Best Snorkling Beaches?

[LindaCt]

Please advise on best snorkling beaches? Don't really want to go to Coki due to negative reviews on this board regarding possible safety issues? Any snorkling at Emerald or Morningstar??????

[zqvol]

Please advise on best snorkling beaches? Don't really want to go to Coki due to negative reviews on this board regarding possible safety issues? Any snorkling at Emerald or Morningstar??????

 

We go to Coki every time we are in St. Thomas. I cannot imagine any safety issues. Don't let the negatives on this board scare you from the best snorkeling on St. Thomas.

[Mary Ellen1]

I'd read that the best 3 snorkeling beaches are Coki, Sapphire and Secret Harbour. Based on the negative recent comments about both Coki & Sapphire, we're going to Secret Harbour next week. Haven't been there yet, but I'm told the snorkeling is really good.

 

Mary Ellen

[AlbertaCruisers]

We have never been to Coki, I'm too scared of the crowds!

 

As background, we only really do excursions and beaches that include snorkeling. On our last cruise we got off at 8 ports and snorkeled 8 times. I love snorkeling!

 

We went to Sapphire twice, the second time was in October of 2008. The beach is nice and the snorkeling is good. A lot of the reef is dead though and just brown. The fish are also so used to being fed that they actually peck at your legs if you are too still.

 

This January, 2010, we went to Secret Harbour. I enjoyed it much more then Sapphire. The beach was nice and quiet and the snorkeling was great. Much better than Sapphire I found. To get there, we went in the usual taxi line and they put us on one of the open air taxis with all the people going to red hook as Secret Harbour is close to red hook. The taxi dropped us off right in front of the hotel, while facing the hotel we walked to the right (there was a sign or something indicating the dive shop was that way). Once you are on the beach all of the beach chairs are in a pile there. You go into the store and pay for your chairs (I forget how much, but it might have been $10 a chair and a $10 per chair deposit, so we paid double and when we brought the chairs back they gave us back our money). We put our chairs right in front of the restaurant type area and really enjoyed the day. For snorkeling, while you face the beach, off to the right are rocks with lots of fish, a huge barracuda that seems to just hang out there (we was there all day), and coral growing on the rocks, etc. The other really good place is kind of out towards the middle and to the left (past the floating platform). This was actually a bit better then the rock area.

 

When you leave Secret Harbour, at first we didn't see any taxi's so (I'm a worrier), so I went in to ask the hotel if they would call us one. Since we weren't guest they would call us a taxi but required us to give them a $20 deposit. If we left, they would give it to the taxi driver for his time and if we were still there we would get it back. It ended up that while I was talking to the lady in the hotel, my husband was up at the road and a taxi drove up and offered to take us. She told us there are normally taxis coming and going from there often.

[oneal5]

Please advise on best snorkling beaches? Don't really want to go to Coki due to negative reviews on this board regarding possible safety issues? Any snorkling at Emerald or Morningstar??????

We went to Coki last November and I completely agree with the safety issues, relative to the undertow. My dh and I nearly drowned actually and we are really good swimmers. The beach was just ok, very crowded and the crowd seemed a bit sketchy.

 

I think we'll try Sapphire or Emerald this time around.

[Mary Ellen1]

Hi there,

 

We just returned from the Liberty, and were on St. Thomas last Tuesday, March 9. We snorkeled at Secret Harbour beach based on recommendations on this board, and it was FABULOUS! Lots of different varieties of fish. Secret Harbour is a great beach.

 

Mary Ellen

[Ziggified]

I thought I had my mind all made up :) I was going to go to Sapphire Beach for snorkeling in April..after reading this I am thinking Secret Harbour would be better! Does anyone know how much the cab ride is from the pier?

[lindicruiser]

Secret Harbour is the best one. We vowed never to return to coki 3 years ago, there is a strong undertow towards the left side and the locals are very pushy/rude.

[larie]

Does Secret Harbour have any kayaks or water "toys" to rent?

[Mary Ellen1]

Does Secret Harbour have any kayaks or water "toys" to rent?

 

Looks like the dive shop there may rent that kind of thing -- it's mentioned on their website: http://www.aadivers.com/rental_rates.htm