Half Moon Cay - Snorkeling off the beaten path? Need advice!

[faynce]

Howdy, folks!

 

The wife and I are going to be taking a Carnival cruise and our first stop will be Half Moon Cay. The main reason we get off the ship during cruises is for snorkeling, but the beach at HMC is sandy and will be poor snorkeling. We don't want to pay for an excursion. We have our own equipment and will likely snorkel for at least four hours without a break.

 

Since the beach will be poor for in-depth snorkeling, I was looking at the island on Google Maps, and it appears the northern and northwest portions of the island are just *covered* in coral (from satellite).

 

What's the best way to get to the northern end by way of the thin part of the island? Can we walk the horse trail and then branch north and just walk through 500 feet of jungle to get to the northern shore (that would be fine with us)? Is there a tram to the horse trail? That would cut a large amount of time from the walk, both ways. Are there any other spots on the island that are more quickly and easily accessible that we could snorkel at? What about the lagoon? Is it fit for snorkeling? Is the water clear? Are there fish? Can we just walk into the lagoon or will we be chased off for not paying to snorkel the area?

 

Thank you for your help!

 

Erik

Edited February 23, 2014 by faynce

[faynce]

Admins, please delete. I am reposting this in a better place - the snorkeling forum.

 

Erik

[pghsteelerfan]

You might want to try posting on the snorkeling forum but leave this here for any responses. I'm actually curious too. We received the letter from Carnival for a free cabin and are looking into seeing if we can take advantage of the offer. A few cruises we're looking at are ships sailing to HMC.

 

We were in HMC almost four years ago and I walked to the northern end of the beach (past where the horse trails are) to the section where the rocks are and the sign that notifies visitors not to go beyond that point. I am still kicking myself for not going back and getting my snorkel gear but there were several others snorkeling and I talked to one who said it was pretty good. I just looked HMC up on Google Maps and can see what you're talking about, so I'd like to know if visitors are allowed in that area.

Edited February 23, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[slabeaume]

I'm not sure of the directions on the island, but the area they take you to on their boat excursions seems quite close to the tender docks and looks like snorkeling from shore there would be great. If you get off the tender and go right to the water on that side of the island, I believe you'd see the excursion boats. I've wanted to try it, but am afraid we're not allowed to walk over to there. Anyone know? On a positive not, last time we were at HMC, the snorkeling by the kids area was actually ok---saw an octopus, school of barracudas, lots of assorted small fish.