Which snorkeling excursion in St. Thomas?

[KS17]

We are interested in going on a snorkeling excursion in St. Thomas, but there are so many to choose from. Some drive to a beach, others are off a catamaran, yacht, schooner, BOSS, scooters, etc. HELP!

 

Has anyone done any of them that they would recommend? Myself, my husband and my two sons, ages 12 and 10 have snorkeled once before in Aruba off of a "pirate ship". It was a lot of fun as they had a rope swing off the boat, music, etc. Anyone know if any of the excursions have this type of atmosphere or what would be good for families?

[GMoney]

I've done Buck Island Sail and Snorkel, which now seems to be called Yacht Adventures Sail & Snorkel, and it's great. The snorkelling is very good and there are a max of 6 people on board. I always look for trips that offer 1-2 stops and don't involve busloads of people.

 

I'm doing Caribbean Sail to Christmas and Honeymoon Coves next week and I will let you know how it goes...

[KS17]

Hi Patrick,

 

When are you cruising? We will be on Freedom this Sunday.

[wolfganghowell]

I've done Buck Island and I've done Turtle Cove. Enjoyed both very much but LOVED Turtle Cove because there were a LOT of giant sea turtles gliding around. Buck Island was a catamaran so the ride was a lot nicer than Turtle which was a much smaller boat so it depends on what you really want. I would guess your boys would think the turtles were beyond cool though! <smile>

[Aubiecruiser]

We've done Turtle Cove twice, from the Catamaran "Dancing Dolphin". Loved it.

Aubie

[sal7202]

Last time we were in St. Thomas we took a snorkeling excursion to Trunk Bay on St. John. Great snorkeling off the beach, plus it's a National Park.

[gnparend]

Take the tour or if no tour by RCL take a taxi to Red Hook, the Ferry to St Johns and a taxi to Trunk Bay. There is a national park which is an underwater reef. Very well marked with markers and flags to identify the various fish & coral. In water lifeguards and snorkling equipment available. If you bring you own equip the park guard requires you wear a snorkel vest. Cost should be about $50 - $55 each.

[GMoney]

Hi Patrick,

 

When are you cruising? We will be on Freedom this Sunday.

 

I leave on Mariner on 8/5. Have fun on Freedom!

[Triplet and One]

Just returned from our 7/8/07 Mariner cruise and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED our RCI sponsored "Catamaran and Snorkel tour" The catamaran (Castaway Girl) took off from the pier (no bus required) There were 4 twenty-someting crew members that were a hoot. The music was great, the snorkeling at the cove was great and the rum and beer were flowing on the 30 minute ride back! Highly recommended!:D

[KS17]

Thank you for all the input. I am going to research your suggestions and make a decision.

 

The one thing I wish RC would have more details on are the times of the excursions. This is our first cruise and I see they list the duration of the excursion, but I would like to know what time they leave and return. This may help my decision process. Do the excursions usually leave early?

[Cindy]

I've done Buck Island Sail and Snorkel, which now seems to be called Yacht Adventures Sail & Snorkel, and it's great. The snorkelling is very good and there are a max of 6 people on board. I always look for trips that offer 1-2 stops and don't involve busloads of people.

 

I'm doing Caribbean Sail to Christmas and Honeymoon Coves next week and I will let you know how it goes...

 

We did the Yacht Adventure Sail and Snorkel in June and thought it was excellent. There was only one other couple on the sailboat with us, and the tour left from the pier area (no transfer).

[wolfganghowell]

You can find out the times. In the excursion section pick the option saying to book instead of browse. When you click the excursion, keep going, it will give you times to choose. You can stop before you give a credit card and exit. We did Castaway Girl on the Buck Island one, the Turtle Cove one was a sailboat but the seas were so rough that time we had to keep the sail down and use the motor. We were lucky to do the excursion, it was a morning one and all the afternoon excursions got canceled due to weather. We beat the storms but the seas were so rough there were a few people hurling over the side of the boat or into a bucket. I knew enough to stand and look at the horizon and avoided that problem.

[KS17]

You can find out the times. In the excursion section pick the option saying to book instead of browse. When you click the excursion, keep going, it will give you times to choose. You can stop before you give a credit card and exit. We did Castaway Girl on the Buck Island one, the Turtle Cove one was a sailboat but the seas were so rough that time we had to keep the sail down and use the motor. We were lucky to do the excursion, it was a morning one and all the afternoon excursions got canceled due to weather. We beat the storms but the seas were so rough there were a few people hurling over the side of the boat or into a bucket. I knew enough to stand and look at the horizon and avoided that problem.

 

 

Thanks for tip on how to find out the times for excursions. I'm going to try it now. :)

[Mark_K]

The BOB is a lot of fun, and the snorkeling's good when it's not your turn in the BOB.

[reallyitsmema]

We did Castaway Girl in June from the Mariner. There were 75 people on the catamaran and it was pretty crowded. The guided snorkel tour was hard with that many people following only one woman. The sail back was nice since we had the afternoon excursion so though it wasn't sunset it was still pretty. We actually saw more fish at Coco Cay. We would do a smaller excursion next time since it is no fun to be contunually kicked while snorkelling.