Is snorkeling from the beach good enough

[buellblaster]

was wondering if snorkeling from one of the many beaches is good enough, or would it be worth the money to take an excursion where the turtles are. Most of the excursions there include all you can drink which is a waste for us.

[Ms411]

You can see turtles from some of the beaches, but no guarantees of course, but the excursions to Turtle Cove have a higher chance of sitings, I think.

 

If you go to one of the popular snorkeling beaches: Coki, Sapphire, or Secret Harbor, you should see somethings interesting but you may not always see a turtle(s).

[lvz2cruz]

Snorkeling from the beaches at Secret Harbour, Sapphire, and Coki is excellent.

We were there last week and some people we ate with did the Turtle Cove Snorkel excursion and were very disappointed. They saw a few turtles laying on the bottom of the ocean but none swimming by them and very few fish.

It looks like a fun excursion but we have seen alot snorkeling from the beach.

[beautifulbill]

I would go nuts on the large group snorkel trips to Turtle Cove, The boats are packed and 50 people jump in together half of whom have never snorkeled and there is so much splashing and yelling not much gets done.

[SunnyKitty]

we did snorkeling from Coki beach and we did Turtle Cove trip.

 

Snorkeling on Coki is nice, but Turtle Cove trip was much much cooler. More fish, huge sea urchins and turtles! We never saw turtles on Coki (been there twice ).

[mitsugirly]

We have been to Coki twice. Never seen any turtles, but a few days after we were there, some dolphins came in to swim. You just never know what you are going to see anywhere you go.

 

Check out my review(s) in my signature line. There's TONS of pictures. We have snorkeled there (amazing) and also scuba diving off the beach not far out. It's beautiful under the water there.

[DestinationTravelMaster]

Hi buellblaster,

Snorkeling can definitely be a lot of fun in so many different ways in St. Thomas. I mean, the beach, from a boat, from kayaking & snorkeling excursions (they don't usually offer alcohol on those). I have personally done a kayaking and snorkeling excursion and it was one of my favorite excursions. If you need some guidance, here is an article about different types of Snorkeling in St Thomas. Hopefully this will help you.

Enjoy your St Thomas snorkeling experience!

[blue_water]

was wondering if snorkeling from one of the many beaches is good enough, or would it be worth the money to take an excursion where the turtles are. Most of the excursions there include all you can drink which is a waste for us.

 

Off the beach snorkeling is definitely worthwhile, if you're in port 9/13 it's not a busy day and Sapphire would be a nice experience. There is always a chance of sea swells and churning up the sand near the shore of course but generally the snorkeling is good and Sapphire and Coki. Sapphire has a coral area as well as a seagrass area where you may spot a ray or turtle if lucky.

If your port times allow there are some great independent operators you can look at including Yacht Nightwind and New Horizons, both out of the Sapphire Marina. YN and many other operators have a 6 passenger maximum for an enjoyable day and will moor in Caneel Bay or other spots off STJ and STT.