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Independemt Snorkle Trips to St. Johns?


fastsneakers

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You can do it on your own by taking either the Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie ferry to Cruz Bay and then take a taxi from there to Trunk. You can rent snorkel gear at Trunk Bay if you don't have your own gear. Keep in mind though, by the time you pay ferry costs, taxi fares and the admission fee to Trunk it *might* be about the same cost to go with the ship-sponsored excursion but you would probably have more freedom if you did it on your own (there's some nice shopping in Cruz Bay as well as a few nice places for lunch).

 

We spent a week on St John this summer, it's a beautiful island!!

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Thanks JeanneB,

 

I was wondering about that too. Can you snorkel the underwater trail, is it close enough to shore?

It sounds a bit more involved than just jumping in a snorkel boat with a guide, wondering if you can see more with a guide too...maybe we'll consider it though. Thanks!

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I don't know if there are guides that take you to Trunk Bay. The snorkel trail is self-guided so a guide isn't necessary and you can definitely do the snorkel trail right from the beach, that's what everybody does (unless you're among the rich & famous and come in on your yacht and anchor offshore :D ). You only have to snorkel out about 40 feet or so (I'm guessing and I'm not always good with distances!!) before you see the first underwater marker.

 

Cinnamon Bay and Hawknest Beach are also very beautiful and have great snorkeling. Trunk Bay is in between the two.

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We've gone to St. John on our own and snorkeled at Trunk Bay. I was very disappointed in the quality of the snorkeling -- there's much better to be had. The underwater trail is very ho-hum, but it is quite easy to get to, and well-marked. For novice snorkelers it's probably a good bet. Actually, I'd like to go back when we're on Serenade in December, but DH remembers feeling pressed for time to get back doing the ferry thing and isn't wild about repeating the experience. So, maybe we'll try to find a snorkeling trip off St. Thomas instead.

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We've gone to St. John on our own and snorkeled at Trunk Bay. I was very disappointed in the quality of the snorkeling -- there's much better to be had. The underwater trail is very ho-hum, but it is quite easy to get to, and well-marked. For novice snorkelers it's probably a good bet. Actually, I'd like to go back when we're on Serenade in December, but DH remembers feeling pressed for time to get back doing the ferry thing and isn't wild about repeating the experience. So, maybe we'll try to find a snorkeling trip off St. Thomas instead.

 

I agree with you, we found the snorkeling on some of the other St John beaches to be better than Trunk but for novice snorkelers I'm sure Trunk is still a good choice. I do think Trunk Bay is a bit overrated (the snorkel trail that is) but the view from the Trunk Bay overlook is absolutely stunning.

 

We also found the snorkeling at Sapphire Beach on St Thomas to be quite good with a pretty good variety of fish (we spent 1 night there before going to St John). We saw a barracuda at Sapphire that was about 5' long, that was definitely a highlight, but creepy at the same time.

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Jeanne, do you have any input on a half-day sail/catamaran snorkel trip? We need to do a little shopping in the morning, but I'd like to book a half day trip. I've seen several operators mentioned -- Interline, Ike Witt, the Atlantis people -- would you have any recommendations?

 

TIA!

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