Best catamaran snorkel tours in Phillipsburg?

[WarEagleLady]

Hey!

 

My big family is looking for a catamaran sail and snorkel, but we don't care about a beach. Does anyone have any recommendations on a company that won't take us to a beach? Alcohol included would be nice, too, but its not a necessity!

 

Thanks!

 

 

WAR EAGLE! :)

 

Kati

[blue_water]

Definitely the Golden Eagle, one of our favorite excursions in the Carib! we returned to SXM for a week and took their full day Friday Farewell sail and that was great too. But with the 1/2 day sail you can shop downtown then take the cat out, they're docked between you and town. Excellent crew and great drinks and food!

sxmsailing.com

Have a great day!

[Karysa]

Hey!

 

My big family is looking for a catamaran sail and snorkel, but we don't care about a beach. Does anyone have any recommendations on a company that won't take us to a beach? Alcohol included would be nice, too, but its not a necessity!

 

Thanks!

 

 

WAR EAGLE! :)

 

Kati

 

 

I also enjoyed the Golden Eagle but for a half day excursion I don't think that they go to Creole Rock. If Creole Rock is not on the agenda on the tour that you take I think that you will be disappointed with the snorkelling as this island is not really known for that.

[blue_water]

I also enjoyed the Golden Eagle but for a half day excursion I don't think that they go to Creole Rock. If Creole Rock is not on the agenda on the tour that you take I think that you will be disappointed with the snorkelling as this island is not really known for that.

 

Creole Rock is on the full-day Friday sail, and yes, snorkeling is better on other islands. Are you hitting St Thomas or Tortola?

[WarEagleLady]

St. Thomas! My mom has expressed that the shopping is better in st.thomas, but if you have some recommendations for st.thomas also, I'll look it up!

[gtaylor]

We believe that shopping is better in St. Maarten, but it may depend on what you are shopping for.

 

gary

[blue_water]

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas is the duty-free shopping spot, but Philipsburg, St. Maarten is also good. If you were planning to go to St John while at St Thomas I would recommend Cruz Bay for some nicer shopping.

 

For St Thomas you have several options, some depend on your time in port.

For a snorkel sail you have several operators that moor off the cays off St John for excellent snorkeling. Some of these are monohulls and a few are cats. Popular choices include Yacht Nightwind, New Horizons, Fury, and High Pockets. There are others that are very highly-rated like Captain Max listed on vinow dot com, a useful resource for everything USVI. There is also a turtle snorkel off Water Island I believe. And the cruise ship will offer excursions like the champagne catamaran to St John and others. We like to do self-excursions when possible but you have both options.

One great day is a motorboat to the BVI (Virgin Gorda and the Baths, then a snorkel spot off Tortola, and White Bay and the beach bars on Jost Van Dyke). The bigger operators depart at 7:30 AM, but there are others that work with your schedule. You need passports though.

For off the beach snorkeling you have 2 good options, Coki and Sapphire beaches, and I would recommend Sapphire. We rent a condo there and many cruisers love Sapphire but it doesn't get too crowded because there is room to spread out. The reef and sea grass areas offer good snorkeling.

You'll find a ton of info on the STT forum of course.

 

We still like the Golden Eagle and will take that if we return to SXM.

Have a great cruise!

[Karysa]

I'm not much of a shopper while on vacation and prefer the Marigot Market craft vendors to both Phillipsburg and Charlotte Amalie. DH prefers St. Maarten for camera equipment and you can really compare pieces and prices on jewelery very easily as there are dozens of jewelery stores on Front St.

 

St. Thomas is lusher and very beautiful but lacks charm to me. If you can get an excursion near where you dock then I would recommend St. Thomas for the catamaran trip as well. We have done one out to swim with the turtles out around Buck's Island on the Dancing Dolphin and it was awesome. They had power snorkels for us to use and one of our DD and DH would dive beneath the water and swam with the turtles. We also did an excursion to St. John which is beautiful but I liked the one to Bucks island better myself.

 

The problem that can arise in St. Thomas is that often the catamarans leave from Red Hook which will be a $10 or more taxi ride pp each way or more depending on where you are docked. With 5 or 6 people in your group that means another $100 + to your total cost.

 

Regarding snorkelling from the beaches in St Thomas, I would also recommend Sapphire beach. Coki is good for kids and beginners but I felt like I was swimming in an aquarium stocked with one or two varieties of fish.

 

Beach wise I like St. Martin better because of the uniqueness of the beaches in many ways.;)

 

Did you think of splitting up from mom for a day? St Maarten may be the best day to do this. Mom can take a taxi to Marigot and shop the boutiques, high end mall or the Marigot Market there and then taxi back to Phillipsburg for more shopping and the others can pick an interesting beach or two to go to.