Snorkeling near Pier in Nassau

[amy2313]

We've been to Nassau a few times now: we've visited Atlantis, did a beach day at the British Colonial, toured some of the Forts, shopped all along Bay Street so now we are looking for something different to do while in Nassau.

As a group that loves to snorkel, is there a beach in the Nassau area that is within a taxi ride away that we could go snorkeling?? or does anyone have suggestions for something different to do altogether.

 

Thanks.

[feistytigger]

i'm not sure how long you have in nassau, but i know we had a super short stop on the valor. we went to princess island and snorkeled there - with fish and stingrays. (excursion booked thru carnival.) despite a couple issues, we had a blast. i had a rough time with the snorkeling because (1) the water was a little rough and (2) there were so many people at the entry/exit spot. but the fish were neat. the stingray part was super cool even tho' i was scared of them!

[Stevesan]

If port time allows, one of the best snorkel trips in the Caribbean is with Stuart's Cove:

 

http://www.snorkelbahamas.com/

 

 

This is a 5-½ hour trip. The boat trip is @ three hours, and visits Schoolhouse Reef, the spectacular Golden Key Reef and finally a “swim with the sharks” at ‘The Wreck of the Bahama Mama’. I have never before witnessed such a number and variety of fish as at Golden Key. There are never-ending fish, large and small, singly and in large schools. The floor is decorated with huge, magnificent coral formations of all shapes and sizes. Surprisingly, getting in with a dozen or so sharks is not frightening. I suspect we were too caught up with their grace and magnificence to be scared. The fact that the boat captain hadn’t lost a diver in twelve years was also encouraging. This is a five star, gold medallion, prime trip, not to be missed!

If time doesn't allow Stuart's Cove, there are lots of operators that go to Athol Island which is excellent snorkeling. It's usually a total three hour trip. The boat will pick you up at the cruise pier. This is often bookable thru the cruise line.

[amy2313]

THanks so much for both of your suggestions. I take it there really isn't snorkeling to be done in Nassau, or the Cable BEach and Paradise Island area that we could get to ourselves?? But the Stuart COve excursion and the one through Carnival directly sounds very exciting and I am going to check into both of those and prices. We are doing a couple excursions during our other ports of call so we were trying not to spend money on excursions while in Nassau and just do a beach time, but sting rays and sharks, that could be cool if the cost isn't too bad. THanks again.

[amy2313]

double post

[scubaran]

THanks so much for both of your suggestions. I take it there really isn't snorkeling to be done in Nassau, or the Cable BEach and Paradise Island area that we could get to ourselves?? But the Stuart COve excursion and the one through Carnival directly sounds very exciting and I am going to check into both of those and prices. We are doing a couple excursions during our other ports of call so we were trying not to spend money on excursions while in Nassau and just do a beach time, but sting rays and sharks, that could be cool if the cost isn't too bad. THanks again.

 

Hi,

 

I've been to Nassau many times, staying on the island and via cruise ships. There really isn't "shore snorkeling" per se. While staying on cable beach I once paid one of the tour operators to run me out to the fringe reef off the beach and did my own snorkel but there wasn't much to see. The two places that I've found good snorkeling was stuart's cove on the south of the island and "thunderball reef" (the reef where they filmed the James Bond movie) which you get to out of central Nassau out the opposite channel that the cruise ships come into (about a 20 minute boat ride). I also understand the Crystal Cay Park (the marine park with the underwater tower) offers some snorkeling but you'd need to confirm this.

[amy2313]

Hi,

 

I've been to Nassau many times, staying on the island and via cruise ships. There really isn't "shore snorkeling" per se. While staying on cable beach I once paid one of the tour operators to run me out to the fringe reef off the beach and did my own snorkel but there wasn't much to see. The two places that I've found good snorkeling was stuart's cove on the south of the island and "thunderball reef" (the reef where they filmed the James Bond movie) which you get to out of central Nassau out the opposite channel that the cruise ships come into (about a 20 minute boat ride). I also understand the Crystal Cay Park (the marine park with the underwater tower) offers some snorkeling but you'd need to confirm this.

 

Thank you so much for those suggestions - exactly the information we were hoping to get. I will definitely check into those and their costs.