Half Moon Cay Snorkeling

[Piper934]

Is there an area to snorkel near the beach on your own or is the only opportunity at this port of call is to do an excursion. Thanks.

[CalaDragonflyLady]

You can certainly snorkel on your own but there's not much to see. I did a dive there years ago and saw about 3 fish :p I don't think they even offer diving any more.....

[mitsugirly]

Actually there is stuff to see and while it's not a reef (mostly a sandy bottom type beach), there's plenty to see right off the beach.

 

All the way to the left there is a rock wall and very shallow water that goes way out (past the private cabana house with the slide). We snorkeled up and down there and found it to be quite interesting. They even have some reef balls out there.

 

If you take a look at my review from the Pride (listed in my signature line under Half Moon Cay) you'll see all my pictures.

 

Here's just a few to show you...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's plenty more listed in the review if you are interested.

[GradUT]

Here's a link to an old map of Half Moon Cay so that you can see exactly where the "Snorkel Area" is located. (I couldn't find a more recent map online.) Mitsugirly gave a good description of the location, but sometimes it helps to see it on a map. On the map, you should see "Snorkel Area" written in white just above where "Half Moon Lagoon Aqua Park" is written in yellow.

 

http://users.elite.net/thehalls/cabana.html

 

When I was at Half Moon Cay a couple years ago, my young adult daughter and I snorkeled with our own equipment in this area. We saw some cool stuff and enjoyed snorkeling, but it definitely was not "primo" snorkeling. Since we used our own equipment, it did not cost us anything, but I would have felt spending the $15 (which they charged then) for renting their snorkel equipment to be excessive for what we saw.

[Insel]

mitsugirly

What camera did you use for these?

They're so clear.

[mitsugirly]

mitsugirly

What camera did you use for these?

They're so clear.

 

 

I have 2 cameras I use for all my pictures (both land and water) that are ponit and shoot. Olympus Tough 620 and Olympus Tough 830. :)

[misguidedangel]

me and a group of friends had the grand cabana for the day while on HMC. The snorkeling area is right by the grand cabana and I used the equipment supplied by the cabana and went in with my Olympus Tough 820.

 

A underwater camera is great, but a GoPro Hero 3, 3+, or 4 is even better! It is a video camera and a camera. It can come with or without a remote control, and there are at least a hundred or more accessories or mounts that you can get for it. The ones that would be needed for underwater is a dive housing, a pole (Bobber--hand held, reach-extends to 40", or evo-extends to 24). The only warning I have about getting a GoPro is it can get expensive with all the accessories and mounts needed or wanted...there is a mount or accessory for just about everything....I have a Hero 3 and 4 with around $1500 in extras!

 

You'll love HMC!

[mitsugirly]

me and a group of friends had the grand cabana for the day while on HMC. The snorkeling area is right by the grand cabana and I used the equipment supplied by the cabana and went in with my Olympus Tough 820.

 

A underwater camera is great, but a GoPro Hero 3, 3+, or 4 is even better! It is a video camera and a camera. It can come with or without a remote control, and there are at least a hundred or more accessories or mounts that you can get for it. The ones that would be needed for underwater is a dive housing, a pole (Bobber--hand held, reach-extends to 40", or evo-extends to 24). The only warning I have about getting a GoPro is it can get expensive with all the accessories and mounts needed or wanted...there is a mount or accessory for just about everything....I have a Hero 3 and 4 with around $1500 in extras!

 

You'll love HMC!

 

I agree, the GoPro would be an awesome camera all the way around and the video's are outstanding. However, it's not very affordable for most. I have made up my mind that after my 2 Olympus cameras stop working, I will go for the GoPro on my next round of cameras. :D