Eastern Carb: Best snorkeling with 7 year old?

[AnnaP]

Hello all,

 

We will be traveling to the eastern carb on Carnival next March and I am hoping to get some advice on the best place(s) to snorkel given our itinerary. We will be going to Nassau, Grand Turk, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

My son, who will be 7, will be with us as well. He went snorkeling for the first time two years ago at Maya Key in Roataan and LOVED IT. I had to drag him out after an hour. He did just awesome and we went fairly far out but not "super" far. That was our second snorkeling experience, our only other being in Cabo on the pacific side (not great at all!)

 

I want someplace where we can see a decent amount of fish and is not dangerous. We do not necessarily need a tour and we will be bringing our own equipment but if there is a awesome tour we could be interested so long as my son is allowed to come (he will have a vest).

 

Right now I am a little overwhelmed by all of the information and hoping to at least narrow things down a little.

 

It would be great if there were facilities like restrooms etc available as well as someplace to grab lunch and what not. We are not fussy people and don't require everything be all toursity and spotless to be happy. However I do want to go somewhere my son will have a great time and somewhere where I will feel like he is safe in the water.

 

Any advice anyone can give would be VERY much appreciated !! I really want this to be a great and memorable experience for our family :)

 

Thank you so much :)

[topspot]

In St. Thomas, there are actually some good beaches where you can snorkel right from the beach. If you go to ports of call section, you will find threads on Coki Beach and Secret Harbor. We have been to Secret Harbor, the water was calm, beach uncrowded, snorkeling good.

 

In Grand Turk, if you choose to do and excursion, google Blue Water Divers. They do snorkel trips. We've done a dive with them and they were great.

 

Can't offer any info on the other ports:D

[CarolinaCruiser85]

I have been on 8 cruises with my family. My top snorkeling beach for kids would be Trunk Bay which is on St. John. Take a cab to the ferry on St. Thomas. Inexpensive ferry ride to St. John. Maybe 15 minutes. Then take a short cab ride to Trunk Bay. St. John has very little development but it has a big national park. We snorkeled with 9, 10, and 12 year olds. I like the beach because it is a smooth sand walk in beach with facilities to shower and an actual underwater snorkeling trail. All types of fish, coral, and I actually saw my only Octupus off this beach. The water is fairly calm but I would always recommend the vest for every member of the family. Cleanest beach in the Carribean and no locals hassling you. I would recommend this beach over Coki Beach any time. I have heard Magens Bay is nice but their is not much to see. Believe me it is worth the little effort to get there and you can check it out in most books on the Virgin Islands. It is also my favorite beach to chill out and take a snooze. There is typically a soothing breeze and as you look out you see a couple other islands in the distance. Very nice.

[WillieD13]

Grand Turk has some excellent snorkeling. I have been on 2 different excursions there, "Ultimate Snorkel" (done that one twice), and "Gibbs Cay and Stingray", both booked through Carnival, both run by Oasis Tours. Both excursions had children on them, including some as young as 8, and everyone was fine. I highly recommend "Ultimate Snorkel", they specifically ask about weak and non-swimmers, and help them where needed, plus there is an incredible amount of fish and coral to see. If your kids have snorkeled before, and did okay, they will have no trouble with this one.