East or West Caribbean best for snorkeling beginners?

[Aylee]

Planning our first cruise for June and undecided on itinerary in Eastern or Western Caribbean. Leaning toward western but one thing I for sure want to do is snorkel. My DH and I snorkeled in Kauai HI a few years ago and it was great, being our first time ever and all, but I was somewhat let down by my expectations. The reef there isn't the colorful living reef you see in glossy print and the fish were cool but not tons of colorful tropical fish. Plus water was choppy and made it very cloudy.

So this trip we're taking the kids to the Caribbean and really want a more colorful experience. That being said, none of us are strong swimmers and its the kids (15 & 11) first time in the ocean so I don't know that we'd feel comfortable out on the open water. So a few questions:

 

East or West itinerary for good easy snorkeling? And why/where?

Snorkel from shore (either on our own or w/tour) or is it not that bad off shore w/tours?

[scubaran]

Planning our first cruise for June and undecided on itinerary in Eastern or Western Caribbean. Leaning toward western but one thing I for sure want to do is snorkel. My DH and I snorkeled in Kauai HI a few years ago and it was great, being our first time ever and all, but I was somewhat let down by my expectations. The reef there isn't the colorful living reef you see in glossy print and the fish were cool but not tons of colorful tropical fish. Plus water was choppy and made it very cloudy.

So this trip we're taking the kids to the Caribbean and really want a more colorful experience. That being said, none of us are strong swimmers and its the kids (15 & 11) first time in the ocean so I don't know that we'd feel comfortable out on the open water. So a few questions:

 

East or West itinerary for good easy snorkeling? And why/where?

Snorkel from shore (either on our own or w/tour) or is it not that bad off shore w/tours?

 

Well, both have good snorkeling spots. The virgin islands, St. Lucia, Bahamas in the East. Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Riviara Maya in the west. Also the ABC islands, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao to the south. All of these islands offer good snorkeling (both shore and boat). Be careful in selecting tours which will be crowded so kids can have a problem getting out of everyone's way. Shore snorkeling can be less intimidating but can be boring unless you swim out a ways. Since none of you are strong swimmers, I'd suggest go on a tour that goes to a beach for snorkeling, try to stay away from reef excursions since there can be 15ft. or more water between the boat and the top of the reef. Plus I can't stress too much the good practice of getting some snorkel gear (you can rent it from a local dive shop) and go to the local pool with the kids and practice putting on the gear and learning to breath through the snorkel. This is supposed to be fun, not trial by fire. Remember, if your kids have a good first experience they're more likely to love being in the ocean as they grow older.

 

Randall

 

P.S. you'll find those colorful fish, reefs, hard to say. They take new snorkelers to older reefs since people tend to stand on the coral heads close to the surface, even with many warnings. The pristine reefs are usually in deeper water and experienced by scuba divers (an incentive to become more at home in the ocean and getting certified). Plus the average temps in the Caribbean are 80-85 degrees, much warmer than Hawaii (I grew up there).

[Aylee]

Thanks for your reply Randall. This is helpful to me so at least I know which cruise itinerary to choose regardless of the location. I will look for a tour that does beach snorkel, at least for our first time out, and it will be beautiful and exciting even if we miss out on the better views available to divers. If I knew we'd go again w/out kids I'd love to become certified and try a dive in the future. Hawaii was breathtaking but our snorkel spot and timing weren't the best. Glad to know the Caribbean will be a little warmer too.

[ScubaCruiser54]

If you are going to start learning to snorkel, the eastern has more shallow beaches that are easy to access.... But both sides have pretty fish, critters, etc. We had problems at Antigua with jellyfish on several cruises.

[luv2travel2beaches]

I agree that both Eastern & Western have great snorkeling spots. I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing your own blow up snorkel vests. I swim fine, but some times the waves mess with my motion issue. I feel SO MUCH more comfortable in the water with my blow up snorkel vest. It allows me to relax and enjoy instead of fighting the waves. One of my best experiences was snorkeling off of a catamaran in St. Thomas. The water was deep but it was so smooth that it made for a great experience even though I usually prefer snorkeling off of a beach. But without that vest I wouldn't have been comfortable. Best investment I've made!

[Chris from The Port Book]

If St Thomas will be part of your cruise - Trunk Bay in St John is a great snorkeling site for beginners. It is one of the few coral reef systems on US soil and most cruise lines have tours there.http://www.theportbook.com

[Walt fan]

I have heard great things about Trunks Bay in St. Thomas; I was thinking of taking DS19, DS19's friend, and DS14 snorkeling there; but then again I have heard it is overly crowded; any thoughts about crowding issue?

[Chris from The Port Book]

I have heard great things about Trunks Bay in St. Thomas; I was thinking of taking DS19, DS19's friend, and DS14 snorkeling there; but then again I have heard it is overly crowded; any thoughts about crowding issue?

 

Hi, you're right. It can get crowded. What we used to do is make our own way there early which involves a taxi to red hook point, then the ferry over to St John, then another taxi to Trunk Bay. Yes it sounds like a bit of a pain doing all that but we liked the exploring. It gets busy when the cruise ship passengers arrive normally by boat on a tour and snorkel from that. But we were done by then so it was okay. Cheers

http://www.theportbook.com