snorkeling

[razorbackG]

Can anyone help me with snorkeling on St Maarten or St. Thomas?:confused: I would like to go on our own and not do a tour. Can we get equipment easily and get to locations with out to much trouble?:confused:

[The Flying Pirate]

Hi Razorback, The snorkeling in both St Thomas and St Maarten is very good. It is however somewhat hard to get to. If you want to snorkel on your own, first thing, bring your gear with you. It makes things much easier.

 

In St Thomas, the main place people go to snorkel is Coki Beach. You can take a Taxi from the cruise ship docks to Coki Beach and back. The other location is Megan's Bay. Also accessable by Taxi. Note that both of those locations are on the other side of the island so it will be a bit of a ride, probably like 30 min or so.

 

Most of the snorkel tours in St Thomas take you out to Buck Island. Which is fantasic for snorkeling. I have gone out there several times and the visibility is fantastic, on one side of the island there is a wreck in 35' of water and on the other there is a nice reef that is frequented by sea turtles. Well worth it in my opinion.

 

I spent a week in St Thomas for work a couple years ago and asked at several dive shops where to go and they all pointed to Coki Beach and Megan's bay unless you have a boat. We did the "Doubloon" snorkeling tour and really enjoyed it.

 

St Maarten I have only been to Little Bay, which is the next bay over from the cruise ship dock. We did the Tiki Hut tour, which is in Little Bay, and they pretty much just give you the gear and let you explore the bay, so there is no big crowd. The Tki Hut is also owned by the local dive shop so be prepared for them to direct you there.

[musiccity2008]

Sounds like a good suggestion above, but as an alternate choice you might also consider traveling over to St. John. Several times I've gone over to St. John on the ferry and snorkeled at Trunk Bay. It's a bit of an effort, you have to be motivated to go, but I've found the snorkeling there excellent. It's a protected park, the facilities are good, great beach, and there is equipment rental, food and beverages, etc. available. To get there usually involves a taxi ride to Red Hook, a ferry ride over to Cruz Bay, and another taxi to Trunk Bay. There used to be ferry service directly from the cruise ship docks, but the last time I was there it was discontinued.

 

I've never been disappointed and enjoyed the journey, but in the interest of full disclosure when I go back this spring I plan on finding a closer location on St. Thomas.

[YoPhilly]

St. Maarten - whatever you do, DON'T go to Pine Islet for the snorkeling. It's extremely overcrowded, and the reef has died as a result. (It is a beautiful spot for swimming and sunbathing, though.) A good option is to take a cab to the Divi resort just on the other side of Philipsburg. You can rent chairs, there's a watersports hut and restaurant. Grab your snorkel gear and swim off to the left about a hundred yards. Very nice healthy reef.

 

St. Thomas - like the other posters stated, the reef at Buck Island is very good. You could also snorkel at St. John. (It's been about 6-7 years since I've been to Trunk Bay, so I can't really vouch for the vitality of the reef now.)