Snorkelling from Beach

[seg1]

Are there any beaches in St Martin where you can snorkel in shallow water (under 5') and still see some fish?

[SCCAcruiser]

The ever-present snorkeling dilemma is that fish don't really like nice sandy beach areas! The ideal situation (for us humans) is a sandy beach with a rocky area nearby (swimming distance). We just got back from a week on St. Maarten, and although you see people going into the water at almost any beach with a snorkel and mask on, they sure aren't seeing much! The best snorkeling that we found on St. Maarten is off the island itself - Isle Pinel (accessible by half-hourly scheduled, 10-minute long boat ride from just north of Orient Beach) and Creole Rock, which is a stop on various boat excursions.

 

Bottom line - if you're planning on spending time on one of St. Maarten's beaches (and they are Awesome), don't bother bringing or renting snorkel equipment.

[SCCAcruiser]

I have just discovered, on one of the St. Maarten websites, that supposedly Little Bay Beach, which is just a short cab ride from the pier, has good snorkeling. Here's the link:

 

http://www.discover-stmaarten.com/little-bay.html

[Karysa]

Mullet bay is a lovely beach with some decent snorkeling by the rocks to the left as you enter. Very poor washroom facilities though.

Karysa