Snorkeling & Good beach - 1 location??

[Toddcan]

We are a family of 5 who will be having Georgetown as a port of call. I love to snorkle, and the rest of my family likes the odd snorkeling, but likes to relax on the beach on a chair as well. I'd like to find a single location that is NOT an expensive ship excursion where we can rent chairs and relax on the beach as well as swim out to some decent snorkeling.

 

Good snorkeling and good beach are usually not found together, so I'm looking for a GOOD beach with DECENT snorkeling.

 

Any locations come to mind for anyone? I've scoured through posts and I've not seen a good post that answers this question.

 

Thanks in advance!

[caribsun]

Your right it is a difficult combo. Take a cab to Sea Grape Beach for chairs, white sand, food, drink and showers.

Walk up the beach about 300 yds and you will see a reef. Its not the best but you will see fish.

[Lovin the Cruise]

Smith's Cove is your spot. It's a small but very beautiful beach just south of George Town with lots of coral and fish.

Have fun!

[matndrew]

pack a cooler bag before you leave on your cruise. The night before you dock at GC order a couple of sandwiches through room service or pack some light snacks. Tender in Georgetown. Grab a few bottled drinks at a convenience store and take a cab or bus to Cemetary Beach. It is a very quiet beach about 5-6 miles from where the ships dock. You can't rent chairs here though but you can always lay on a towel. We spent HOURS snorkeling here last time. We saw every kind of sea life imaginable here (with the exception of sharks). Turtles, lobsters, eels, puffer-fish, barracuda and a rainbow of all types of tropical fish. It is great. And free.

 

The only drawbacks I can speak of are:

(1) There is no food/restaurant nearby.

(2) Nothing really else to do except lay on the beach or snorkel (but that is what we do anyway)

(3) The bathroom is unfortunately the ocean unless you want to hike to find one.

 

Be that as it may, Cemetary Beach was one of our favorite activies last fall. We were on the island for a week and we snorkled here on 2 of the days. We were in the water for close to 5 hours before any of us realized that were were hungry. A storm was blowing up so we left and went to Burger King for a quick bite and then back to the beach.

 

You cannot really go wrong anywhere on the island. All of the spots mentioned in prior posts are wonderful ideas and beautiful places. It just depends on the lifestyle of your family. If they are low maintenance type of people, Cemetary Beach will not be a disappointment.

[PurrSusan]

Do Smith's Cove and/or Cemetary Beach have any shallow areas for snorkeling? My DH is not a strong swimmer & doesn't live to go too deep w/o a life jacket!

[matndrew]

I found that you really did not need a snorkel vest unless you could not swim at all. Because the water is so calm, you float. I did not find that there was any rough current in that area either(so you not fighting that). With a decent set of fins, gliding through the water was effortless. I do not consider myself a strong swimmer and I snorkeled for about 5 hours on Cemetary Beach on my last trip to GC without a jacket. But you can always rent one when you get off the boat. Better to be safe than sorry I suppose.

 

Good luck and don't even think about feeding the fish. Bad idea!! They never leave you alone if they think you have food!!:)

[floridalady]

is there a restaurant there-do you know the name?

[LadyLeo84]

How deep is the water at Smith's Cove? Also are there other good places to snorkel where the water is shallow (4-6 feet deep) that offers plenty of sea life to see?