Inexpensvie Snorkeling?

[punkin35]

We've never been to St. Thomas and will be there on Wed. Sept. 17 from 8-6 on the Carnival Liberty.

 

I hear there is great snorkeling here. Can anyone tell me the best, inexpensive places to find this? I'm game for either great beach snorkeling or out on a boat. Love to see colorful fish and corals.

Thanks ahead!

[blue_water]

Taxi to one of the East End beaches like Coki or Sapphire and rent snorkel gear, chairs and whatever else you may want. Both offer good snorkeling, as does Secret Harbor. These are the best beaches for snorkeling and all are a 20 - 30 min taxi and $10pp each way.

 

 

There are ideas and recommendations in many threads here including this one on snorkeling -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2083883

 

and this one on beaches -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1993432

 

For daysails if time allows Highpockets and Yacht Nightwind are excellent.

[mitsugirly]

Grab a cab and head over to Coki for amazing snorkeling right from the beach. You can find a full review with tons of pictures I did on it from 3 months ago, listed in my signature line. :)

[blue_water]

We've never been to St. Thomas and will be there on Wed. Sept. 17 from 8-6 on the Carnival Liberty.

Thanks ahead!

 

This map will give you an idea where everything is in relation to your ship.

 

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/st-thomas/maps/st-thomas-island-road-map.html

 

NOTE - You're in port with 20,000 other cruisers so I would definitely avoid any of the beaches on STT, especially Coki, Magens (no snorkeling anyway) and Secret Harbor. Look at a daysail on this busy day as the popular beaches on St John will also be crowded.

 

But if you decide to stay on STT you will want to concentrate on the East End for off the beach snorkeling. With 10 hrs in port St John is also a good choice but the transportation cost will go from $20pp RT to the East End to $46pp RT to a beach on STJ (+ another 1.5 - 2 hrs travel time). But beautiful and some beaches are less crowded and offer good snorkeling in the right spots.

 

But you're in port long enough to enjoy a nice day on STJ or on one of the very nice daysails, and if you decide to look at daysails the 2 mentioned above are excellent, and other popular operators include Captain Maxx, Rhumbaba, New Horizon which we enjoyed, and there are excursions to Water Island for good snorkeling. Many of the daysail options are listed on the vinow dot com site.

 

But Coki, Secret Harbor, Cowpet, or Sapphire would be a good choice for an easy, affordable beach and snorkel. You can see from the link to the beach descriptions that people love each for different reasons, and that can help you decide which is right for you. All are gorgeous beaches and quite different.

 

You are docked at Havensight by the way.

Enjoy your visit to STT!

Edited August 29, 2014 by blue_water

[blue_water]

http://m.cruisett.com/p/US_Virgin_Islands/620-Saint_Thomas/September_2014/

 

(If you want to see what other ships are in port with you just search by port or your ship name)

[punkin35]

Thanks for the tips! Looks like that day will be a busy one in the port with 5 ships! Glad I looked! We will be sure to head out early.