Best place for snorkling?

[myr seashell]

We will be on the Eurodam in March, and would like to do some snorkling - and was wondering if anyone knew if the snorkling was better on Grand Turk or on St. Thomas? Our choices are Coki Beach in St. Thomas or Governor's Beach in Grand Turk - any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

[sheila77]

I went to Coki Beach last week (Jan 15) and had a fun time at Coki Beach. We were on the Crown Princess and got into port at 7am. We were some of the first people off the ship and got a taxi and went straight to Coki ($10 per person for a cab). We stayed there until around 1pm when we took the same taxi back to town to meet friends.

 

The snorkeling was OK - it was fun to have the beach to ourselves in the early morning before everyone else arrived. We saw fish - and had a fun afternoon. (We brought our own snorkel equipment - but you could also rent there on the beach).

 

Beach chairs are also available for $5 - The waiters here were very competitive to get your business - that was sort of funny to hear them fighting over our business.

 

In Grand Turk - we took the Power snorkeling tour that Princess offered. WE went out to a beach and took a short boat ride and were able to snorkel around the reef. We did see a different variety of fish here - but the tour seemed a little rushed.

 

So, we enjoyed both - it really depends on the weather that you have for that day. At coki - beautiful sunny day - GT - we went on the later tour (3pm) so things were a little darker.

 

You will have fun no matter what - you are on vacation.

[jessie073]

myr seashell -

We have not been to Coki but have been to St. Thomas several times. In all of our research we found that the best snorkeling from shore was at Sapphire Beach. (Coki does not have a lot of structure from what I've read, and is great for the beginner). We were just at Sapphire in November and found the beach to be beautiful and the snorkeling... while it was not the best we've seen, it was decent. (of course we've been to some great places like Roatan, so our bar for great snorkeling is set pretty high.) We will be back in St. Thomas in March and will probably head to Sapphire again, as we did enjoy our time there.

 

I will also be heading to Grand Turk (for the first time in March) so I'm hoping to get some more info on snorkeling there. The power snorkel that Sheila mentioned sounds interesting. I did read a post where someone said that the snorkeling at Governors Beach was not great and after snorkeling there about an hour they ended up heading back to the port area and snorkeled there. I don't see a lot of structure on the aerial views I've seen but I have read a couple posts about a "drop off" that supposed to be good, but I haven't been able to get any more info on where this is or how you get to it.

 

This Grand Turk board does not seem very active but hopefully someone will post that has snorkeled there.

[lawtyger]

We were on the Crown Princess and got into port at 7am. We were some of the first people off the ship and got a taxi and went straight to Coki ($10 per person for a cab). We stayed there until around 1pm when we took the same taxi back to town to meet friends.

 

sheila77, I was a little disappointed when I found out the Crown was docking at the Crown Bay pier because it is obviously father from Coki or Sapphire beach and I didn't want to pay additional for taxi fair to those locations. Glad to hear it wasn't any more. Did you just pick up the taxi right their at the pier? I assume they have little shops also and a centralized location for taxi's to come in a pick cruisers up like they do at the Havensight pier?

 

Any info would be appreciated :).

[DEwoman]

We will be on the Eurodam in March, and would like to do some snorkling - and was wondering if anyone knew if the snorkling was better on Grand Turk or on St. Thomas? Our choices are Coki Beach in St. Thomas or Governor's Beach in Grand Turk - any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

I've been to Coki Beach and Sapphire.

Coki full of local island flavor compared to Sapphire. You can get blender drinks, local food and wares. I bought my snorkel set there from a guy with a truck who took VISA- LOL. It is near the aquarium. The fish are small but very friendly because so many people feed them. The water is very clear and calm and very little kid ( or big kids drink and snorkel : ) friendly. It is a must do on our list.

 

We've stayed at Sapphire for two different weeks. It is an immaculately kept, picture postcard beautiful small white sand beach. It is not a first rate top of the line hotel area if that is what you are looking for. The last time we stayed in 2007, there were lots of feral cats aboutat night. Strange, because there are lots of iguanas all around, too. ANYway- the water is the choppiest ( as opposed to bathtub calm) we encountered in St. John or St.Thomas, but it is fine for snorkeling or just hanging out. No strong currents or anything. There is coral at both ends of the beach with fish. There is a nice little store and you can get drinks and very reasoably priced souveniers, clothes, etc. On the other side is a marina which does tours also.

 

I don't know how long you stay in St. Thomas, but you can take the ferry to St. John for big beautiful beaches that are a quick cab ride away from the dock. Trunk Bay is breathtaking to get to and has a nice reef trail.

 

I hope this helps - Have fun!!:

[DEwoman]

We will be on the Eurodam in March, and would like to do some snorkling - and was wondering if anyone knew if the snorkling was better on Grand Turk or on St. Thomas? Our choices are Coki Beach in St. Thomas or Governor's Beach in Grand Turk - any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

I've been to Coki Beach and Sapphire.

Coki full of local island flavor compared to Sapphire. You can get blender drinks, local food and wares. I bought my snorkel set there from a guy with a truck who took VISA- LOL. It is near the aquarium. The fish are small but very friendly because so many people feed them. The water is very clear and calm and very little kid ( or big kids drink and beach) friendly. It is a must do on our list and one of our big kids' favorites.:D

 

We've stayed at Sapphire for two different weeks. It is an immaculately kept, picture postcard beautiful small white sand beach. It is not a first rate top of the line hotel area if that is what you are looking for. The last time we stayed in 2007, there were lots of feral cats about at night. Strange, because there are lots of iguanas all around, too. Anyway- the water is the choppiest ( as opposed to bathtub calm) we encountered in St. John or St.Thomas, but it is fine for snorkeling or just hanging out. No strong currents or anything. There is coral at both ends of the beach with fish. There is a nice little store and you can get drinks and very reasonably priced souvenirs, clothes, etc. On the other side is a marina which does tours also.

 

I don't know how long you stay in St. Thomas, but you can take the ferry to St. John for big beautiful beaches that are a quick cab ride away from the dock. Trunk Bay is breathtaking to get to and has a nice reef trail.

 

I hope this helps - Have fun!!:cool:

[lawtyger]

IAnyway- the water is the choppiest ( as opposed to bathtub calm) we encountered in St. John or St.Thomas, but it is fine for snorkeling or just hanging out. No strong currents or anything. There is coral at both ends of the beach with fish. There is a nice little store and you can get drinks and very reasonably priced souvenirs, clothes, etc. On the other side is a marina which does tours also.

 

We haven't been to Coki, but have read numerous times the same description DEwoman provided. Everything we've read is Coki is a nice "beginner" place to snorkel. We have, however, been to Sapphire, during our last cruise in November 2008. Being in port for several hours and staying to weeks will certainly provide two completely different experiences. I agree with the above comments in the quote. We'll be on the Crown Princess in March and the tentative plan is to return to Sapphire. Not sure how "into" snorkeling you are, but the reef was fairly good a Sapphire and we saw plenty of fish. Seeing is always better than reading so here are some pics from our day at Sapphire:

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaNGzdw2bOGLDeg

 

I don't know how long you stay in St. Thomas, but you can take the ferry to St. John for big beautiful beaches that are a quick cab ride away from the dock. Trunk Bay is breathtaking to get to and has a nice reef trail.

 

myr seashell, if you are only in port for a day on a cruise (which I assume you are because you are at "cruise critic") AND are an experienced snorkeler seeking to snorkel, I would definitely skip Trunk Bay. It is not a cheap trip via taxi, then Red Hook ferry, then taxi again. The "snorkel trail" should be called "the trail of dead and damaged coral." Really not impressive snorkeling at all and not worth the trip. That said, if you are looking for a picture perfect beach day with breathtaking surrounding, Trunk Bay is about as close as you can get. It really is a gorgeous beach and great view - 10 on a scale of 10. But, if it is snorkeling you seek skip Trunk Bay, and head to an 8 out of 10 beach with MUCH better snorkeling or trying a snorkeling excursion.

[blueyes34]

lawtyger, can you give more details on the 8 out of 10 beach for snorkeling? Where is it on St. John, how much for cab from red hook bay, safety ( DH and I traveling with DD 18 and DS 15), water conditions, facilities ie.. bathrooms, food, etc. Any info much appreciated sounds great. DH is way into the snorkeling thing and want the kids to enjoy a fun snorkel experince.

[lawtyger]

lawtyger, can you give more details on the 8 out of 10 beach for snorkeling? Where is it on St. John, how much for cab from red hook bay, safety ( DH and I traveling with DD 18 and DS 15), water conditions, facilities ie.. bathrooms, food, etc. Any info much appreciated sounds great. DH is way into the snorkeling thing and want the kids to enjoy a fun snorkel experince.

 

My referenced to an 8 of 10 beach was referring to Sapphire Beach. DEwoman's description of Sapphire was accurate - "It is an immaculately kept, picture postcard beautiful small white sand beach. . . the water is the choppiest (as opposed to bathtub calm) we encountered in St. John or St.Thomas, but it is fine for snorkeling or just hanging out. No strong currents or anything. There is coral at both ends of the beach with fish. There is a nice little store and you can get drinks and very reasonably priced souvenirs, clothes, etc. On the other side is a marina which does tours also."

 

In October, our trip to Sapphire beach was $10 per person each way. I asked my wife what we paid to get to Trunk Bay and she recalled it being about $50 per person by the time we took the taxi from port to Red Hook, Red Hook over to St. Johns, taxi over to Trunk Bay, taxi from Trunk Bay back to the Red Hook (and the ferry we had planned to take at a time specific got canceled and we had to take the next schedule one), ferry back to St. Thomas and taxi back to port. Basically, a lot of travel time and the snorkeling was disappointing. But, and I keep saying this for those who may want to go to Trunk Bay just for the beach, the beach is gorgeous (but when you go for snorkeling purposes, I'd rather snorkel a better area, on a nice beach, for $30 less per person). For $50 per person, you can probably find a pretty good private snorkeling excurion.

[clrn911]

2 different types of beaches:

 

coki--more lively crowd, more crowded, lots of different fish, not much coral, but rocks. i always see alot of fish here. in november i saw many needle-nosed fish, squid, barracuda, sergant majors, etc. a visit once before in the morning i saw a turltle there. very "friendly" fish. guaranteed fish sightings. beautiful beach. i always stop here in st. thomas.

 

sapphire--less crowed, more ?elegant? calm? larger beach. had grassy areas where i saw a turtle. has coral. i've been here about 3 times now, and each time there was poor visability, so i didn't see many fish. judging by some snorkel photos on this blog, looks great when visability is good.

keep in mind the roughness of the water at the time, makes a big difference in my experiences on any snorkel trips.

 

go to both if you can!

[jessie073]

Myr Seashell - just got back from my cruise TODAY!!! I posted this review on another board so I thought this might be helpful info here too:

 

Grand Turk

We ended up taking the snorkel excursion with Blue Water Divers. Blue Water Divers requires at least 8 people to guarantee you will be on your own boat with snorkelers only - no divers. We ended up getting the group of 8 together through our roll call. Had a great time and the tour was definitely worth the $30pp! They use large covered Carolina Skiffs which work out well for getting in and out of the boat. For our first stop Mitch took us out to the wall. This was absolutely amazing and a must see. Its sand bottom and approx 40 ft where you get out of the boat. We swam out a short distance to the wall which is built up with very alive and colorful coral. The depth at the top of the wall is approx. 30-35 ft. The water was a little deep here so this may not be comfortable for a beginner but there were lots of fish and very healthly coral. Also because of the depth you are obviously not getting a close up look at the coral and fish but it definitely made the trip for us! Everyone in our group seemed to really enjoy it and had no problem going out there, but I can see where this might be a little scary for some, especially a beginner.

Our second stop took us to a spot just off of Governors beach. The water was about 15 feet and we saw quite a few small coral clusters with fish. This spot may have been a little disappointing for us except that we did end up seeing a lion fish and an eel at one of the clusters.

Overall we had a great time with Blue Water Divers and the trip to the wall alone made it worthwhile. My only complaint (and its a small one) is that I wish they had a cooler with some cold drinks on the boat.

We did talk to another couple who had taken the ultimate snorkel (through the ship) and they said that the tour took them over the wall but they did not get to get out and snorkel there. They also had quite a few beginners on their tour and were taken to some very shallow spots (So again we were glad we ended up booking with Blue Water Divers)

 

Governors Beach - we noticed from where we stopped by boat to snorkel that this area was definitley swimable from shore. So if you are not interested in going out to the wall, Governors Beach is just a short walk up from the cruise ship terminal and there are definitely alive clusters of coral and fish to see. There was also a cage structure there for a reef that is being built and our guide said they had put down reef balls (although what we saw were regular coral clusters). It's not the best snorkeling we've seen by any means but there is definitely coral and fish to see for anyone interested in snorkeling from shore. (We would definitely go there if we were not taking a tour)

 

St. Thomas

Since there were 4 of us we ended up renting a car this trip and headed to Coki and Sapphire. This was our first time going to Coki. The beach was small and clean. The water was extremely clear and calm. The snorkeling was not great - some rocks and fish but not really a lot of coral or anything else to see. Oh, we did see quite a few little flounder on the sand bottom. Then we headed to Sapphire. We've been to Sapphire before and always enjoy our time there. The beach is big, clean and the water is very clear. Some coral, rocks and fish to see but what really made this trip was the sea turtles. Out in the grass area near the center of the beach we saw a few sea turtles. They stayed out there for a while and where not afraid. It was really an amazing site! So overall, IMO Sapphire is definitely the better choice for snorkeling and the sea turtles definitely made our day!

 

Jessie

[disneygirlj]

We have been wondering if we could just snorkel off of Govenor's beach but I read that the hurricane took out the reef and there are very few fish. Are you saying that the reef is perhaps already coming back and it might be worth it? You mentioned that it seemed like it wasn't too far if you didn't want to go to the shelf.

[jessie073]

disneygirlj - Governors Beach is just a short walk from the cruise ship (or you can take a cab for about $3). While not great snorkeling (I have a high standard), like I mentioned above there were quite a few smaller coral clusters with fish - and we did see an eel at one of them. Apparently there are some marine programs in place to attempt to rebuild the damaged reef. We saw a "cage" reef structure that was built and supposedly there are also quite a few reef balls, although I did not see those in the area where we snorkeled.

 

If we were not taking an excursion I would definitely go back there myself as we did enjoy our time there.

 

Hope that helps!

Jessie

[jkbecker4]

St. Thomas

Since there were 4 of us we ended up renting a car this trip and headed to Coki and Sapphire. This was our first time going to Coki. The beach was small and clean. The water was extremely clear and calm. The snorkeling was not great - some rocks and fish but not really a lot of coral or anything else to see. Oh, we did see quite a few little flounder on the sand bottom. Then we headed to Sapphire. We've been to Sapphire before and always enjoy our time there. The beach is big, clean and the water is very clear. Some coral, rocks and fish to see but what really made this trip was the sea turtles. Out in the grass area near the center of the beach we saw a few sea turtles. They stayed out there for a while and where not afraid. It was really an amazing site! So overall, IMO Sapphire is definitely the better choice for snorkeling and the sea turtles definitely made our day!

 

Jessie

 

What did it cost to rent the car and are they available at the port? How far is it from the port? Is it worth touring the island or best to just hanging out on the beach? My DH and I like to snorkel and this time we will be bringing our DD 21 years old and our DS 16 years old to snorkel too. So we are thinking Sapphire beach is our best bet.

[jessie073]

What did it cost to rent the car and are they available at the port? How far is it from the port? Is it worth touring the island or best to just hanging out on the beach? My DH and I like to snorkel and this time we will be bringing our DD 21 years old and our DS 16 years old to snorkel too. So we are thinking Sapphire beach is our best bet.

 

jkbecker4 - we reserved a intermediate size car through Budget (they also have other options) which was about $45 for the day plus additional insurance and gas. A cab to Sapphire would be $10 pp each way so it was about the same when you add everything together but it was nice having the car so we could go to both Coki and Sapphire. Depending on where you dock - if you dock at Havensight Pier there is a Budget right across the street; we docked in Crown Bay so the closest Budget was in Charlotte Amalie and Budget has complimentary pick-up and drop off from the port. I booked online (it was less expensive than when I called them direct). Then just called them to confirm the details of the pick-up etc. Also, when you book, since you will be dropping off the same day make sure you reflect that in your dates and select the times you'll need the car. Since you have the car for just hours, I think it was less expensive then just selecting to book for a day. This was a great option for us since we had been to St. Thomas quite a few times (this was the first time renting a car though). I would say that as long as you feel comfortable with driving, finding directions to where you need to go, and driving on the wrong side of the road (we forgot a couple times so that was interesting), I think you will enjoy this option as well. Some other people in our thread also rented a car (jeep) and did more exploring of the island but we mainly wanted the flexbility of being able to go to the beaches. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm happy to help! :)

 

Jessie

[jkbecker4]

jkbecker4 - we reserved a intermediate size car through Budget (they also have other options) which was about $45 for the day plus additional insurance and gas. A cab to Sapphire would be $10 pp each way so it was about the same when you add everything together but it was nice having the car so we could go to both Coki and Sapphire. Depending on where you dock - if you dock at Havensight Pier there is a Budget right across the street; we docked in Crown Bay so the closest Budget was in Charlotte Amalie and Budget has complimentary pick-up and drop off from the port. I booked online (it was less expensive than when I called them direct). Then just called them to confirm the details of the pick-up etc. Also, when you book, since you will be dropping off the same day make sure you reflect that in your dates and select the times you'll need the car. Since you have the car for just hours, I think it was less expensive then just selecting to book for a day. This was a great option for us since we had been to St. Thomas quite a few times (this was the first time renting a car though). I would say that as long as you feel comfortable with driving, finding directions to where you need to go, and driving on the wrong side of the road (we forgot a couple times so that was interesting), I think you will enjoy this option as well. Some other people in our thread also rented a car (jeep) and did more exploring of the island but we mainly wanted the flexbility of being able to go to the beaches. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm happy to help! :)

 

Jessie

 

Ok so we decided on the rent a car option and I was wondering what the insurance costs ran there? Any absolutely, must have spots to see? As this is our first time at St. Thomas. And I am in charge of our itinerary for the day :rolleyes:

I thought I would go and drive in new subdivisions that are not yet built and practice my driving on the wrong side of the road :D haha!

[JP32]

Ok so we decided on the rent a car option and I was wondering what the insurance costs ran there? Any absolutely, must have spots to see? As this is our first time at St. Thomas. And I am in charge of our itinerary for the day :rolleyes:

I thought I would go and drive in new subdivisions that are not yet built and practice my driving on the wrong side of the road :D haha!

Hello, fellow St. Louisan's, we're going to be on the Liberty in Sep. and was on it in 2007 and think you'll enjoy the ship. Megan's Bay is probably the prettiest beach but snorkeling not to good. Sapphire beach and Secret Harbor are our fav's for snorkeling. Paradise Pt. has a great view of the harbor and Mountaintop of Megan's Bay, both have a little shopping. If you want a fun place for lunch and or drinks-Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook is great. Lots of shopping downtown but we prefer the shopping right by the ship at Havensight, doesn't seem as hot or as crowded.

[jessie073]

Ok so we decided on the rent a car option and I was wondering what the insurance costs ran there? Any absolutely, must have spots to see? As this is our first time at St. Thomas. And I am in charge of our itinerary for the day :rolleyes:

I thought I would go and drive in new subdivisions that are not yet built and practice my driving on the wrong side of the road :D haha!

 

jkbecker4 - Yes definitely practice your driving and make sure you look BOTH ways before crossing any street. We found ourselves just looking the 1 way we're used to (left for a Right hand turn instead of right).

 

Here's the breakdown of what our car cost us for the day:

$48.00 Car

$2.00 VI Tax

$10.20 Fuel (optional to "pre-purchase" but we did so we didn't have to worry about it)

$9.99 (insurance/optional, I believe there are different tiers of insurance, we choose the least expensive)

$3.75 LRF/RRF (have no idea what this is)

$73.94 TOTAL

 

As far as sights, I would definitely say go to Sapphire. Also, the other group that rented a car talked about a little bar/restuarant place on top of a mountain that serves excellent (banana I think) daquiris and has amazing views. I'm sure of you do a little research you could find the name.