Great private snorkeling beach in grand turk less than 1km from cruise port

[joeyjpaul]

Hello,

 

Just got off the Carnival Ecstasy and we made a stop in Grand Turk. It was a great place and I want to go back. We had really rough seas getting down to Grand Turk and all of the ship sponsored snorkeling trips were canceled, however having brought my own equipment we still had a great time.

 

We went South along the beach until we got to a sign that said we were leaving the cruise port area and to enter at our own risk. Just beyond that is a dirt road that heads South East. We followed that road until it got back to the ocean and we found a wonderful beach that had 100's of Conch shells on it in various conditions. I let my daughter take two (they are heavy) and we had no issue getting them back on the ship. There were very few people around us, maybe 10 for the whole 3 hours we were there. There was a beach where we could get into the water and then a coral reef just off-shore. The water was not perfectly clear and there were a lot of waves and currents to navigate but we saw some great coral and lots of fish. At one point we got to see a school of 1000's of small silver fish that moved in unison as well as some other fish along the coral reef. I even thought I saw a sea otter (it was a very brief glance, and it could have been something else, however it was right before we saw the school of fish, so it may have chased them close to shore)

 

I am a strong swimmer, but I had to be careful to keep away from the shallower corals with all of the waves in the area. So I understand why the ship based tours were canceled. But I think if the waters were calmer there would be even more here that I would be comfortable in exploring.

 

so if you end up in Grand Turk, and you like beach combing or snorkeling I would recommend that you head South-East of the cruise port for a wonderful time at a 'private' beach at no cost.

[Ralphinsc]

I think this is a video I found from about the same area, the southern point of the island. Shallow reef snorkeling.

 

[crewsweeper]

Yes, that's the area known on this board as the conch graveyard. One of a couple of dumping sites used by restaurants to toss empty conch shells. Around Booby Point, southern tip of the island, is were some near shore diving excursions go.

[Pellaz]

Yes, this is where we went on my first snuba excursion at Grand Turk -- the southern tip. Your description of the road to it is very familiar.

There was a "land for sale" sign on the shore near that spot when I was there...now I'm wondering if it's still for sale. Could be a nice snorkeling/scuba turnkey opportunity. :)

[realtordebp]

Yes, this is where we went on my first snuba excursion at Grand Turk -- the southern tip. Your description of the road to it is very familiar.

There was a "land for sale" sign on the shore near that spot when I was there...now I'm wondering if it's still for sale. Could be a nice snorkeling/scuba turnkey opportunity. :)

 

 

 

Who did you use for your snuba tour?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Pellaz]

Who did you use for your snuba tour?

 

I booked it through Carnival, and it was via Oasis Divers. It was a good tour.

 

The second time I did snuba there, also through Oasis and also with "Big John" as our divemaster (he and his son were great), we did the snuba at a location north of Cockburn Town, which was also really good.

[Spike5556]

Wow I would love to visit this area! Can you describe how to get there as you walk off the pier? I’m directionally challenged so do I go left or right etc. :) thank you!

[Pellaz]

Wow I would love to visit this area! Can you describe how to get there as you walk off the pier? I’m directionally challenged so do I go left or right etc. :) thank you!

 

Yes, you'd turn and walk along the beach toward the right from the pier.

The area is at the southern tip of the island, so it's not that far from the cruise center.