Half Moon Cay

[altarrose]

Are there any private snorkel tours available or does everything for this island need to be booked through the ship? Also, is it possible to have decent snorkeling from shore if you just bring your own equipment?

[Warmbluewater]

I think on any of the private islands, there are only the stores and services that are contracted by the ship.

[maddogslimited]

Hi Altarrose. Having been to Half Moon Cay (Little San Salvador) numerous times, both on a small boat and HAL, I will offer my opinions. First, I know of no private snorkel tour operators as all services are contracted on the island to insure cruiseship standards. The swim area was created by tons of white beach sand and the bottom reflects this. To see marine life here is purely by chance. There used to be an area near the rock jetty, where the tenders enter the channel, that had some acceptable snorkeling, but the swim area there has been moved back and now it is "off limits". There was a time when you could trek over the dunes to the Eastern shore of the island and hike about 1/4 mile up the beach and do a beach dive. There are patch reefs within an easy swim and the current is weak if the wind direction is from shore. The patch reefs are visible from where the ship anchors as dark spots in the water, not to be confused with cloud shadows which move. The last time I did this, the glass bottom boat operators were upset over my presence. I believe they have signage now limiting access to this part of the island. Depending on your adventure level, this is the best access for a beach snorkel. That said, the best reefs/snorkeling is on the Northwest side of the island. Unfortuneatly, this area is only accessable by walking around the rocks at the SW end of the cove at low tide or by private boat. The danger of getting caught on the wrong side of the rocks is too real for me and I have yet to make the journey on foot. I have tried alternative paths, but there are no cleared paths thru the brush down to the beach and the terrain is rocky and uneven limestone even if a path existed. The time I snorkeled there off a private boat was spectacular. The lagoon has clear water, but that area just has sea grass and no reefs. Please keep in mind that I consider myself a very strong swimmer and wouldn't attempt any of these snorkels with an onshore breeze or wave action over 1 foot. Also, I always wear an CO2 inflatable life vest for safety. These safety items are provided with paid tours, so the comfort level is greater for many people. Regardless, HMC is a wonderful stop, enjoy!!!

[scwhiner]

Are there any private snorkel tours available or does everything for this island need to be booked through the ship? Also, is it possible to have decent snorkeling from shore if you just bring your own equipment?

 

We took our own snorkel equipment with us and went in from the beach. I don't know about the excursions and what better marine life there would be on a ship excursion, but we had a blast on our own. Nothing spectacular by way of color, but still neat with thousands of fish to swim through and with. Some like minnows (don't know that they were) and some bigger - clear fish that you could only see while snorkeling - largest we saw was @12 - 14 inches - Pretty amazing - they were all over the place but without snorkeling, you wouldn't have known it.

 

Half Moon Cay is just a paradise! You'll enjoy no matter what you decide if you enjoy Caribbean warm breeze with waves lapping on the shore, enjoying the sun and palms!

[itsmebuggy]

this page had a lot of general information about half moon cay

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1315254&highlight=hmc