Chileno bay vs Santa Maria for snorkeling

[sunsetme]

which is a better choice for fish, water clarity and waves?

[SelectSys]

I  have only been to Chileno Bay and was not impressed from a snorkeling perspective.  Actually, I wasn't a huge fan of Chileno Bay period as it has very limited services - only a bathroom if memory serves me correctly.  If we plan on staying a while you should considering bringing some drinks and snacks.  Thankfully we had a car on that trip so it wasn't a big deal to check out.  I doubt we spent more that an hour there.  Maybe it's different on cruise ship days with more vendors and services

 

I would be curious to hear about Santa Maria. It's slightly closer to the port.

 

What is your plan to get to the beach?  Taxi, bus? If you try and use the bus, you are likely to need to walk a far amount to get to the public beach at both Chileno Bay and Santa Maria.