Any good snorkeling from the shore?

[mickeyhereicome]

Is  there any beach with good snorkeling for the shore in SXM?  Would love a beach that also has chairs, umbrellas, restroom and a bar.

[crewsweeper]

Dawn Beach or up in Orient and go to Pinel Island and do the snorkel trail.

[caribbean2000]

We are avid snorkelers and have done it off about 20 islands in the Caribbean. We've visited SXM multiple times off ships and also stayed for a week. The snorkeling is fair at best unless you take an excursion (boat) that specifically includes snorkeling. We found the snorkeling poor at both Dawn and Pinel (although we LOVE Pinel and will be returning in March). You will see a few fish off Pinel and the "snorkel trail" is pretty lame, few fish, no coral. If - and this is a big if - the sea conditions on the other side of Pinel are calm I'm sure there is lots to see there as you can see lots of coral heads just off shore. But most days it is choppy and dangerous. We stayed for that week at Little Divi Resort and the left side of the beach along the cliff had a few fish and the water was clear. Dawn beach is highly over rated; the coral has been dead for a long time due to sand covering it from hurricanes. Perhaps it was good there 20 or 30 years ago but no more. Unfortunately, after LOTS or research and exploring we couldn't find any shore snorkeling that was even remotely close to what we've experienced off lots of other islands. Overall, the snorkeling off SXM is generally considered not very good. I wish we could find somewhere off that island but I think we'll just have to chill on beautiful Pinel!

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod

[LizO830]

I've seen people snorkeling at Happy Bay and at Orient Bay by the old Club Orient resort. To access Happy Bay, you'll park at Friar's Bay (two restaurants with chairs to rent), then hike about 10 minutes. There are no facilities on Happy Bay. On Orient Bay beach, you'll find many restaurants and bars. By the old Club Orient resort, there's a bar/grill, Perch Lite, and plenty of chairs to rent. Both of these beach areas will have nude sunbathers FYI, but the main portion of Orient is not nude.

Edited December 16, 2019 by LizO830

[mickeyhereicome]

On 12/15/2019 at 4:13 AM, caribbean2000 said:

We are avid snorkelers and have done it off about 20 islands in the Caribbean. We've visited SXM multiple times off ships and also stayed for a week. The snorkeling is fair at best unless you take an excursion (boat) that specifically includes snorkeling. We found the snorkeling poor at both Dawn and Pinel (although we LOVE Pinel and will be returning in March). You will see a few fish off Pinel and the "snorkel trail" is pretty lame, few fish, no coral. If - and this is a big if - the sea conditions on the other side of Pinel are calm I'm sure there is lots to see there as you can see lots of coral heads just off shore. But most days it is choppy and dangerous. We stayed for that week at Little Divi Resort and the left side of the beach along the cliff had a few fish and the water was clear. Dawn beach is highly over rated; the coral has been dead for a long time due to sand covering it from hurricanes. Perhaps it was good there 20 or 30 years ago but no more. Unfortunately, after LOTS or research and exploring we couldn't find any shore snorkeling that was even remotely close to what we've experienced off lots of other islands. Overall, the snorkeling off SXM is generally considered not very good. I wish we could find somewhere off that island but I think we'll just have to chill on beautiful Pinel!

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod

That's what I was afraid of. We did a snorkel boat excursion in February and found it not very clear.  However it was our first time seeing an octopus so that was cool.  I will have to look up Pinel.  Would this be a good place for a nice beach day? Chairs, umbrellas, restrooms and food and drinks? 

We are also making stops at Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. If you have been to any of these do you mind sharing so good snorkel excursions or beaches with great snorkeling?

 

Thanks, Jasmin from Western MA :)

[caribbean2000]

8 hours ago, mickeyhereicome said:

That's what I was afraid of. We did a snorkel boat excursion in February and found it not very clear.  However it was our first time seeing an octopus so that was cool.  I will have to look up Pinel.  Would this be a good place for a nice beach day? Chairs, umbrellas, restrooms and food and drinks? 

We are also making stops at Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. If you have been to any of these do you mind sharing so good snorkel excursions or beaches with great snorkeling?

 

Thanks, Jasmin from Western MA :)

 

Hi Jasmin - suggest you go to the sections on this forum for those islands but yes, there is some great snorkeling off the ABC islands with the best being Bonaire. We highly, highly recommend taking the Woodwind sailing excursion off Bonaire. We've done it five times and the operation is GREAT, very reasonable, and the snorkeling they take you to off Klein Bonaire is the best we've experienced anywhere, just amazing. Can't say enough about that operation, we've done similar ones off many islands and they were far and away the best. On Aruba, we rent a car (right near where the ships dock, just walk down toward town and one rental is on the right), very easy to drive around that island, and head for the Malmok area. Good snorkeling from various shore spots there. On Curacao we head for Cas Abao (I think that's the name....) by taxi, about a 45 minute ride, great beach and beach bar/restaurant, good snorkeling from shore. Hope this helps, but do ask questions on the sections of this part of the forum specific to those islands for more info.

[topspot]

On 12/22/2019 at 8:45 PM, mickeyhereicome said:

That's what I was afraid of. We did a snorkel boat excursion in February and found it not very clear.  However it was our first time seeing an octopus so that was cool.  I will have to look up Pinel.  Would this be a good place for a nice beach day? Chairs, umbrellas, restrooms and food and drinks? 

We are also making stops at Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. If you have been to any of these do you mind sharing so good snorkel excursions or beaches with great snorkeling?

 

Thanks, Jasmin from Western MA 🙂

         I'm looking for snorkeling in SMX as well, but thought I add my 2cents to your question.  Definitely Woodwind in Bonaire.  In Aruba, we take the public bus (10 A  I believe) to Arashi beach.  Bus fare 2.50 US per person each way.  Bus station is just across the street from where Princess docks about a 5-10 minute walk.    In Curacao again public bus to "The Dive Bus".  We use their facilities for 10.00 per person to store our things/change.  The buses in Curacao are vans and run about 3.00 per person each way.  You want one that advertises that it goes to "Sunscapes" .  The dive bus is just before you get to Sunscapes.  Walk to the bus in Curacao is about 20-30 minutes through town, so you can shop on your way back.

 

[caribbean2000]

On 12/22/2019 at 8:45 PM, mickeyhereicome said:

That's what I was afraid of. We did a snorkel boat excursion in February and found it not very clear.  However it was our first time seeing an octopus so that was cool.  I will have to look up Pinel.  Would this be a good place for a nice beach day? Chairs, umbrellas, restrooms and food and drinks? 

We are also making stops at Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. If you have been to any of these do you mind sharing so good snorkel excursions or beaches with great snorkeling?

 

Thanks, Jasmin from Western MA :)

Hi Jasmin - Pinel is wonderful, totally different and very laid back vibe compared to nearby Orient. It takes a bit of effort to get there, taxi to the small launch/ferry that takes you over,  10 minute boat ride runs about every half hour or so, there are usually two running from 10 until 4 or 5). There are two beach bar/restaurants with loungers for rent. The food is good but expensive. The drinks are good and strong and expensive! Does get a bit crowded by about noon so if you want a prime lounger with your feet almost in the water, best to try to get there for the first boat over at 10 a.m. Be sure to arrange with your taxi driver to pick you up at an appointed time as there are rarely any taxis waiting at the launch pier. We usually ask out taxi driver to be there at 3:30 or 4:00 to allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. Attached are two photos of Pinel.

 

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod

[caribbean2000]

....those photos were taken pre-hurricane and it looks a bit different now but the beach area has been totally rebuilt and is still beautiful, and the water is still gin-clear and breathtakingly blue!