Best place to snorkel?

[Justabitoff]

Trying to decide between snorkeling on St. Thomas or snorkeling on St. Kitts. We don't want to do it on both places. Which is better?

[O2B@Cagain]

St Thomas. St Kitts has a wonderful fort (Brimstone Hill) that is a must see.

[runner15km]

The water appears clearer in St. Thomas then St. Kitts. Check out Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas for snorkeling and beach facilities. :)

[lastminutemama]

We just casually snorkelled at Coki beach last week. It was amazing. My husband saw a sea turtle and the kids could all snorkel around the close rocks and see lots there too.

 

We met a couple who go to this beach to snorkel every cruise they take.

The service on the beach was great too. The chair rental person we used took great care of us and the food and drinks were fantastic.

[JLC@SD]

We like to take the excursion to St Johns from St Thomas to go to Trunk Bay.

[champagne lover]

We were on St Thomas on 17th November and went to Secret Harbour beach, rented chairs from the dive centre there, did lots of fabulous snorkeling and had a delicious lunch at the restaurant on the beach - would so love to go back again!

[mitsugirly]

I highly recommend Coki Beach. The snorkeling right off the beach was simply amazing!! The beach itself is pretty lively since a lot of people go there, but I felt that it was more than worth it to see the snorkeling. I have a complete review with TONS of pictures, in my signature line if you are interested.

 

Another good place is Sapphire Beach. The beach is absolutely beautiful and there's good snorkeling there as well. :)

[StudioMom]

We just casually snorkeled at Coki beach last week. It was amazing. My husband saw a sea turtle and the kids could all snorkel around the close rocks and see lots there too.

 

We met a couple who go to this beach to snorkel every cruise they take.

The service on the beach was great too. The chair rental person we used took great care of us and the food and drinks were fantastic.

 

So the trip there and you felt safe there. I have been wanting to go to Coki, but then came across quite a few reviews of shady characters and pushy vendors. Please tell me this isn't true! :-)

 

We are going in two weeks.

[caribsun]

So the trip there and you felt safe there. I have been wanting to go to Coki, but then came across quite a few reviews of shady characters and pushy vendors. Please tell me this isn't true! :-)

 

We are going in two weeks.

 

Never had a bad experience at Coki.

[blue_water]

Definitely choose STT for your off the beach snorkeling day. The cat to Nevis from St Kitts is a nice day.

You have a few beach options with amenities on STT -

Coki is a small bay and typically gets very busy on ship days so it has a more lively vibe. Several vendors and good snorkeling but probably the most crowded snorkeling conditions. Many families and some people feed the fish which can be distracting (not to mention harmful to the fish).

 

Sapphire is a bit larger bay and is home to 3 condo properties. So no vendors and much quieter. It can get busy around the dive shack and swimming area, but there is room to spread out along the shore where there is lots of natural shade. You will find a reef, as well as a separate seagrass area where you may spot rays or sea turtles. There are a couple food and drink options, and the dive center rents anything you need. The Banana Canana beach grill serves an amazing Mahi Mahi sandwich.

 

Secret Harbor is a smaller bay and home to a condo property with a beach restaurant and dive center. You'll find the best food here. SH is probably the most protected bay of the 3 so the water is generally calm.

All are a $10 - $11pp taxi each way and taxis will be available to pick you up. One option is to hit Coki early then taxi to Sapphire for the rest of the day because they're not that far from each other. Just a thought!

Edited January 3, 2016 by blue_water

[PJStar]

Do all the beaches have a place that rent snorkel gear? We want to snorkel but aren't bringing anything with us.

[Ron_L]

I may be too late, but we went on a catamaran snorkeling trip with Blue Water Safaris in St. Kitts and had a fantastic day and great snorkeling!

 

We're big fans of St. Thomas and St. John, so it would be hard to go wrong there, but I wanted to mention an alternative for St. Kitts.

[mamagina]

Definitely choose STT for your off the beach snorkeling day. The cat to Nevis from St Kitts is a nice day.

You have a few beach options with amenities on STT -

Coki is a small bay and typically gets very busy on ship days so it has a more lively vibe. Several vendors and good snorkeling but probably the most crowded snorkeling conditions. Many families and some people feed the fish which can be distracting (not to mention harmful to the fish).

 

Sapphire is a bit larger bay and is home to 3 condo properties. So no vendors and much quieter. It can get busy around the dive shack and swimming area, but there is room to spread out along the shore where there is lots of natural shade. You will find a reef, as well as a separate seagrass area where you may spot rays or sea turtles. There are a couple food and drink options, and the dive center rents anything you need. The Banana Canana beach grill serves an amazing Mahi Mahi sandwich.

 

Secret Harbor is a smaller bay and home to a condo property with a beach restaurant and dive center. You'll find the best food here. SH is probably the most protected bay of the 3 so the water is generally calm.

All are a $10 - $11pp taxi each way and taxis will be available to pick you up. One option is to hit Coki early then taxi to Sapphire for the rest of the day because they're not that far from each other. Just a thought!

 

 

Hi blue water! Thank you! We are in St. Thomas today and at your suggestion we were heading to Coki to snorkel. There are 5 big ships in port today so our cab driver ( Bruce from Chicago who is running for senator) suggested secret harbor instead. [emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]. Just amazing here. Great choice. We have been to Magen's, emerald and sapphire and so far this is the most peaceful. And calm. No vendors and great amenities. I knew to say ok because if what I read here!

[mamagina]

Forgot to say. $10 pp cab each way. Driver coming back for us at 3:30 and he is going to take us to paradise point to take the cable car down. $10 per chair and umbrella. There are only 3 umbrellas available. but there are trees and natural shade. We were the first people in the dive shop when it opened at 9am so we snagged an umbrella.

[mamagina]

It got crowded but not bad at all. All chairs, umbrellas and tents gone by a little after 10 am!

[mamagina]

 

They rent these tents for big groups too

[mamagina]

$15 for the tent

[StudioMom]

How was the snorkeling there?

[mamagina]

Not bad. We have our own equipment but I think it was $15 to rent. Not much to see right near the beach but you had to go out near the rocks on the right or over past the piers on the left. You need fins to get over there unless you are a very strong swimmer.

[newNCLcruiser2010]

We were on St Thomas on 17th November and went to Secret Harbour beach, rented chairs from the dive centre there, did lots of fabulous snorkeling and had a delicious lunch at the restaurant on the beach - would so love to go back again!

 

Did you arrange for transportation before hand or just get a taxi at the port? How long and curvy is the drive there?

[blue_water]

You just grab a taxi at the pier, the taxi coordinator will help direct you to a taxi. There are some hills and turns getting to any beach but it's not a bad ride at all to SH.

[runner15km]

The water appears clearer in St. Thomas then St. Kitts. Check out Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas for snorkeling and beach facilities. :)

 

I just returned from a 1/12/16 NCL Gem cruise and we went to Sapphire Beach to snorkel. We were the only ship in port so the beach was near empty.:) Took the safari bus to the beach for 10.00 p/p ea way and had driver return to take us back to the ship at 2:20pm.

Beach chairs were 9.00 and the attendant at the Dive shop placed them under the trees for us for some shade.

The snorkeling was very good seeing many fish and one large stingray. You do need to swim out around 100 feet to reach the coral.

We took the 3 minute walk down to the Cabana food tent to get a bite to eat.

A good day of sun and snorkeling. :)

[O2B@Cagain]

As clarification: the "safari bus" is a taxi. If it takes you directly to your destination and charges you per person, it is functioning as a taxi. Some safari vehicles (which are identical) drive a fixed route and pick up/drop off folks on the street for a $1-$2 fare. :)