What's the Best Place to Snorkel in the Caribbean? Survey II

[IamMrsOz]

I'm reading this thread with great interest as I'm deciding where to snorkel on our next cruise. We go to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize. In May we snorkeled in Belize (1st trip) and our friends who have snorkeled in Hawaii said it was just okay. We went with Wet and Wild and they were great...had a good trip. But we didn't see much that was colorful. I guess that is what I was expecting...still cool, Shark Ray Ally also was very cool. So, I'm hoping those of you rating Cozumel or Grand Cayman highly could say if you have been since the bad hurricane season last year. Has the snorkeling been affected? Where should we go?

 

Cynthia

[Runitsajellyfish]

I'm reading this thread with great interest as I'm deciding where to snorkel on our next cruise. We go to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize. In May we snorkeled in Belize (1st trip) and our friends who have snorkeled in Hawaii said it was just okay. We went with Wet and Wild and they were great...had a good trip. But we didn't see much that was colorful. I guess that is what I was expecting...still cool, Shark Ray Ally also was very cool. So, I'm hoping those of you rating Cozumel or Grand Cayman highly could say if you have been since the bad hurricane season last year. Has the snorkeling been affected? Where should we go?

 

Cynthia

 

Just 4 months ago we snorkeled in all of those locations. Cozumel is still messed up from the hurricane, unless you take a boat out to the reefs. Grand Cayman was pristinely clear. We took a private (non-ship excursion) snorkelling excursion to Stingray City, The Barrier Reefs, and The Aquarium. Check him out at http://www.cayman.org/captainbryan/ We had the least crowded catamaran of all the excursions out that day, and I believe we spent the most time snorkeling. Wonderful British crew too.

Costa Maya was beautiful, but similar to Cozumel, you needed to take an excursion away from the shore to really see anything.

[kates70]

I would have to say 1) Roatan 2) Cozumel 3) Dominica 4)Curacao (in that order.) I loved something about all of these snorkel locations. Roatan has a very healthy reef, and Dominica has an abundance of sea turtles. (if you look in the right place).

 

Although, I will be visting Bonaire in November, and I am anticipating that I will be replacing one of these. I have heard many great things!

[Snorkel Dawg]

...That I dream of visiting (each & every one, one day) & snorkel (till my hearts desire) in the crystal clear blue hued waters soaking in all the wonder of the oceans, and then I think to myself "brother Dawg", is it not better to have snorkeled in any of them? Than to not have snorkeled at all?

 

 

I'm just glad to be here!...it's been such a great ride & it's so far from over....

[Runitsajellyfish]

...That I dream of visiting (each & every one, one day) & snorkel (till my hearts desire) in the crystal clear blue hued waters soaking in all the wonder of the oceans, and then I think to myself "brother Dawg", is it not better to have snorkeled in any of them? Than to not have snorkeled at all?

 

I'm just glad to be here!...it's been such a great ride & it's so far from over....

 

:D Preach on Bro. Dawg!

[lauriedun]

I'd have to say Aruba at Baby Beach-crystal clear water, tons and tons of colorful fishies-someone nearby was feeding them (cereal I think) and we were surrounded by them!

[ProudFossil]

I voted for Belize, but the place we snorkeled from was a little (less than an acre) island about 10 miles out. The excursion left from the pier at Belize, though. Wish I could remember the name of the group that was running it. Anyway, we saw all kids of sea life including barracuda, sea cucumbers, a lot of tropical fish, etc. A couple people in our group were diving as we were snorkeling, and the water was so clear, we felt like we could almost touch them, even though they were about 25 feet below us. It was awesome!

 

Although I voted for Virgin Gorda, I must say it would be a tossup with Belize. The big difference is the need to ferry out to the snorkel places in Belize. A couple of years ago we went to a small island about 10 miles out. It had five palm trees on it if I remember correctly and one pelican. But the water was exactly as you described. The name of the island was Rendevous Caye. Since we are going to be back in Belize in March I have been trying to find a group that runs to the island but have been unsucessful. NCL sponsored the excursion we went on back then. If anybody has a suggestion on who to contact while there I would appreciate it.

 

Thank you

Mike

[Runitsajellyfish]

Although I voted for Virgin Gorda, I must say it would be a tossup with Belize. The big difference is the need to ferry out to the snorkel places in Belize. A couple of years ago we went to a small island about 10 miles out. It had five palm trees on it if I remember correctly and one pelican. But the water was exactly as you described. The name of the island was Rendevous Caye. Since we are going to be back in Belize in March I have been trying to find a group that runs to the island but have been unsucessful. NCL sponsored the excursion we went on back then. If anybody has a suggestion on who to contact while there I would appreciate it.

 

Thank you

Mike

 

Mike,

Try http://www.tourbelize.bz/sea_rendezvous_caye.php

-Jellyfish

[scubaduba]

Bonaire, Turks Caicos, St. Thomas. Top three Cruise sites, In that order. My favorite place for diving warm water is in Bimini Bahamas. Place called "Stevies Wonder" and "Tuna Alley". Absolutly Spectacular!!! Best way to get there was with Blackbeards Cruises. If you are a hardcore diver this live aboard gets better and better every time I go with them. Great times! This however is not for "Cruisers" , You will not be catered. They cook great food, mix great drinks (5 gallons 151 rum punch every night). And provide some of the best diving/snorkeling I've experienced in the Carib.:cool:

[Runitsajellyfish]

My thanks to everyone who has voted, and also to those that have posted their comments. I hope everyone has gained some valuable knowledge as I have. We look forward to visiting the places listed that we haven't ventured yet. All of your input helps us determine where we should vest our time when we plan our next cruise(s). Thank you!

-Jellyfish:)

[sviviano]

I would love to go snorkeling in Dominica, the nature Island, I have heard really good things about it, however, I have only been snorkeling in Antigua, Long Bay. Very lovely, cant wait to go again. We wanted to go diving, but I wasnt trained properly, My hubby was able to since he has his certificate, but I couldnt, so I went snorkeling, the next best thing!

http://caribbean-guide.info/activities/diving.and.snorkeling/

Here's a little more information about the subject, since I was bummed I couldnt go diving. But snorkeling was unbelievably fun too! Maybe next year Ill get certified in time for the Caribbean trip.

[Stevesan]

I would have to say 1) Roatan 2) Cozumel 3) Dominica 4)Curacao (in that order.) I loved something about all of these snorkel locations. Roatan has a very healthy reef, and Dominica has an abundance of sea turtles. (if you look in the right place).

 

Although, I will be visting Bonaire in November, and I am anticipating that I will be replacing one of these. I have heard many great things!

 

You got the ranking exactly right!:)

 

 

Curacao's only slightly better than Bonaire.

Renee at Bonaire receives rave reviews, but books up early:

 

http://www.infobonaire.com/reneesnorkeltrips/

 

Woodwind is a good option.

 

http://www.woodwindbonaire.com/cruises.html

 

 

P.S. You forgot to mention the Champagne Reef at Dominica. :D

[paulandfran]

Wow thats a tough questions for me. I have been snorkeling for 40 years and been to the best of the best.

 

You didnt include St Croix, which has Buck Island. Its off shore, and the reef is protected by the National Park Service and its pretty awesome.

 

I voted for St John, Waterlemon key and offshore St John at Flanagan Island. Pretty impressive.

 

I implore anyone who snorkels: Please do not stand on the reefs and do your best not to have your fins wack the reef. The reef is alive and fragile, and unknowingly you can damage it by standing on it. Thanks.

 

Trunk Bay in St John has taken a severe beating due to the above.

 

I second your vote for Waterlemon Cay. It's my favorite secret spot not that many people know about. Fabulous!

[markstudy]

Do you think Bonaire would have more votes, if more ships went there?

This poll is really measuring the best place to snorkel that you've been to?

Still a great post. And I'm looking forward to reading all the great feedback.

But, since it was harder finding a cruise that went to Bonaire, I'm guessing

most people have never been, so its lower vote total reflects that more than

the actual reef conditions.

 

I took these photos with-in 15 feet of a nice sandy beach. Its amazing how much coral

Bonaire has in such shallow water, at Klein Marine Park.

 

 

 

 

 

[HarryTravels]

While I have always enjoyed snorkeling around Caneel Bay Resort and Watermelon Key (probanly 7-8 times between 1982-2005) it really cannot be, IMO, be compared to several spots on the Belize Reef. If you have snorkeled around the Blue Hole there then you will realize it trumps St. John and Cozemal and rivals the smaller spec of underwater pleasure in the Grenadines-Tobago Key.

[ceejay_San Angelo]

markstudy ---

 

<sigh>

 

great pics, makes me want to be in warm water right now.

[HarryTravels]

We have been to all the places mentioned and though it has been 6-7 years Tobago Key trumps them all, IMO.. The only problem I encountered in 2 visits were the weather conditions needed to be right.

If you went 400 miles further the snorkeling around the Blue Hole is the best off the east coast.

[HAULNTA]

:D Welcome to the Congregation of Snorkelers Bro. Dawg!

I heard that Palancar Beach Club in Cozumel Mexico is a nice place to snorkel. :rolleyes: Lord knows there's nothing to see a Paradise Beach, just green barnacles on a dock and a bunch of sand.

 

-Bro. Jelly

Palancar is a beautiful peaceful beach but the snorkeling is poor

[evandbob]

Was it Goff's Caye? A couple months ago when we were in Belize we took a water taxi to Ambergis Caye, and it wasn't much of an island to snorkel from, very shallow and a lot of sea grass. Everything I read about pointed to Goff's Caye or Mexico Rocks, but we couldn't find water taxi's to either one.:(

 

A short 10 - 15 minute boat ride off Ambergris is Shark Ray Alley - you can swim with nurse sharks, rays (even saw a manta in deeper water) and tons of fish! Plus outstanding vibrant colorful alive coral, not washed out remnants - at least the last time I went there. Carnival used to offer as a tour, left the cruiseship right onto a speedboat that took us to the site.

[suezyq50]

Loved the pictures.

[Starz723]

I went to a reef offshore Grand Turk. It was an excursion from Carnival Land and Sea. The reef was in horrible condition, about 85% bleached. The land portion I skipped. I thought I was going to see some tidal pools, but they only walked to a an old ruin.

 

If you are an experienced snorkler, avoid this excursion. The majority of the people on the excursion must not have been to many reefs. When the capt said did everyone love it, they cheered, probably cause the mate chummed the water and a few fish came in to eat. I pulled the capt on the side and said "the reef was dead". He just shrugged his shoulders.

[Starz723]

While I have always enjoyed snorkeling around Caneel Bay Resort and Watermelon Key (probanly 7-8 times between 1982-2005) it really cannot be, IMO, be compared to several spots on the Belize Reef. If you have snorkeled around the Blue Hole there then you will realize it trumps St. John and Cozemal and rivals the smaller spec of underwater pleasure in the Grenadines-Tobago Key.

 

Ahhhh,, The blue hole. Its on my list and I bet it will trump my best reef. I have a friend who has a house on Caye Caulker in Belize... Guess who is going to pay them a visit and go out to the blue hole (one of these days).

I cant wait.

[Islandbear]

Just got back from St John and it was wonderful! We snorkeled every beach from Hawksnest to Salt Pond and had a blast! Best was a little island off little Maho bay called whistling cay. it was magical.:)

[travelite]

How come no one mentioned Turks and Caicos.....my favorite behind Taihiti which was the BEST!

 

One of our ports is Turks and Caicos this Dec. Where are the best spots to snorkel? Are there any areas to snorkel from the beach or do you need to find a guide with a boat or tour?

[travelite]

Bonaire without a doubt. I see where Bonaire and St.Johns are a tie at the moment.

 

I am betting most that voted for St. Johns never snorkeled at Bonaire. :)

I voted for Belize, but it was actually a toss up with Bonaire.

Bonaire is so easy right from shore and so many wonderful areas. Next time I go, I want to stay at least a full week. I've been told Oct. is usually the best month for snorkeling Bonaire.

St. John is good, but I have never been there when it wasn't crowded with people in the water.

Belize was the most spectacular. I snorkeled from Ambergris Caye. I'd walk around the small piers and ask if there was anyone with a small boat that was taking out snorkelers and then arrange something....best to have your own gear. Rays, turtles, nurse sharks, all kinds of marine life, fish, coral, etc....it was pristine....and always with 6 people or less. Some of the dive companies will take you out as a snorkeler if they have room on the boat.