Best Snorkeling???

[Haga0401]

I'm looking for the best beach to snorkel from on our stop in port at Barbados? Obviously it must be within a reasonable distance to the cruise ship pier. Private excursions would also be welcomed, otherwise if there is a public beach nearby that has good snorkeling not far from shore that would be ideal!! We have all of our own gear so we just need some good access points! Thanks!

[seashinesunshine]

I'm looking for the best beach to snorkel from on our stop in port at Barbados? Obviously it must be within a reasonable distance to the cruise ship pier. Private excursions would also be welcomed, otherwise if there is a public beach nearby that has good snorkeling not far from shore that would be ideal!! We have all of our own gear so we just need some good access points! Thanks!

 

We have done snorkeling at Folkestone 3 times. There are nice reefs, with lots of fish. One time I saw an eel type thing, another time, my son and I saw a huge school of blue tangs. There is not much for a sandy beach, but there is sand in the water before you get to the reef area. Folkestone is a park with lots of shade trees. There are beach chairs, etc to rent. I think it was 5$. We really enjoy it. It is just a bus ride upthe coast. $1.50 each way. Easy to catch the bus when you are ready to leave.

From what I remember all beaches are public access, so hotels etc can't tell you that you can't be there, but they don't have to allow you to walk on thier land to get to the beach.

Barbados is one of our favorite islands.

[aimodels]

Yes, all the beaches are public...

 

Folkestone is great. There's also a small reef at Rockley straight out from the Sideshore Bar.

 

If you want to check out some shipwrecks, Carlisle Bay is decent, but it's a bit of swim from shore. You can always hire a boat for around $20-$30 or so or book an excursion with one of the booze cruise cat's...

 

Cheers, P:)

[Haga0401]

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll look into all of them and see what we want to do!

 

Have either of you been to any of these other islands on our itinerary?

 

St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten

 

If so, we could use the same advice for those ports of call as well!

 

I've been on a couple cruises to the Eastern Caribbean, but this is my first to the Southern!

 

Thanks Again!

[seashinesunshine]

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll look into all of them and see what we want to do!

 

Have either of you been to any of these other islands on our itinerary?

 

St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten

 

If so, we could use the same advice for those ports of call as well!

 

I've been on a couple cruises to the Eastern Caribbean, but this is my first to the Southern!

 

Thanks Again!

 

We have been to all three

St Maarten only once, we went to Maho beach, the one with the airplanes, and Dawn beach. Traffic is horrible in St Maarten, so the best bet seems to be taxi. Maho beach with the planes is better in the afternoon, bigger planes, but allow plenty of time to get back. Dawn beach was nice and had a cute bar that had great looking food. But the surf was too rough for snorkeling, there may have been storms in the area causing that. This time when we go we plan to do some shopping near the port in the morning, then go to Maho from about 11 to 230, I want to give ourselves a lot of travel time back. I think it was around 15$ pp to maho, but maybe it was total. I have heard that the beach at the pier, near the shops is really polluted with sewer. So most don't recommend swimming there, although a lot of people do. I did personally see one child "using the beach for a toilet 'number two'" yuck.

 

St Kitts, we have been to Ft Brimstone twice, the second time we continued on to take a tour around the island stopping at various places. When you get off the ship in St Ktts the taxis are very organized and if you say what you want they will find a few others to fill the taxi to save $$. The time we went to the fabric factory, Ft Brimstone, and around the island there were 6 of us and it cost 20$ pp. Also when our driver found out my husband was a photographer by profession, he stopped for him many times. Ft Brimstone is really cool and they are continuing to restore more of it. The third time we went to St Kitts we went to Cockelshell beach. My daughter lived her dream by riding horses in the water and on the beach. Only 25$ for a ride of about an hour. We snorkeled a bit, but the coral was pretty broken up from a hurricane. Not the best snorkel views, but the water was easy to swim in. Then I stepped on a sea urchin. Very Very OUCH!:mad: There are a few bars etc and some shops on the beach and a very pretty drive. If you like sea glass there is a lot of it on the black sand beach that is right near the peir off to the left if you are facing land. To much garbage on that beach but that is why there is all the glass.

 

St Lucia is a very pretty lush island. The first time we took a 4.5 hour bus tour to see the peitons and stopped at a natural spring pool. We really enjoyed the walk thru the rainforest to the pool and the bus ride was really nice and informative. It was a ship tour. The second time we took a ship tour to a zip line place. Pretty sure it was called Tree Top Adventures. Loved it!!! My mom, dad, moms cousins, all in thier 60's did the zip lining too and loved it. Once again a really pretty ride. That was an early morning tour, they say to zip line early to avoid crowds. We were back to the ship by lunch ate, then went shopping at the shops near the peir. We are going back to St Lucia this next cruise and we are thinking we want to take some kind of tour to get back in the rainforest.

 

We love the southern! It is so much more lush and less commercialized. Keep asking questions and (I hate saying this but it's true) keep checking the ports of call. Tons of great info there.

[Haga0401]

THanks Again! That's a lot of great info! I'll couple that with researching various travel sites and blogs! It definitely helps to have been there before! I know St. Thomas like the back of my hand, but these other islands in the south will be a new adventure! Good thing I am taking the same itinerary twice this year, once in September with the girlfriend and the other in November with a group of friends!

[aimodels]

We been to St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Lucia as well. Of those three, we only snorkeled in St. Lucia.

 

St. Lucia has some nice snorkeling at Anse Chastanet and Jalousie Beach. I know Spencer Ambrose tours hits both of those, but there might also be other operators that do so as well. We had a wonderful time with Spencer...

 

We did island tours on St. Maarten (Bernard Tours) and St. Kitts (Thenford Grey).

 

Cheers, P:)

[seashinesunshine]

We been to St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Lucia as well. Of those three, we only snorkeled in St. Lucia.

 

St. Lucia has some nice snorkeling at Anse Chastanet and Jalousie Beach. I know Spencer Ambrose tours hits both of those, but there might also be other operators that do so as well. We had a wonderful time with Spencer...

 

We did island tours on St. Maarten (Bernard Tours) and St. Kitts (Thenford Grey).

 

Cheers, P:)

 

At the two beaches mentioned in St Lucia how far are they from port? Are they crowded, is there a place to rent a chair, is it easy to catch a taxi back?

Thanks!

:)

[aimodels]

Last time we were in St. Lucia, we only stopped at Jalousie. There are chairs and palapas there, but you should get there early. It can get a little crowded as it gets closer to noon.

 

We went with Spencer and he got us there before anyone else...

 

Jalousie is about 15 miles or so by boat, along the west coast past Soufriere. It's a LOT longer by land. Anse Chastanet is about 2-3 miles closer to port.

 

There's likely more information over on the St. Lucia board...

 

Cheers, P:)

[tambourine63]

Is it pretty eash getting around Barbados, or do the people hassle you?

I will be going in early December on the Carnival Victory and it's my first time there.

Thanks!

[mn_isla_girl]

Is it pretty eash getting around Barbados, or do the people hassle you?

 

There are lots of taxis available at the port just like any port. Security seemed much stricter than other ports. Some laws that may affect cruisers are

 

1) No camoflage. It's illegal for civilians to wear or even display camo. No camo backpacks, nothing!

 

2) No smoking in public. The law is written as any area inside or outside of walls that is accessible to the public. I don't know how strict they are but you don't want to be breaking laws in other countries. I would ask before lighting up. The catamaran I was on all day said 'no problem, smoke em if ya got em.'

[seashinesunshine]

Is it pretty eash getting around Barbados, or do the people hassle you?

I will be going in early December on the Carnival Victory and it's my first time there.

Thanks!

 

It is easy to get around Barbados, we have used the bus system many times.

The taxi drivers will harrass you especially if they find out you are taking the bus. It was really bad last time. but just walk by.

The people other than that do not harass you at all. I have heard there are strict laws about harassing tourists. The people there are some of the friendliest we have met. Can't wait to go back!