Folkestone Marine Park and Visitor Center

[roscobear]

I read in Frommers Guide there is a snorkel trail in this marine reserve about one-third of a mile off shore. It is free to get in and costs $10.00 to rent equipment. My question is, can one either hire a boat and driver or rent a couple of kayaks to get to the offshore reserve. One third of a mile off shore, although doable, wouldn't leave too much energy to actually snorkel and then come back.

 

We would like to do a little snorkeling, but we are not interested in spending 4 hours and $50/pp on a boat and drinking "free" drinks, when all we want to do is spend 30-45 minutes snorkeling and then explore the rest of the island in a rental car.

 

And if this isn't the easiest from shore snorkeling, then is there another place someone can recommend. Thanks,

-cilla

[erniesband]

We've done Folkstone both boat access and shore access. First time we were there we took a cab over to Folkstone and went in from shore (there's truly not much of a beach). There's plenty that can be seen within an easy swimming distance of the shore. Make sure you ask someone on shore (the guys who rent the chairs tend to know), which way to swim - they'll steer you towards where the best snorkeling is, tell you which areas to avoid that day). Depending on the time of year, the visibility is sometimes limited, but we've also had some terrific snorkeling there.