Eastern Caribbean snorkel?

[Sevencruiser]

Going on the Valor Eastern Caribbean. Itinerrary: HMC, San Juan, Grand Turk and St. Thomas. We have been to Cozumel 6 times and always snorkel, and have always loved it. Sometimes on our own, sometimes an excursion. Have not been to any of these Eastern ports. We will definitely snorkel on this cruise, but don't know which port will be the best for this. From what I've read on the message boards I'm leaning towards a GT excursion. Am I on the right track:confused: or will I miss something better in St. T? We can bring our own equipment or rent or go on an excursion. Thanks for any help from those who have gone before. Prefer personal experience, than hearsay. Thanks again.:)

[Stevesan]

Going on the Valor Eastern Caribbean. Itinerrary: HMC, San Juan, Grand Turk and St. Thomas. We have been to Cozumel 6 times and always snorkel, and have always loved it. Sometimes on our own, sometimes an excursion. Have not been to any of these Eastern ports. We will definitely snorkel on this cruise, but don't know which port will be the best for this. From what I've read on the message boards I'm leaning towards a GT excursion. Am I on the right track:confused: or will I miss something better in St. T? We can bring our own equipment or rent or go on an excursion. Thanks for any help from those who have gone before. Prefer personal experience, than hearsay. Thanks again.:)

 

St Thomas is your best bet. There are a number of good independent operators offering boat snorkel trips.

Choose one who goes to St John for the best locations. I recently went with Rumbaba. The boat is small, but that's a good thing.

 

http://www.rumbabacharters.com/

 

Shore snorkeling at St Thomas is very limited, but it is good to excellent at St John.

For the best locations, got to www dot vinow dot com and navigate to St John beaches.

The vinow web site has everything you ever wanted to know about the USVI.

 

Snorkeling at HMC amounts to a small coral garden a few hundred yards off shore.

The boat trip is only about two hours (you never leave sight of the ship),

and is an opportunity to get your face in the water:). The beach entry is all sand, so just a few fishies, no coral.

I suggest you take the boat trip and spend the rest of the day on the beach.

 

Never snorkeled Grand Turk. Had a trip booked with Gibbs Caye, but had to cancel because of a foot injury:(.

[WillieD13]

At Grand Turk (which is known for its snorkeling and diving), we took the Carnival excursion "Ultimate Snorkel" and had a great time. It goes up the coast to an area a few hundred yards off shore from the center of Cockburn Town. It was 2.5 hours, and there were 2 stops. The first was at a shallow reef in about 10', the second was a couple hundred yards further out, by "The Wall" where it was about 25', or 7000' if you go a few feet further west. Lots of fish in both places. I prefer my own equipment, because I know it fits. Also, their snorkels are basic, i.e. no purge valve, and have been in who knows how many mouths (yes they do sanitize, but still). Tour guides were very friendly and helpful. It even convinced my wife, who doesn't even like to stick her face in the water, that snorkeling was fun, enough so that she booked another snorkeling excursion for 2 days later in Nassau. It was worth every $ I paid ($60 per person IIRC).

[Sevencruiser]

Thanks for your replies. I'm starting to get an idea. Sounds like HMC is just sand. Something I might see on vacation in FL. Haven't heard anything about needing to snorkel in San Juan. Besides we will probably spend our day there sightseeing Old San Juan. Now, St. John sounds interesting, however will we spend our whole time in port getting from St. Thomas and back? Also, "The Wall" sounds awesome. I'll have to look that up. Besides is there anything else to do in GT? Might as well snorkel.

[sharks48]

I highly recommend Blue Water Divers in GT. They were outstanding! We got together with another couple we "met" on our Roll Call and they did an excursion with just the four of us, for $50 each. Three stops, including "the Wall". $5 each for cab to the shop and the guy driving the boat dropped us off at Jack's Shack to return - probably would have taken us closer to the ship if we'd wanted.

[The Flying Pirate]

There is no real good place to snorkel in San Juan, you are much better off sightseeing there.

 

St Thomas is excellent for snorkeling and you don't need to go all the way to St John, the snorkeling there is great as well, but there are lots of places closer that will allow you an awesome snorkeling experience and leave you time to see Charlotte Amalie. Many of the snorkel operators will take you out to Turtle Cove which is an amazing place to snorkel. They have a very nice reef and a sand bottom cove that is home to Sea Turtles. Being wild animals they are not guaranteed to be there, but I have been out there many times and have always found them which is fun. Most of the snorkel tours are back by noon or so allowing plenty of time for shopping and sightseeing.