Snorkeling in St. Thomas and Grand Turk

[NJ04SS]

Any recommendations for snorkeling in St. Thomas or Grand Turk?

 

As of what I have gathered, St. Thomas we are going to Emerald Beach....

 

Grand Turk, we are hitting Margaritaville and just going into the water right there....

 

Any other suggestions?

[jessie073]

Sapphire Beach is nice in St. Thomas. Snorkeling was decent and beach was beautiful.

[vacationingbabe]

just returned from there, diving wasn't very good, we booked though our cruise ship, had 32 other diver on the boat, too many divers and not very good diving..

[DEwoman]

Sapphire Beach is beautiful- you will see sea turtles and possibly a barracuda, Nice fish and nice area. St. John is a quick trip away on the ferry. Taxis can take you to Trunk Bay. Beautiful beach and snorkeling. Nice facilities also.

[TheVegasMan]

Click to see who I dove with on St Thomas and the videos I took there:

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[scubaran]

Any recommendations for snorkeling in St. Thomas or Grand Turk?

 

As of what I have gathered, St. Thomas we are going to Emerald Beach....

 

Grand Turk, we are hitting Margaritaville and just going into the water right there....

 

Any other suggestions?

 

Grand Turk has really nice snorkeling/diving (I'm diving there on 2/9 while on a cruise). I suggest either booking a snorkel excursion or a discover dive (controlled dive with a dive instructor) if you're up to it. The "good part of the reef" is right at the underwater drop off (the wall). But it's a good 1/8 mile off shore so you really should use a boat to get there. The reefs are some of the finest in the Caribbean (this will be my 3rd. time diving there and I've dove all over the Caribbean) and you'll really miss a great reef if you just go off the beach. (you asked for recommendations :p)

 

Randall

[JP32]

If your snorkeling at the wall, can you see much from the surface or do you need to dive down and if so how far down?

[scubaran]

If your snorkeling at the wall, can you see much from the surface or do you need to dive down and if so how far down?

 

Depends on where you are but the bottom's in 15/20/25 ft. deep. But the water is gin clear. Over where we dive I can see down 200 ft. no problem.

 

Randall

[jessie073]

Depends on where you are but the bottom's in 15/20/25 ft. deep. But the water is gin clear. Over where we dive I can see down 200 ft. no problem.

 

Randall

 

Scubaran - the 15/20/25 ft bottom - is that 1/8 mile offshore? We are experienced and love to snorkel but since this is first time in GT we were hoping to enjoy some of the port area without being gone on an excursion all day - do you know if there's any decent snorkeling from shore? Like I said we are experience snorkelers so we don't mind swimming out a little ways. Thank you! :)

[scubaran]

Scubaran - the 15/20/25 ft bottom - is that 1/8 mile offshore? We are experienced and love to snorkel but since this is first time in GT we were hoping to enjoy some of the port area without being gone on an excursion all day - do you know if there's any decent snorkeling from shore? Like I said we are experience snorkelers so we don't mind swimming out a little ways. Thank you! :)

 

Hi,

 

Yes, the ocean grade is very shallow in GT so it takes a bit off shore before you get very deep. If you check out the picture of the waters around GT below you'll see the light blue fading to a sudden dark blue (the wall and reef). If you check out the houses on the shore you'll see that's a ways out. There is also a lot of small boat traffic in the area. So I really wouldn't recommend swimming out, if anything for safety reasons. An excursion might be best (I know on my ctuise next week we're only in dock from 7:00am - 3:00pm. So any activity will take up our "whole" day there due to the short time in port.

 

 

Randall

[NJ04SS]

Would you see anything snorkeling from the shore? Fish or reef or you have to go out far to discover any fish etc?

[alphakitty]

I've read that there is some pretty good snorkeling off the beach in Grand Turk at Pillory Beach, the Bohio Dive Resort area.

 

From: http://www.turksandcaicostourism.com/blog/scuba-secrets-pillory-beach-in-grand-turk-courtesy-of-bohio-dive-resort/

 

For the best of Grand Turk snorkeling and shore-diving head to Pillory Beach, a naturally sheltered bay towards the north of the island, where you will frequently spot Eagle Rays, Sting Rays, juvenile Spotted Drums and schools of fish just meters from the shore. At sunset let the resident pelican entertain you as he swoops over the water on the look out for an early dinner. It’s not uncommon to be snorkeling in a school of fish so dense you cannot see the other side when suddenly Mr. Pelican dives into the middle of the action leaving carnage in his wake!

 

I'll be there next week and our plan is to take a taxi to Pillory Beach to snorkel.....I'll post back later. :)

[scubaran]

I've read that there is some pretty good snorkeling off the beach in Grand Turk at Pillory Beach, the Bohio Dive Resort area.

 

From: http://www.turksandcaicostourism.com/blog/scuba-secrets-pillory-beach-in-grand-turk-courtesy-of-bohio-dive-resort/

 

For the best of Grand Turk snorkeling and shore-diving head to Pillory Beach, a naturally sheltered bay towards the north of the island, where you will frequently spot Eagle Rays, Sting Rays, juvenile Spotted Drums and schools of fish just meters from the shore. At sunset let the resident pelican entertain you as he swoops over the water on the look out for an early dinner. It’s not uncommon to be snorkeling in a school of fish so dense you cannot see the other side when suddenly Mr. Pelican dives into the middle of the action leaving carnage in his wake!

 

I'll be there next week and our plan is to take a taxi to Pillory Beach to snorkel.....I'll post back later. :)

 

Could be, let us know how it was. I have to admit I've only been as far as Cockburn Town so the north shore may have more reefs closer in. BTW, I'll be in GT on Monday. What ship are you sailing on?

 

Randall

[alphakitty]

Hi Randall.....We will be on Destiny. We are in GT on Thursday next week. :)

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[macdons]

We were in GT this summer and the snorkeling from the beach near the dock was non existent that we could find. We walked as far as we could thru a sea of lounges set up on the beach to try to find a spot. We gave up. I hope you have better luck. Please drop a line afterward to let us know how you fared.

 

As for St Thomas we have snorkeled from the beach at Sapphire beach and it is not far from the ferry to St Johns. Sapphire has shade and lounges and it is a gated beach, which does not mean to let your guard down about your belongings. One beach that has great snorkeling is Coki beach but we had a set of snorkel gear ripped off so I would not recommend it. Too bad it is a great spot but if you can't feel reasonably comfortable why bother. Good luck.

[jessie073]

We were in GT this summer and the snorkeling from the beach near the dock was non existent that we could find. We walked as far as we could thru a sea of lounges set up on the beach to try to find a spot. We gave up. I hope you have better luck. Please drop a line afterward to let us know how you fared.

 

As for St Thomas we have snorkeled from the beach at Sapphire beach and it is not far from the ferry to St Johns. Sapphire has shade and lounges and it is a gated beach, which does not mean to let your guard down about your belongings. One beach that has great snorkeling is Coki beach but we had a set of snorkel gear ripped off so I would not recommend it. Too bad it is a great spot but if you can't feel reasonably comfortable why bother. Good luck.

 

Macdons - when you say Coki has good snorkeling - how did it compare to Sapphire. We have been to Sapphire and found the snorkeling to be decent (not the best we've ever seen but enjoyed our time there). We are heading back to St. Thomas in March and we were thinking to head to Sapphire again but may consider giving Coki a try - just wondering how you thought they compare since you've been to both. Thank you! :)

[jessie073]

Could be, let us know how it was. I have to admit I've only been as far as Cockburn Town so the north shore may have more reefs closer in. BTW, I'll be in GT on Monday. What ship are you sailing on?

 

Randall

 

 

Thanks for the info Randall - definitely come back and let us know what you find.... :)

[searoses]

coki is right next to coral world. the snorkeling isn't great but we certainly wouldn't pass it up. we actually snorkeled to the coral world tank(so THAT'S what the rope was for)but got whistled back. there were a lot of people-sapphire would be less crowded. we did coki,sapphire,and secret harbour in one day. coki has lots of vendors-not the place to leave valuables-just a lot more action than sapphire or secret harbour. love getting those pina coladas delivered to the towel!

[alphakitty]

We snorkeled in Grand Turk off Pillory Beach. It was fair I'd say. We had to swim out about 300 yards off the beach to find a rock ledge with a fair amount of fish and coral. Pillory Beach and the Bohio Dive resort were a great place with few people, a nice bar and equipment rentals for snorkeling. Awesome scenery, beautiful blue water and powdery white sand beach.

 

I enjoyed getting away from the Cruise Center and Margaritaville with it's manicured beach. We did get a bit of an island tour from our taxi driver. Still a lot of apparent destruction from the hurricane last Sept. We did see pieces of sheet metal and other "trash" in the water while snorkeling.

[jessie073]

Could be, let us know how it was. I have to admit I've only been as far as Cockburn Town so the north shore may have more reefs closer in. BTW, I'll be in GT on Monday. What ship are you sailing on?

 

Randall

 

Hi Randall - just wanted to check back to see if you ended up snorkeling in Grand Turk.

 

Kitty - How far was the cab ride to Pillory Beach and what as the cost to get there?

 

Thanks - still trying to figure out what to do here.

 

Jessie :)

[alphakitty]

Hi jessie...the ride was only about 10 minutes and cost $7.00 per person. We also asked our driver to come back at a set time to pick us up and he was there right on time.

[jessie073]

Thanks Kitty - by the way, I love your quote at the bottom of your signature - my thoughts EXACTLY! :)

[scubaran]

Hi Randall - just wanted to check back to see if you ended up snorkeling in Grand Turk. Jessie :)

 

Hi,

 

Saddly, our ship never made it to GT. :( The winds were up to over 30 knots and the Captain wouldn't take us into dock fearing being blown into the reef. And I'd booked this cruise BECAUSE it went to GT. We ended up with an additional day at sea. Oh well, I'll just have to try again next year. :D

 

Randall

 

P.S. I DID snorkel on St. Johns. That was nice.

[alphakitty]

Hi,

 

Saddly, our ship never made it to GT. :( The winds were up to over 30 knots and the Captain wouldn't take us into dock fearing being blown into the reef. And I'd booked this cruise BECAUSE it went to GT. We ended up with an additional day at sea. Oh well, I'll just have to try again next year. :D

 

Randall

 

P.S. I DID snorkel on St. Johns. That was nice.

 

Sorry to hear that Randall :( I heard that Destiny was the first cruise to stop at GT in a week because of the winds....bummer! Glad you got to snorkel anyway though...was that St. John's, Antigua or did you mean St. John, USVI?

[jessie073]

Hi,

 

Saddly, our ship never made it to GT. :( The winds were up to over 30 knots and the Captain wouldn't take us into dock fearing being blown into the reef. And I'd booked this cruise BECAUSE it went to GT. We ended up with an additional day at sea. Oh well, I'll just have to try again next year. :D

 

Randall

 

P.S. I DID snorkel on St. Johns. That was nice.

 

Hi Randall - Sorry to hear you missed GT! Where did you snorkel in St. John? Did you snorkel at any other ports?