Where is the best place to snorkel? Sea Turtles?

[hartskys]

There will be 6 adults and we want to see some amazing sea life while we snorkel. Which beach or tour would you recommend?

[OCruisers]

To which other ports will you be going?

[hartskys]

St Kitts, Grand Turk, San Juan

 

We are meeting some people from another ship in St Maarten so we were hoping to do some good snorkeling there.

[dbail4]

We just came back from our cruise and went with Blue Safari for our excursion. The 3 island tour.We went to an area where we snorkeled with green turtles.Look them up. You will love it..

[hartskys]

We just came back from our cruise and went with Blue Safari for our excursion. The 3 island tour.We went to an area where we snorkeled with green turtles.Look them up. You will love it..

 

How was the rest of the tour, lunch and the boat? We did look at that one too.

[Karysa]

I spoke with a father and his young son yesterday who had just seen sea turtles, stingrays and baracudas on a snorkelling excursion to Tintamare island. I did not ask who they went with.

[ValerieJo]

Captain Alan's was great. We saw lots of sea life, sea coral and a huge pod of dolphins. The food and drinks were great as well.

 

We are considering doing it for a 2nd time.

[balcony4u]

we are trying to avoid the clothing optional beach, prude I know;) Would this be an issue with that tour?

[dbail4]

We chose the 3 island Tour. The was a fabulous day. We were greeted at the spot they told us to go to. Was a little hard to find. Then we set out on our boat with about 16 people and our captain for an adventure. We first stopped and snorkeled to find some green turtles and got some great pictures. Then we went to a beach and waded to shore to walk around and swim. There was a shop to buy some things or a bathroom if needed and some green lizards to see. Then we got back in the boat and went to another location. Went snorkeling to see some great different colored fish. This is a fast boat and was lots of fun traveling to each location. We then went and ate at the Rainbow room. We chose the Mahi and it was delicious. Then it was back to the ship with a short stop for a swim in the warm waters. The day was 6 hours long and we had such a good time. Our captain dropped us off at the cruise pier which was so nice. I recommend this excursion and next time on St Matreen we will do the other excursion they have.

[Hlitner]

we are trying to avoid the clothing optional beach, prude I know;) Would this be an issue with that tour?

 

The beach to which you refer is called Orient Beach/Bay...but folks should understand it is really not a clothing/optional beach. The issue is that there is a nudist motel/resort located on the other side of the rocks (on the far right of the beach) and sometimes those folks might walk along the beach (strutting their stuff). The government has actually put up a sign by the rocks advising these folks not to do it, but once in a while you still get a rule violator. Keep in mind that all the beaches on the French side are technically clothing/optional.

 

As to snorkeling, we do not think St Maarten is a particularly good island for snorkeling off of beaches. Dawn Beach is arguably the best, but sea conditions often make snorkeling not a good option. DW and I have enjoyed snorkeling at Happy Beach/Bay (which is where you can often find some totally nude sun bathers). Happy Beach is very isolated (not often visited by any cruise passenger) and involves a hike (through some jungle/brush from a nearby beach to even access. The best snorkeling at St Maarten is found on various boat excursions that take folks to reefs located away from the mainland.

 

Hank

[SnorkelAway]

balcony4u appeared to be asking about nudity at Tintamarre - where many excursions go to see turtles - and yes, there can be nude people in water and on beach at Tintamarre - it is officially tolerated - but no one nude should be walking the beach except to enter or exit the water and go to a place on the beach (or, of course, engaging in any kind of lewd behavior) and the most common excursion boats are well aware of the "rules." You could go there and see no nudity at all - it depends on day and who is there.

 

All beaches on french-side are NOT clothing optional, although topless is legal and accepted on all french-side beaches . Only beach area where you would be sure to find nudity is the beach at Club Orient, which is only a part of Orient Beach. Nudity is officially tolerated in a small area that is part of Coco's Beach Bar/Restaurant (next to rock hill north of most populated part of Orient Beach) but it is rare to have anyone using it. Happy Bay does commonly have nude use - but usually not on weekends and it is a beach that sees some occasional enforcement of general law against nudity on french-side beaches. There is some nude use on parts of some other beaches but a cruiser is very unlikely to encounter it.