Best Places to Snorkel on Our Own

[JennyT]

Hi,

We're going to be traveling to Bermuda, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Aruba next month and would like to know some good places to go snorkeling without taking a ship's tour. We're bringing our own equipment along and would just like to be able to get off the ship and either stroll to a beach or take a quick cab to a place that would have some reasonable snorkeling. Any advice would be most appreciated!

[10X]

I've never been to Bermuda but in St. Thomas I would opt for Coki Beach. It's close, has lots of fish, and it's cheap and easy to get to/from. In St. Martin, I would opt for Pinel Island. The cab drivers know where to take you and will return to pick you up if you specify a time. St. Martin is not noted for its snorkeling and Pinel Island has a reputation of the best they have to offer.

[JennyT]

Thanks! We've been to Pinel Island on a shore excusion - guess we'll head back on our own this time. Never been to Coki beach though. It will be fun to go someplace new.

Thank you!

[Riskywood]

Coki Beach is OK for snorkeling. My daughter and I did an intro to scuba diving class there and had a great time. A 20 minute lesson followed by a 45 minute beach dive down to 40'. Had a blast!

[vlnovak]

in St Thomas we head to St John's Island. Take the water taxie from Red Hook. It will run on the hr. Go to Trunk bay or cinnamon bay(small admission fee) but has showers. After snorkling to to Mongoose junction and have a drink or shop. Take the ferry back to Red Hook, you can catch a city bus for a dollar and this will take you back to he ship, may take about an hour. If the time does not permit take a taxi. You can also get a taxie that takes you to downtown st thomas but it is longer. hope this helps.

[Finflapper]

How far away is Pinel Island from the ship and do you know approximately what it would cost by taxie to and from for two people?

Thanks in advance

[JennyT]

[quote name='3xcruiser']How far away is Pinel Island from the ship and do you know approximately what it would cost by taxie to and from for two people?

Thanks in advance[/QUOTE]

Pinel is on the opposite side of the island from where the ship docks. Not too sure how far it is, but I think that it's about $25 for a taxi there. Then there's another $10 ($5 per person) to take the little boat to where the snorkeling is. It's been a couple of years since we were there, so I'm not positive about the pricing anymore.

[Finflapper]

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.