Snorkeling conditions post storms

Hi! We are heading out on the Getaway in November. We have stops in Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Harvest Caye. We always pick at least 1 or 2 snorkeling excursions for our family but I am nervous about clarity conditions after all of the storms. Has anyone been out in the last week or two? How has the water been? Did you go on any snorkeling excursions? Any you would recommend or suggest to avoid? Thank you!

Snorkel in Roatan, off the beach in West Bay. Hands down the best snorkeling I have done and its free. Roatan is home to the worlds second largest barrier reef (after the Great Barrier Reef). Snorkeling in Roatan has ruined me for other places :)

Seriously, Google the reef satelite images and you will see the channel you can swim through and then over to the wall.

I follow the messages boards for Roatan and nobody that I have seen has posted about adverse snorkeling conditions - you could try the forums on Trip Advisor to see what they are saying.

Have a great trip

This just made me happy. I just added snorkeling yesterday to what we were doing in Roatan. It's my DD's first cruise, and I realized we didn't include in snorkeling in our excursions (my DH and I had decided in the past we didn't really need to do snorkeling anymore). So reading this added to my already excitedness :-)

Snorkel in Roatan, off the beach in West Bay. Hands down the best snorkeling I have done and its free. Roatan is home to the worlds second largest barrier reef (after the Great Barrier Reef). Snorkeling in Roatan has ruined me for other places :)

 

Seriously, Google the reef satelite images and you will see the channel you can swim through and then over to the wall.

 

I follow the messages boards for Roatan and nobody that I have seen has posted about adverse snorkeling conditions - you could try the forums on Trip Advisor to see what they are saying.

 

Have a great trip

How far is West Bay off the ship? I have never been to Roatan, want to snorkel.

Hi! We are heading out on the Getaway in November. We have stops in Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Harvest Caye. We always pick at least 1 or 2 snorkeling excursions for our family but I am nervous about clarity conditions after all of the storms. Has anyone been out in the last week or two? How has the water been? Did you go on any snorkeling excursions? Any you would recommend or suggest to avoid? Thank you!

It only takes the water a few hours to settle down once the storms have moved away. You will not have any problems because of the storms that have already passed. I have seen beautiful pictures taken off of St. Thomas last week, and I have never seen the water so clear in that area.

How far is West Bay off the ship? I have never been to Roatan, want to snorkel.

Either book with an AI like Bananarama or take the ships Tabayana Beach Break excursion. They both take you to basically the same spot. It is about a 20 - 25 minute ride from the port.

SNUBA in Cozumel - great experience

When snorkeling in West Bay, be sure to go as far as you can to the left - the portion known as Tabyana Beach - for the best snorkeling. You will not be permitted on the beach area here because it is roped off for cruise ship passengers who have overpaid greatly for a ship excursion including a couple of hot dogs.

Do the trip on your own and eat at one of the local pubs along the beach so the money stays on the island, then walk along the beach to the left and when you get to the roped off area, put on your snorkel gear, head into the water, then snorkel off to the left in front of the Tabyana Beach area. They can stop you from entering the land portion of the beach, but in the water, it is open to all.

I agree with snorkeling in Roatan...it's our favorite experience and we've done it every time we've been to Roatan. I'll defend the Tabayana experience a bit. Is it overpriced, probably. Is it hot dogs, no. It does include transportation to and from the beach. You have clean, nice restrooms, changing area, and showers available. The tour includes chairs at the beach that you can either move into the sun or plenty of shade. There is chair drink service and a fantastic BBQ chicken, rice, and fruit lunch that is grilled by locals. They may have hot dogs too, but I've never had them. Sure the ship is getting a cut on the excursion but it's all locals running the place. If you have your own snorkel gear you can book the beach break only and not pay for snorkel gear. Otherwise there's an option that includes gear. Regardless of whether you go through an excursion or not, this is the best snorkeling. Find the "cut" path in the coral and swim forever and ever. Great fish, great coral and a lot of diversity. You see something different each time.

When snorkeling in West Bay, be sure to go as far as you can to the left - the portion known as Tabyana Beach - for the best snorkeling. You will not be permitted on the beach area here because it is roped off for cruise ship passengers who have overpaid greatly for a ship excursion including a couple of hot dogs.

 

Do the trip on your own and eat at one of the local pubs along the beach so the money stays on the island, then walk along the beach to the left and when you get to the roped off area, put on your snorkel gear, head into the water, then snorkel off to the left in front of the Tabyana Beach area. They can stop you from entering the land portion of the beach, but in the water, it is open to all.

The beach is not roped off, but if you try to go into the area where the chairs are located you will be asked to leave. The beach itself is wide open, and often full of vendors in front of Tabayana. (at least it has been the four times I have been there.)

You also have security guards on the beach at Tabyana. The guards will also approach you as you enter the beach area and ask if you have any items you wish to secure in a closed location (no charge). If so, they will take the items and return a claim check to you.

Another option for Roatan is the cruise line excursion to Maya Key. The snorkeling there was excellent- and it's accessible off the end of a long pier into the water so very easy to do for first timers. My kids learned to snorkel there and were really spoiled! There's also a pool there, beach, exotic animal rescue, and a great buffet lunch is included. It's only a 5 minute boat ride from the Coxen Hole dock and the return ferry runs every half hour so you can stay as long as you like.

Should not be a problem for your itinerary. :)

People with stops in the East Caribbean for the next couple of months will not find snorkeling as good as it normally is after all of the storms.

The beach is not roped off, but if you try to go into the area where the chairs are located you will be asked to leave. The beach itself is wide open, and often full of vendors in front of Tabayana. (at least it has been the four times I have been there.)

Sorry for my misinformation. I was last in Roatan many years ago (probably about 7 years ago now) and I remember a rope mounted on top of metal posts delineating the area that guest who are not part of the excursion may not enter. Things may have changed in the past 7 years. We just went to Bananarama and enjoyed West Bay from there. The information about hot dogs was provided by another cruiser on the same voyage I was on who actually paid to go to Tabyana Beach. Once again, sorry if I was misinformed on this. Either way, the snorkeling there is fantastic.