Eastern Caribbean - Best Snorkeling

[Toddy709]

On the Eastern Caribbean route that includes St. Thomas, Grand Turk and St. Maarten, if you were only going to do one snorkeling excursion, either ship sponsored or private, which is the best Island and who is the best vendor to use? I don't have a lot of time to do the research so I would like to have other's opinions. Thanks!

[jeffbrig]

I'm interested in the answer to this question too...

[Clar5]

I went snorkeling on all three back in July with the Emerald, but we mostly went to the beaches. Not a big fan of excursions.

 

Here is what I saw.

 

Princess Cays: Has that reef by the docks, nothing really special just a lot of big fish and a large school of minnows (I think).

 

St. Thomas: Went to Sapphire Beach. Saw a few barracudas and some seaweed. But there was nothing really different from what Princess Cays had.

 

St. Maarten: Went to a private resort and there was really nothing to see, in matter of fact only went into ocean for five minutes stayed in the pool. Waves really choppy that day all fish stayed to far offshore.

 

Grand Turk: Best place in my opinion. I forgot where we went but it began with a B. It had a lot of coral shelves in it that were amazing. Saw some of the world's biggest sea urchins there, and live coral and live sea sponges. Theres also that wall out there, that I didn't see (need to take an excursion to see it). But Grand Turk is either the number two or number three best snorkeling spot in the world and now I see why. lol

 

I have the pictures up of Princess Cays and Grand Turk snorkeling taken with a digital camera if you would like to see.

[mdpaul]

Thank you for this great information!! Sounds like we'll be snorkeling in the Turks!

[-Lew-]

 

Thank you for this great information!! Sounds like we'll be snorkeling in the Turks!

You might want to consider Trunk Bay on St. John. It's considered to be one of the best snorkeling sites in the world.

 

IMHO the snorkeling around Grank Turk is inferior to Trunk Bay.

 

Lew

[Toddy709]

The only place that I have been snorkeling off any of these three islands was Grand Turk and it was the worst place I have ever snorkeled. Granted it was about a month after a major hurricane in the area so that may very well have been the reason. That's why I wanted other opinions! Thanks to everyone for responding!

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree about going to St John. :D

[DiRon]

Although we have not snorkeled off St. John (but really want to try it) we have yet to find anyplace in the Caribbean that can equal the snorkeling in Hawaii. Just didn't see the various coral formations and colors in the Caribbean that we see in Hawaii - not to mention the variety of fish and of course, the sea turtles. However - as mentioned, we have not snorkeled St. John and we hear it is one of the best areas in the Caribbean - besides Belize.

[Toddy709]

Although we have not snorkeled off St. John (but really want to try it) we have yet to find anyplace in the Caribbean that can equal the snorkeling in Hawaii. Just didn't see the various coral formations and colors in the Caribbean that we see in Hawaii - not to mention the variety of fish and of course, the sea turtles. However - as mentioned, we have not snorkeled St. John and we hear it is one of the best areas in the Caribbean - besides Belize.

 

I agree. We have yet to find anything that compares to Hawaii. However, we still enjoy it and try to do at least one snorkel excursion anytime we're in the Caribbean.

[SYLYB]

The ship sponsored, Shipwreck Cove cataraman sail and snorkel in St Thomas on the Castaway Girl is a great snorkel excursion.

[Morgsmom]

I vote for Trunk or Cinnamon Bay in St. John as a day excursion from St. Thomas. In this case I'd go with the cruiseline excursion, not on my own, because it takes a bus or taxi to ferry to taxi again, but it is SO WORTH IT. Just breathtaking.

[billrco90278]

On St. Thomas, we did the Princess 1/2 Day Champagne Snorkel to St. Johns and it was wonderful. In our snorkling experiences, only Hawaii rivals that day!

[alphakitty]

We enjoyed our snorkel excursion on St. Martin with Captain Alan's 3 island snorkel tour. :) It was so much fun and easy with pick up/drop off at the port offered. The mud bath on the beach is an awesome experience!

 

http://www.captainalan.com/

[Islandbear]

I would reccomend a charter off St Thomas. Don't waste your time with Coki beach or any shore snorkeling on St Thomas. There are great reefs around St James on the South East shore of St Thomas and of Course anything on St John.

[The Flying Pirate]

Snorkeling in St Thomas is excellent but the best sites are only accessible by boat. Most of the snorkel tour operators take you out to Buck Island/Turtle Cove and it is excellent, great vis, nice reef, one side of the island has a wreck to snorkel/scuba on. Some of the best snorkeling/scuba in the Caribbean we have found off St Thomas.

[Baz G]

...do you mean Hanauma Bay by any chance?

[Toddy709]

...do you mean Hanauma Bay by any chance?

 

We went to Kealakekua Bay.

[Scuba Laura]

Trunk Bay on St. John - I love St. John, but the reef on Trunk Bay has been so damaged from (sorry) cruise ship passengers who stand on the coral, kick etc.... so if you do go there, please remember the coral you touch you can kill hundreds of years of growth!!! On St. Thomas, Coki is a great snorkeling area, as is Sapphire Beach!! The reefs there are are still healthy with so many fish and corals. There are dive operators who take snorkelers on their dive excursions if you contact them directly.

 

Please be nice and respect our reefs!

[jinxgirl]

I also recommend Trunk Bay on St. John, as an excursion from St. Thomas. I don't believe any of the previous posters have mentioned that Trunk Bay offers a marked snorkelling trail with floating markers and signs on the sea floor, so that as you swim you actually have points to swim too, and information about what you are seeing.

 

I also liked that the folks who supplied our equipment at Trunk Bay (we did the ship's excursion) were VERY patient and helpful, and gave very good snorkelling instructions to the beginners in our group.

 

Also, if you are with a group and some do not wish to snorkel....the beach there is jaw-droppingly beautiful. One could have a perfectly enjoyable afternoon there without even venturing into the water.

[butterflyfish]

I enjoyed Caneel Bay and Honeymoon Beach in St. John (was trying to avoid the crowds at Trunk). We were dropped off at the Caneel Bay Resort (beautiful grounds!), snorkeled a bit (saw some HUGE coral formations on the right side facing the water), then took the path to Honeymoon Beach (about a 15 minute walk) and were the only people there.

 

I also enjoyed Grand Turk. It was cloudy and cool the day we were there, but the coral seemed very healthy. I would love to go back on a sunny day!

[popcorn328]

Was in St Thomas late last March and we took a taxi to Koki Beach and snorkeled from the beach. OMG never seen so many fish, birds were diving all around us, some coral, but the fishes were unbelievable, like you see on tv. I don't know if this was a fluke but i plan on returning as often as I can. On Grand Turk snorkeling wasn't great but we walked about 1 mile or so around the point and found where they do snuba diving and snorkeled there from shore, saw lots of fish some coral, and it was cooler on that side of the island, had a great day there.

[snorkelgirl1]

Trunk Bay and Turtle Cove are good.

Many islands are showing more damage in recent years due to storms.

I prefer Southern area...ABC...Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao...still great reef and fish, as avoid the hurricanes.

Also...Cozumel has great snorkeling....on par with Hawaii.

[nschille04]

Last year we did Captain Nautica's snorkel excursion in St Thomas and it really was a once in a lifetime experience! There were some 8 people on the boat and everyone was in agreement that the snorkeling was among the best anyone had ever seen. We saw hundreds of fish and visited a few different locations. We also saw several sea turtles and squid.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

I can't comment on Grand Turk, but have snorkeled a few times in both St. Maarten and St. Thomas, and St. Thomas is much better!

[coachz70]

for a beginner. Coki Beach in St.Thomas is awesome. A great beach with nice snorkeling right off the beach! Going back On the Eurodam next week!