Paradise Beach Snorkeling

Is snorkeling any good from shore at PB? I understand they have parasailing available. What about boat snorkel trips?

Not much there. The area is too sandy with very little cover for the fish. The best snorkeling that I have had from the shore is in the ironshore areas of: Dzul Ha (Money Bar), Chankanaab Park, and Playa Corona. Chank is the only place that we have visited twice. PB Tom used to offer a boat trip but I don't know if he does now.

We took a boat trip out of Playa Palancar that was great. There was only 8 people onboard. If I remember correctly, it ran $35@.

Yes not the best spot for snorkeling. We were there in January and I snorkeled but there is really not much to see outside a few fish here and there. Paradise beach is great though, the grounds, pool and facilities are immaculate and the food and drink is good and reasonably priced. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the beach, pool area and facilities and would recommend Paradise Beach but if snorkeling is a priority I am certain you can do better elsewhere.

Oh, YES, there is definitely some nice snorkeling there!!! There is a pier along the south part of the Paradise Beach grounds, and there are ladders leading right down into the water at the end of the pier. There are TONS and TONS of fish right around the end of that pier. Away from the pier, there really isn't much of anything, which is why the previous posters said what they did. But if you hang out around the end of that pier, you will likely be surrounded by fish. It was insane last month when I was there! The fish seem to really like that spot out there. You won't find coral, but there are ridiculous amounts of fish in that spot. Check out the pics in my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1603329. My most recent posts have my underwater pics at Paradise Beach right around the end of that pier. This was better snorkeling than we had at Grand Cayman. There were at least 2 stingrays there as well. Here is a video of me chasing a stingray from under the pier to further away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN_V7NYWnug&feature=channel&list=UL

Parasailing picks people up at the end of that pier. Some people who were getting off told me that they paid $40 each, but most people report paying more than that. You may be able to talk them down some to get it closer to 40.

k2..thanks so much....We're going with my brother's family who have to boys (11 and 19). They've never cruised or snorkeled. At first I suggested Chankanaab for the beauty, lizards and easy decent snorkeling.

I found Paradise with the water toys and other activities that the boys might like. So was trying to find a place for "everything".

Would the snorkel area you talked about be good for beginners? I guess they could practice just off the beach and then go to the pier.

I'd really like to take the boys parasailing. It's not available at chank so we'd have to leave and go back to the pier to find a tour taking up a lot of valuable time.:p

K2 - how deep is the water at the end of the pier?

I had originally wanted to hit Money Bar beach or Chankanaab but was overruled in favor of PB - if there is at least some decent snorkeling, that would be kewl!

The area around the end of that pier is very good for beginners. You've got ladders on both sides of the pier, so very little swimming needed. I'm about 5'5", and I could stand in many spots, so the water is about 5' deep. No need for lifejackets or even an ability to swim. Just get comfortable with breathing through the snorkel while floating on top of the water. Not everyone is comfortable with doing that, so just practice that for a couple minutes in a pool or the shallow part of the beach.

The only slight concern would be not running into the supports as you're floating around, especially when you're underneath the platform at the end of the pier. I didn't run into them, but it's tight maneuvering around in some spots, especially if you're chasing the fish or stingrays. I spent a good amount of time out there. I really loved it. Many snorkelers really like the exploration aspect of snorkeling. Since it's very concentrated in one spot at PB, those people may not like not having to search for the fish, but it's great for those of us who just want to see fish.

We also went to Chankanaab on our April 2010 Dream cruise. I've got pics of that in my review (none underwater though). The link to that is in my signature. I enjoyed it there too. The snorkeling is nice, and it's right at the entries to the water. The entries are very rocky, and the water is deep. Both places are beautiful with plenty of fish to see. Chankanaab put on a nice sea lion show when we were there. Paradise Beach has the water toys. Paying for use of those ($12) also includes the kayaks, snorkel equipment, life jackets. The water toys recently changed. See the pics from my recent trip there (the link in my last post; also in my signature) to see what they are now.

i agree with K2

my husband and daughter had a blast snorkeling there and saw TONS of fish some HUGE>> and it wasnt real deep and it was safe

we loved paradise beach for 11$ each person all day for kayaking, snorkeling, paddleboarding etc its worth it