Which Snorkle Site?

[DJM]

We are a family of nine (ages 15-80) cruising out on the Liberty on June 26, 2010. I have read tons of posts on snorkle sites on St. Thomas. It looks like unless you go to St. John, that either Secret Harbour or Coki is the best choice. Any way to narrow down this decision? Is it easier or faster to get to one of them? Can we rent equipment at both locations? Is one of them really better snorkeling? I think we are going to go on our own rather than ship excursion. Been there recently? Any help would be appreciated! :)

DJM

[The Islander]

The beaches with good from shore snorkeling are Coki, Secret Harbor and Sapphire. They are all on the East End, within 5-10 minutes of each other so not really any huge time commute difference. All three have snorkel gear rentals. Here is some information on all three:

 

Coki vs Sapphire...

 

They are both pretty beaches. Coki is a very small beach. Sapphire is longer but also not a very long beach when looking at the sandy part only. Coki has a gentler slope in the water than Sapphire which deepens more quickly. Coki is usually very calm, and Sapphire calm. Coki is usually super clear, Sapphire also clear. Regarding calm and clear; this is the usual status but in both cases it depends on weather systems affecting the water and possibly stirring up the sand. At Sapphire if you wanted to take a stroll there is the opportunity to do this, you can walk along to the peninsula, walk around to the marina and walk the beach. At Coki you don’t really have that option but if you wanted to go to Coral World, it is right there so if some in your group wanted to do this it is easy and convenient. Sapphire has resort/condo/marina developments around/near it; the area is maintained accordingly. The area before/around Coki is a bit seedy but the beach/shoreline itself is nice.

 

Both are sandy, Sapphire has pebbles mixed in with the sand from around the middle of the sandy part of the beach over and then has a lot of pebbles/coral rubble on the far right side, it’s pretty much all sandy on the far left side. Directions are when facing the water and the comments apply to both the shore and in the water.

 

Coki has various vendors that sell drinks, food, souvenirs/gifts and they are housed in small booths along the beach. The vendors approach beachgoers to take drink orders and to sell their wares, rent chairs and so on. Sapphire doesn't have vendors on the beach. Both places have food/drink. At Coki there is food/drink service on the beach. Burgers, chicken, sandwiches and the like are available. Sapphire there is a small place a short walk from the shoreline that sells burgers, fish sandwich, beer/soda a few mixed drinks and a couple other things and also beach wait staff taking orders for the restaurant up at the condos.

 

Both have chairs for rent. Coki has umbrellas for rent, Sapphire does not. Sapphire has natural shade on the right side under sea grape trees, and some on the left side also, little to no natural shade in the middle. Coki has little natural shade but there are a few shade providing trees along the shore. There are restrooms at both. At Sapphire the restrooms were part of the now closed restaurant so they aren’t getting the upkeep they need but they are open. As far as the restrooms being clean, at both beaches its hit or miss.

 

Taxis are available at both places. If you are renting a car and driving; parking is readily available at Sapphire. Parking is limited at Coki but if you get there early you can get a good spot. Do not park in Coral World's parking spaces unless you are going there. Watersports; Coki has snorkeling, dive shop and across the street there are jet skis. Sapphire has kayaks, windsurfers, snorkeling, dive shop at the watersports booth on the beach. They can also book jet skis and parasailing which are located around the corner from the beach at the marina.

 

Coki has good snorkeling for beginners; the fish are used to being fed (which isn't necessary since they are used to it and will come around anyway and also feeding marine life food not usually in their diet like dog biscuits and bread can be harmful to them. Since they are used to being fed they come right up by the shore basically - so quite easy to see a school of fish without leaving the comfort zone of being very close to shore. Swim out toward/around the rocks on the right side and it's still pretty shallow and more fish to see. You can snorkel on the opposite side too. Not a huge assortment of types of fish and very little coral. Water is generally calm so another plus for beginner. Sapphire has a larger area for snorkeling and more diversity in what you see - there are sea grass beds in the middle of the sandy side and there are some fish in there but not many, what you might see there are marine life that like sea grass such as conch and turtles - but neither is a guarantee. On the right side (when facing the water) there are rocky outcrops and a large shallow rock/reef area that starts right by the shore and goes out. Along the outcrops and ledge near shore you can see juvenile fish and further out deeper areas see more fish and some coral, seafans. The closer snorkeling around the rocks and over sea grass beds are good for beginner adult and kids with assistance from adult. The shallow areas on the far right side should be avoided as it is quite shallow and without enough distance from the rocks to swim you might hurt yourself or damage coral. You can however snorkel around the ledges of the shallow area and stay in a regular depth of water; you'll see fish along the ledges and under them. What you can do is look for a rocky outcrop on the beach, just past the watersports booth. Enter just after the rocky outcrop and swim toward the shallow ledge, then swim along the ledge out toward the point of the peninsula. There is good snorkeling as you get near the point but it’s fairly deep and there is a current once at the point so keep that in mind. You can also snorkel on the left side of the beach and see various fish. You’d walk to the left side of the beach, up to a little wall and then enter there and snorkel around toward the beach on the other side of the wall.

 

Here's a video on Coki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7zAPNE3mMQ.

 

Secret Harbor is usually not crowded; it’s usually people from the hotel that are there. It is a small beach, coconut palm trees for some natural shade. The hotel has chairs for guests pretty much under the trees which limits the amount of available shady spots but you can still find a spot of course. The dive shop rents chairs. Secret Harbor has a sandy shore, with some pebbles particularly on the right side (when facing the water). In the water at Secret Harbor there are some rocky spots and hard sandstone spots. The water is clear so you can see these rocky spots and avoid them. There is a fairly gentle slope in the water, usually calm. Exception to this is when storms are passing through the area that might churn up the seas. There is a resort/condo on it and it’s maintained accordingly. There is a restaurant/bar and it has a restroom (clean). Taxis are available outside the hotel lobby, if not have the front desk call one. The dive shop rents kayaks and a couple paddleboats but not much else as far as watersports. There are no motorized watersports here. There is ok snorkeling on the left and right sides along the rocky coast. There is good snorkeling in the middle of the bay, sort of head out past the swim raft and then go left and right and look around. There is a nice variety of fish to be seen, not much coral or sea fans. Younger folks in your group might enjoy swimming to the swim raft and jumping off of it.

 

Hope that helps.

 

--Islander