Best Snorkeling Vacation?

[snorkelingsearchers]

Hey guys. I love to snorkel. My husband loves to snorkel. We love to snorkel. We are fairly new at it, but do it as much as possible every vacation we have been on (that has options for it).

 

We have done cruises and land vacations. What I want to ask of fellow avid snorkelers is IYHO - what is/was/would be the best snorkeling vacation for a week. All input is great appreciated!

[TheVegasMan]

Grand Cayman is where I fell in love with snorkeling. We were there for our honeymoon in 2004. The sealife is so close to the surface it's amazing. I found a few great places along 7 mile beach where you can just walk into the water and snorkel for hours.

[broberts]

Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, Aruba, Cozumel and St Thomas / St John all have good snorkeling. Many years ago I snorkeled off of Paradise Island (Nassau), Bahamas and it was pretty good. No idea what it's like today.

 

I was quite disappointed in Antigua, but that may just have been our particular excursion. The section of reef we visited was very shallow and overrun by dangerous sea urchins.

 

If, as I do, you love to cruise just pick an itinerary that include as many good snorkeling stops as possible.

[cccole]

My very favorite snorkel/scuba vacation was renting a catamaran with captain in Tahiti for five days. It was absolutely awesome!!!!!!!!!! You don't need to plan excursions or rent equipment. You go where you want and either cook onboard or go to restaurants on shore for dinner. It was amazing.

 

I love snorkeling in Hawaii, and my favorite cruise snorkeling is the Palancar Reef off of Cozumel. Cherie

[sceneisle]

We took a charter dive boat out of West Palm Beach, Fl. to the Little Bahama Bank, off the coast of Grand Bahama Island. Spent 6 days snorkeling with Atlantic Spotted and Bottle-nose dolphins (photos available). Next year, we are going to the Dominican Republic; boarding another dive boat to snorkel with Humpback whales in the Silver Bank. Still on the wish list: whale sharks off the coast of Holbox, Mexico, night snorkel with Manta Rays (Kona, HI) and Manatees in Cyrstal River, FL. The best so far? Either the dolphin expedition or the time we spent snorkeling with seal pups in the Galapagos Islands.

[snorkelingsearchers]

Thanks for the replies everyone! So many fun things to do! Sounds like we need to make it to Hawaii, Tahiti, and Galapagos for sure + the Bahamas! We really want to do some more exotic trips - but it will have to wait a little while! For now we are trying to hit a cruise with a great itinerary! We haven't tried scuba but we love to snorkel!

 

My dad did the night manta ray dive in Hawaii and brought back an amazing video! Happy Snorkeling!

[hockeyboy]

My wife and I are avid snorkelers as well. We've been to many places in the Western and Southern Caribbean. Many of the places that are closest to us feature reefs that are dying at an alarming rate.

 

Most places near shore in Grand Cayman or Cozumel are dead or dying.

 

The best snorkeling we've run into recently has been Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas and Director's Bay in Curacao. I've not been to Tortola or St. Lucia. Those are supposed to be great as well.

 

Also, if you were to stay for a week in St. Thomas, you can hit a couple of places in St. Thomas and also go to St. John. On St. John head to Cinnamon Bay and Waterlemon Cay.

Avoid Trunk Bay.

 

Bonaire is supposed to be excellent too.

[Deckhandoug]

1)Anthony's key, fins & flippers resort, roatan Honduras

 

2)Goffs Cay, Belize

 

Both of these are some of the best in the world:)

[JJPacer]

The lagoon that Raehiti and Tahaa share has the most awesome coral I have ever seen. Bora Bora lagoon has the most variety of fish, and the greatest number of fish. :rolleyes: