get to these sites.

Most of St Thomas and St John's coral has been bleached, and there really aren't any good snorkeling sites from the shore at Grand Turk, San Juan, or Amber Cove.

What company did you use at Grand Turks?

I just got back yesterday from doing this itinerary. We snorkeled at both St Thomas and Grand Turk.

St Thomas we did the Turtle Cove Snorkel and Beach break excursion. It was ok. Saw turtles and squid, a few fish and small amount of coral but nothing more than that. The crew, however, was hysterical and fun, lots of drinking after the snorkel.

Grand Turk we did the Conch, Snorkel, and Rays excursion... snorkeling at the reef they took us to at the second stop was decent. The first snorkel stop was just a sandy area, no fish at all, but it was to gather the conch which they made into conch ceviche for everyone to eat at the last stop, the stingray beach. They did a fantastic demo of how to clean a conch, let all the kids pull one out of shells, and then the boat captain had all the veggies already diced up and ready for the conch. It was delicious.

I have tons of photos, and some video, but I just got home last night so I haven't had time to do anything with them yet. I promise to post a full trip report and reviews of the excursions in the next few weeks.

robin

I just got back yesterday from doing this itinerary. We snorkeled at both St Thomas and Grand Turk.

St Thomas we did the Turtle Cove Snorkel and Beach break excursion. It was ok. Saw turtles and squid, a few fish and small amount of coral but nothing more than that. The crew, however, was hysterical and fun, lots of drinking after the snorkel.

Grand Turk we did the Conch, Snorkel, and Rays excursion... snorkeling at the reef they took us to at the second stop was decent. The first snorkel stop was just a sandy area, no fish at all, but it was to gather the conch which they made into conch ceviche for everyone to eat at the last stop, the stingray beach. They did a fantastic demo of how to clean a conch, let all the kids pull one out of shells, and then the boat captain had all the veggies already diced up and ready for the conch. It was delicious.

 

I have tons of photos, and some video, but I just got home last night so I haven't had time to do anything with them yet. I promise to post a full trip report and reviews of the excursions in the next few weeks.

 

robin

ooh. Thanks I can't wait to read your trip report.

Sapphire Beach on St. Thomas, unless you prefer a boat tour, in which case, Coki Dive Center