Shallow Snorkeling Southern Caribbean?

[BabyMouse]

We are booked on Carnival Victory for 19-26 Dec with ports in St. Kitts, Dominica, St Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, and Bridgetown. Although the rest of us in the family are addicted to snorkeling, our 13 yr old son is not but has tried a couple times. His fear overcomes him. He is willing to try it again but we would like to find some good snorkeling excursions that have either shallow snorkeling (no more than 10 ft deep) or snorkeling from the beach. We want to see lots of sea life to satisfy us as well. Does anyone have any suggestions for any of these ports whether it is ship excursions or reputable local companies? Thanks.

[10X]

Coki Beach in St. Thomas is a place where you can snorkel from the beach and go only as deep as you want to. They also sell Purina Dog Chow on the beach to feed the fish and they will swarm over you. Pretty neat. You can see fish in water shallow enough to stand in.

 

The beach has restrooms, showers, beach loungers (rent) and a restuarant/bar, and you can rent snorkel equipment from Coki Beach Dive Club if you need to.

 

I have been scuba diving and snorkeling both at the beach and really enjoy it, as does my wife. We'll probably go there again on our next cruise (1/11).

[Stevesan]

We are booked on Carnival Victory for 19-26 Dec with ports in St. Kitts, Dominica, St Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, and Bridgetown. Although the rest of us in the family are addicted to snorkeling, our 13 yr old son is not but has tried a couple times. His fear overcomes him. He is willing to try it again but we would like to find some good snorkeling excursions that have either shallow snorkeling (no more than 10 ft deep) or snorkeling from the beach. We want to see lots of sea life to satisfy us as well. Does anyone have any suggestions for any of these ports whether it is ship excursions or reputable local companies? Thanks.

 

Besides St Thomas, another shallow snorkel is the Irie Champagne Reef Snorkel at Roseau, Dominica. It's a shore entry.

 

There are some beach entries at St Lucia, but I only have done boat snorkels there. Try the St Lucia port of call board.

 

Snorkeling at At St Maarten is fair to good from a boat. The beaches are sand entry.

Capt Alan is a good operator, but even he can't create coral reefs and marine life:p. Your teen would enjoy the mud bath, though.

http://www.captainalan.com/challenge/challenge.htm

[BabyMouse]

Thanks 10X and Stevesan for your replies. Great info. I will definitely look into these. There is another couple on our roll call looking for this info so I will pass it on.

[sharks48]

Don't know whether or not this would be helpful, but have you considered having your son wear an inflatable snorkel vest? You can make it as full as you want, it's easy to take along and if you're not a strong swimmer [like me!] it will help give you a sense of security that at least you're not going to sink!! Also good to have is a "dry" snorkel, so the water doesn't get down the snorkel tube.

[mistergq]

As others have suggested, you have some good destinations for snorkeling off the beach. This will help give him some confidence. I think the inflatable vest will also be good so he can get confidence in his snorkeling. You can buy inflatable vests to bring along so you don't have to worry about renting them. This one is on sale and has really good reviews.

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/BLRSV.html?Search=op%3ddtSearch%26Term%3dSnorkel%2bVests%26SearchFlag%3dall%26AdvSrchSortField%3dRelevance%26DescSort%3d0%26Description%3don%26Hit%3d1

 

Good luck.

[BabyMouse]

Thank you both for the suggestions and the link. I hadn't heard of the vest. I will talk to him about it and see what he thinks. We have the dry snorkels and love them so we will bring our own equipment. I don't think it is a swim issue as much as he seems to have it in his head there will be sharks or something that will "bite" him. Which is a totally different issue! LOL

[moopig]

In St. Lucia, I took an excursion through Spencer Ambrose and we took a boat to Jalousie Beach, which is located right between the two Pitons. Beautiful beach and was able to snorkle right off the beach.

[scorpluvsdolphins]

This company does snorkeling trips. It was very calm and even though you were not to go to the rocky beach, it was close. Most of it was 20' or less. Email him. He is a great guy and the boat is totally awesome. They make the kids wear a vest. Adults have a choice.

terri

[tiff123]

My 6 & 8 yo boys snorkeled at Coki beach and I would recommend that for your group if he is fearful. If he becomes overwhelmed he can simply swim back a few yards to the beach and a lot of the fish swim over to the sandy area too. The snorkeling area is small but teeming with fish and the water is the clearest and prettiest color of all the beaches I've been to in the Caribbean.

 

However, I would caution the beach is crowded and the waitstaff at the bars I do not trust. One did not come back with change for my $20 and another asked me if I'd like a hit off his joint as I was walking back from our rental car. So be careful - but overall it was a pleasant experience.

[PokerStarNH]

HI,

Try the Tiki Hut snorkeling tour in St Marten. The tiki hut is 3 large rafts tied together and floating in a cove. The first raft has a platform cut in it with a floor that acts like a pool to practice and even if you don't leave the pool you can see the fish. They also have noodle lounge chairs to float around in. The second raft has lounge chairs for sun bathing and the 3rd has a grill where you can get food and drinks (soda and beer). They pick you up at the cruise pier and it's a short boat ride to the rafts.

You can find them on line at http://snorkelstmaarten.com/

 

They have a roped off area with a sunken submarine, sail boat and other things to attract the fish. Also lots of coral and rocks.

[CRUISERTN]

I agree with the others about Coki in St. Thomas and Champagne Reef in Dominica....there is not a beach at Champagne reef...you walk along a boardwalk and step over a rocky area and get in the water and the reef is right there.....both are great for beginners and have shallow areas....

[zoncom]

Please, please instruct your child not to stand on coral or he will kill it. Ther is so litte good coral compared to 10-15 yrs. ago. Very sad.Thanks.

[BabyMouse]

Thanks to all that replied. Sorry I have been off for a while. Was in the middle of a move out of province. Appreciate the suggestions and will look into them. Cheers!

[Fourseventeen]

correct me if im wrong here but I dont think your cruise will be going to Dominica. I heard they are cancelling that port of call. I sail in Jan on the same cruise and my PVP at Carnival informed me that we wont be stopping in Dominica