Anybody NOT like the Baths?

[vacationfun]

We do not like to hike but are avid snorkelers. When we snorkel, we like to see living reef and a fair amount of fish. Just wondering if we'd find too much hiking and not enough snorkeling at the Baths? If anyone could answer these questions for us, we'd be most grateful!

[elainer56]

If you go around to the "outside" of the large rock formations you will find some great fish. Not a huge amount of coral. When we have been there we have seen abundant sea life, clear water, even a small octopus.

[SqueakyDust]

You don't have to hike through the Baths. You can take another route to the bay for snorkelling.

 

If I remember correctly the water was fairly deep quickly with rocks. I don't recall seeing coral, but it was 6 years ago.

Loads of fish

[Gingee]

Are the Bath's too crowded when the cruise ships are in port?

[dorinel]

I was at the Bath's last month. It is a popular tourist site - so it is slightly crowded - but well worth the trip. The rock formations are very usual and worth seeing - I enjoyed the snorkeling and saw plently of fish. The waves and undertow are extreme though. I would wear rubber shoes (forgot what they are called) because you need the traction and the rocks are slippery. I loved it and found it be one of the highlights of my St. Thomas visit (not a cruise - was visiting St. Thomas for a week).

[Runitsajellyfish]

:D I went to the Baths last month, and it was a highlight of our 9-day cruise. Hiking...yes, 10 minutes to the first beach, 5 minutes more to the second (pictured), 2 minutes more to the third, and roughly 15 minutes from there back to the entrance (it's a circular trail if you want to see everything).

 

Fish?, not a massive quantity, but they were big and colorful and you don't have to go far to find them.

 

Reef?, plenty...I have the scars to prove it. Some reef was very colorful, and some kinda plain, a lot of brain coral. The beauty here is the clarity of the water, with seemingly unlimited visibility.

 

Note in the attached picture, the water channels between the boulders, and as another CC member mentioned, STRONG undertow. I got dragged across some reefs I was trying to take a picture of it. Once you are past the channels, and more out in the sea, it's calmer. You'll note from my facial expression the water was chilly early in the morning just getting in.

The Baths are truly unique, and definitely made to be snorkeled!:D

http://www.thebathsbvi.com/map.htm