Snorkeling in December from Beach Grand Turk

[auburngirl]

We are going to Grand Turk on December 24 on the Carnival Glory. Several questions: 1. Will the water be too cool to snorkel? 2. Can you snorkel from the beach...if so, which beach... We'd like to see corals and some fish... more coral than fish. 3. Will we see more coral from the beach or a boat?

[blueshine]

We really enjoyed the beach last December, so much that we are going again a couple weeks before you. It was sunny and warm and the water was like a bath tub. Not much to see at the beach to the left of the dock. I have heard some reviews from others who went right off the pier and came across a conch shell area. Not sure about coral. May need to take excursion for that. Have a great time!

[Fourseventeen]

beach water in dec will be warm. snorkeling from the beach at the pier wont be any good. If you walk down the beach a bit to Jacks Shack area it will be a little better. If you are really good swimmers head about 150-200 yards offshore and it will get even better. If you want the best snorkeling take an excursion. There is some neat marine life out there to see if you get in a good spot.

[debsjc]

I'm planning on snorkelling from the beach at Jacks Shack next week, so I'll let you know how it was when I get back.

 

If the sea looks calm I may go out as far as the wall drop-off.

[auburngirl]

Thanks everyone.... I'm getting really excited! What can you see if you snorkel from Jack's Shack?

[tjschwalm]

Hey debsjc ,

That would be great to hear of your day at Jack's We will be snorkeling there from the beach in Jan . Really wonderin' bout the distance and depths

out to the wall . We too will keep lookin for your review ! Ted

[donman223]

Hello, a first time cruiser here. Are you all taking your own equipment or are you looking to rent? I'm undecided if I should get my own and take it with me in the cruise. Not sure about the quality and cost of the stuff that's available for rent out there.

Thanks.:)

[Seavoyage]

Hello, a first time cruiser here. Are you all taking your own equipment or are you looking to rent? I'm undecided if I should get my own and take it with me in the cruise. Not sure about the quality and cost of the stuff that's available for rent out there.

Thanks.:)

 

Hi Donman223 -

 

DH and I always bring our own. We purchased our snorkel and mask at Target - have had it for several years now. It was around $20-25 - well worth it imo. The solution that rental places keep the equipment in smells like Clorox and feels slimy plus the mouth piece sharing thing is just..well ick.

 

Just make sure if you do bring/pack your own gear wrap your mask in bubble wrap or something to protect the mask against cracking during travel. Also if you need fins - most places will have them for rent as well we never bring those as it takes up too much space in the suit case. Have fun...

[donman223]

Thank you, appreciate the info.

[debsjc]

Hey debsjc ,

That would be great to hear of your day at Jack's We will be snorkeling there from the beach in Jan . Really wonderin' bout the distance and depths

out to the wall . We too will keep lookin for your review ! Ted

 

I'm back! the snorkelling at Jack's was a bit disappointing. The beach in front of the shack is sandy, so not much sea life. You have to swim out a way to see anything, and even then it wasn't great.

I didn't go quite as far as the wall, as I was snorkelling on my own and although i'm a strong swimmer, it's a long way out and I didn't have fins.

Also there are dive boats coming backwards and forwards there, and I had to keep an eye out to make sure they had seen me in the water.

 

If there was 2 of you, and you are good swimmers you could definately get to the wall, probably about 500 metres out I would guess.

[tjschwalm]

Debsjc , Thanks for your critique ! Now I don't know what to do . If snorkeling is my priority do you think an excursion is in order ? Should I just bring our fins and hope for better ? Are the beach and facilities nice enough to warrant a beach day ? Ugggh can you tell I am confused . But really thanks for the report

We will be there in about 60 days . Take care ! Ted

[auburngirl]

Thanks debsjc.... I may be leaning more toward a snorkeling trip now. I really want to see some stuff.... corals, fish, etc.

[debsjc]

I would do a snorkelling trip if you can, the only reason I didn't was because I was with my mum and she doesn't snorkel. You could also nip down to Jacks Shack for a drink after your trip. The beach there is nice, but Half Moon Cay is better if you are going there.

 

The currents are not strong but it is slightly harder to swim back in, than out. I did put my head down and front crawl back in, and I wasn't making very quick progress just snorkelling in.

[jms2362]

I'm planning on snorkelling from the beach at Jacks Shack next week, so I'll let you know how it was when I get back.

 

If the sea looks calm I may go out as far as the wall drop-off.

 

Had heard that from Jacks shack you can walk towards the pier (away from where you dock)which is past Jacks, and that I think is Governors Beach? and there is good snorkeling. Let us know if this is true. Think we might rent a golf cart and ride around the island some and then go to Jacks, we will be on Carnival Glory the first week in January.

[gsquaredb]

We did an excursion with Blue Water and they were great. There are 2 stops. The first is near Jacks Shack in pretty shallow water. The 2nd stop is at the wall. From what I could tell the wall is in pretty deep water. Noone in our group was willing to go that deep so we packed up since there's nothing to really see. I wonder if anyone else has the same experience?

[jms2362]

Debsjc , Thanks for your critique ! Now I don't know what to do . If snorkeling is my priority do you think an excursion is in order ? Should I just bring our fins and hope for better ? Are the beach and facilities nice enough to warrant a beach day ? Ugggh can you tell I am confused . But really thanks for the report

We will be there in about 60 days . Take care ! Ted

 

If snorkeling is your priority, definitely do an excursion. This is the second week of cruise doing B2B, we will have done lots of snorkeling by then. The tours guides know the best spots of where to take you and they have always been fun for us.

[jms2362]

I'm back! the snorkelling at Jack's was a bit disappointing. The beach in front of the shack is sandy, so not much sea life. You have to swim out a way to see anything, and even then it wasn't great.

I didn't go quite as far as the wall, as I was snorkelling on my own and although i'm a strong swimmer, it's a long way out and I didn't have fins.

Also there are dive boats coming backwards and forwards there, and I had to keep an eye out to make sure they had seen me in the water.

 

If there was 2 of you, and you are good swimmers you could definately get to the wall, probably about 500 metres out I would guess.

Is it better at Governors beach, just down the road. The Glory does an excursion there for snorkeling and beach?

[dakwriter]

We cruised to this port just last week and found the water to be quite chilly. The few brave snorkelers we talked to (all near the pier area) said there wasn't much to see. We carry our own snorkel gear on these cruises and never found a use for it at any of the eastern Caribbean ports due to the fact that many of the reefs in this area have been damaged by summer storms. We snorkeled in the ABC islands in the southern Carib in October and found the water there warmer but the coral had all been destroyed by the storms.