Beach to snorkel from to see Turtles?

[novarph]

I'm cruising on Celebrity Equinox on June 10-18 with my 2 children aged 11 and 13 who've never cruised or snorkeled before. They tend to be on the scared side. I was going to book a snorkel with turtles tour, but then noticed it appears to be in deep water and I'm afraid they'll be too afraid to participate. I was planning to just go to a beach and snorkel, most likely at Magen's Beach. I'll need to rent equipment. Is this the best bet to see sea turtles? Any other suggestions?

[Ms411]

Most of the sea turtle excursions take you to an area where the water is pretty deep. Coral World used to have a Sea Turtle Encounter where you interacted with sea turtles in a pool designed for them. You get to touch the turtles under the supervision of the handler. You're not supposed to touch them when they're in the water.

 

Private excursions through stthomasadventuretours.com take you to Brewers Beach which is a beach on St Thomas with lots of turtles. You can go on your own, but you have to bring your own equipment.

[novarph]

@Ms411, I looked at them and their tour looks perfect but they aren't operating on the day I'll be in St Thomas unfortunately 😞

 

[Ms411]

Sorry to hear that. Another operator that I have known of but never tried is IslandBuddy.net. I don't think he guarantees turtles like the other group because I think he usually takes people to less accessible beaches. Ask him about Brewers Beach. The University has a turtle research area there because it's a popular beach for turtles.

[novarph]

I'll check them out, thanks!

[mrl3800]

You can almost guarantee to see turtles at Maho Beach in St John

[Ms411]

Maho is great for turtles, but you lose a lot of time getting there and back during a cruise stop. I also think that it's better to use a guided tour if you have people who might not be comfortable in the water.

[jean87510]

On 5/30/2023 at 1:02 PM, novarph said:

I'm cruising on Celebrity Equinox on June 10-18 with my 2 children aged 11 and 13 who've never cruised or snorkeled before. They tend to be on the scared side. I was going to book a snorkel with turtles tour, but then noticed it appears to be in deep water and I'm afraid they'll be too afraid to participate. I was planning to just go to a beach and snorkel, most likely at Magen's Beach. I'll need to rent equipment. Is this the best bet to see sea turtles? Any other suggestions?

Brewers Bay is the best place to see turtles in St. Thomas.  No equipment rental however.  

[mitsugirly]

Brewers Bay is the place you want to go to if you want to see turtles up close to the beach. They have been everywhere every time we've went.

 

Check out my reviews (with pictures) of the beach and turtles HERE and HERE.  They do not rent chairs or anything there but there is plenty of shade along the beach with trees. Also there is not a guaranteed food stand there (but we found one parked up on the road when we went for great food and drinks). There is a building with bathrooms and showers there as well. Great place to go and never crowded.

[SRQbeachgirl]

We were at Magens Bay in January and saw a bunch of sea turtles. I was surprised at how many there were swimming near the beach. Magens is a great beach for kids as well, since the water is so calm. It's not great for snorkeling because it's mostly a sandy bottom, but there is some snorkeling on the far right (if you're facing the water) along the rocks.

[Ms411]

The sea turtle excursions go where there are patches of what they call turtle grass on the sea floor. That increases the likelihood of seeing turtles.

 

Magens has a sandy bottom and turtles are often seen, but there are other areas where turtles are seen more frequently. Seeing turtles at Magens is a nice bonus.

[z_cruisers]

I wonder if a taxi would take us to Brewers Bay from Havensight cruise port? 

[Ms411]

The only way to find out is to ask, and you may have to ask more than one. If you have a group of maybe 6 or more your chances are better.

 

Of course, if you pay higher private rates, somebody will probably take you.

[z_cruisers]

Hoping someone with recent experience going to Brewers from cruise port will chime in!

[Ms411]

I suggest you start a new thread titled Did You Take a Taxi to Brewers?