Best shore snorkeling in world ???

[altarose]

Out of the places we have been so far, I would rate Blue Bayou, Utila, Honduras as the best (So Far) It had very good visabilty, over 100 ft. and a dramatic 125 ft wall, abundance of fish and healthy reef. We were the only 2 snorkelers, but there were 4 scuba divers below us at the bottom of the wall, which we could clearly see.
A close second would be the outer reef at West Bay, Honduras.

Trying to talk wife into Philippines for next year, but like you said, it is a long haul from home.

 

[Dave C]

Out of the places we have been so far, I would rate Blue Bayou, Utila, Honduras as the best (So Far) It had very good visabilty, over 100 ft. and a dramatic 125 ft wall, abundance of fish and healthy reef. We were the only 2 snorkelers, but there were 4 scuba divers below us at the bottom of the wall, which we could clearly see.
A close second would be the outer reef at West Bay, Honduras.

Trying to talk wife into Philippines for next year, but like you said, it is a long haul from home.

I was in Roatan a few years ago, and I also liked the reef at West Bay Beach for its coral and uw topography. However, I did not find the fish very abundant or diverse there, which surprised me because this was supposed to be a marine park. I did see a marine park boat cruising around, so this was not a park in name only but appeared to have some active enforcement. There was more diversity in Half Moon Bay, even though it was a much smaller area, the coral wasn't as good, and had less visibility. You be interested in a very long trip report I wrote; I had to post it in two parts:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...eport-but-still-may-useful-long-part-1-a.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...eport-but-still-may-useful-long-part-2-a.html
Was there any good off-the-beach snorkeling at Utila? It appeared to me that around the town (we stopped there very briefly) there wasn't anything, but maybe there is somewhere that you could walk to.

 

[altarose]

Hi Dave, Thanks for the link to your Honduras report, I noticed the exact same thing about the fish being timid. The Blue Bayou on Utila was from shore west of town. Not sure if the Scubaboard allows this, but if you are interested I have a full trip report on Trip Advisorhttp://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g292016-i3574-k2646987-Long_Trip_Report-Honduras.html,
Also have pictures at flickr.com/photos/altarose/

I enjoyed reading your opionions on different snorkeling sites, it allways befuddles me when others dismiss a destination as being a complete waste of time and nothing worth seeing. As we all know great snorkeling can be the difference of going the right direction by as little as couple hundred feet, and enjoying the new experience. After all even a so-so day of snorkeling certainly beats a day at work

I notice you have been to Curacao, all the research I have done on Curacao and Bonaire allways mentions the lack of nice beaches, but last night I came across a web site (beached.com) that shows pictures and discriptions of several nice sandy beaches on both islands. What is your take on the beaches ?

Thanks

 

[Dave C]

Hi Dave, Thanks for the link to your Honduras report, I noticed the exact same thing about the fish being timid. The Blue Bayou on Utila was from shore west of town. Not sure if the Scubaboard allows this, but if you are interested I have a full trip report on Trip Advisorhttp://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g292016-i3574-k2646987-Long_Trip_Report-Honduras.html,
Also have pictures at flickr.com/photos/altarose/

I enjoyed reading your opionions on different snorkeling sites, it allways befuddles me when others dismiss a destination as being a complete waste of time and nothing worth seeing. As we all know great snorkeling can be the difference of going the right direction by as little as couple hundred feet, and enjoying the new experience. After all even a so-so day of snorkeling certainly beats a day at work

I notice you have been to Curacao, all the research I have done on Curacao and Bonaire allways mentions the lack of nice beaches, but last night I came across a web site (beached.com) that shows pictures and discriptions of several nice sandy beaches on both islands. What is your take on the beaches ?

Thanks

Thanks for your reply. Good info about the Bay Islands and Honduras in your Tripadvisor post. You got dengue fever in Roatan and still liked it? What a bummer. Sand fleas/mosquitoes didn't bother us much in Roatan. It was usually breezy, which helped.

It's good to know there is some decent off-the-beach snorkeling within walking distance of Utila town. I really enjoyed our brief 2 hour stop there on a day-tour from Roatan. Maybe I'll go back there someday.

I too have photos on flickr. I am also on Pbase (my original photo site), but I am gradually switching my pics to flickr because it is much more interesting with all the comments and interactions between users. I have put you as a flickr contact. You will have to go pro, as I see you are up to the 200 photo limit. Here are both my pbase and flickr sites:
Dave_Clausen's Photo Galleries at pbase.com
Flickr: Hawkfish's Photostream

Curacao does not have long stretches of sandy beaches. The only exception is Klein Curacao, which is a little island 10 mi. from Curacao that is reachable by boat tours. What Curacao does have on the uncrowded western end of the island (where I stayed) is beaches on small coves that are cut into the ironshore cliffs. These tend to be a mixture of sand and coral rubble, so maybe are not everyone's idea of perfect beaches. I thought they were very nice, but my main interest is snorkeling and not throwing frisbees on the beach. Here's a photo of the island's best beach:
Playa Grote Knip, Curacao on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I wrote a trip report about Curacao on Tripadvisor:
Curacao Trip Report, Especially Snorkeling, & Photos - Curacao Forum - TripAdvisor

I intend to modify this report and put it on Scubaboard, but I've got to focus on doing my taxes first!

How did you like Culebra? I liked it a lot. The snorkeling was extremely easy and convenient, and I got some of my best uw photos there. It would have been better if there had been a few more fish.

 

[mdb]

Lot's of great shore diving and some great reports. For me, La Jolla Cove is at the top. Lots to see in one of the worlds most beautiful spots. The cove has easy access and showers after the dive. A great shore dive for anyone heading to Southern California.

 

[altarose]

Hi Dave, Yes getting Dengue Fever certainly was a downer, but goes to show just how much we enjoy our visits to the tropics. It is also present in Puerto Rico, and about 2 weeks before this years trip there were a few posts on TA raising the alert to near epidemic, which had us freaking out a bit. But we were extra careful and all went well. Most people don't want to talk about it and almost deny its presence, which I feel is wrong. The more people are aware and take steps to protect themselfs, the less chances of it spreading.

We liked Culebra very much, our favorite snorkeling was at Carlos Rosario and fairly good at Melones. We also found some decent spots on Vieques. The beaches on both Island were to die for.

The beaches on Curacoa sound just right for us, just like to chill on a bit of sand and swim between outings of snorkeling.

Your review of Curacoa has me wondering if Bonaire might be better for snorkeling in shallower water. Not that we are afraid of the deep stuff, but like having a mix of deep and shallow reefs

 

[Karloss]

Maui is very nice.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

I was just going to say , Maui has great beach snorkeling for sure , Olowalu ( excuse spelling ) seemed to go on forever , like a maze . I even saw reef sharks in the shallows there .
Bonaire is good but much deeper .
Snorkeling in Hawaii in 1991 is what got me hooked on Scuba .

 

[ComeOnFish]

Hi,
Let me piggy back on this thread. Because you guys know a lot.
Recently we went Almond Beach Village in Barbados. We did not do any scuba-diving at all. My wife and I did a lot of shore snorkeling off the resorts. The reefs were not as good as Bonaire but my wife enjoyed shore snorkeling because of calm water and no hassles. I found that my wife really likes shore snorkeling in calm water as we get older. The place was good for both of us because I could do spear fishing right off the beach with friendly locals even though I did not bring spear gun and spear pole.

The reason I wrote the above is that I am in search of the place where my wife and I can shore snorkeling off the resort and also I can do some spear-fishing at the same time/place. My wife is not a stronger swimmer so swimming out more than 70 yard is not a good thing. I am a 30' diver and my target fish will be 2-5lb fish. I am not looking for a lot of edible fish. If I can shoot one a day is fine.

Does anyone know good place or resorts in Jamaica, Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic (because of direct flight/no connecting)? I live in Virginia and am planning to have more 3-4 day get-away trips

Thanks,
Joe.

 

[DoubleDeep]

Bonaire has become our favorite spot for snorkeling from shore having vacationed on the island in March. We have visited Akumal and areas north, Maui (past favorite), Cozumel (past favorite), Jamaica, Grand Cayman and others. We would return to Bonaire in an instant (and will) except there is a whole world out there to see. Bonaire has more than a weeks worth of places to snorkel and explore. We are not beach sitters so the lack of sand on Bonaire did not bother us. There are some postage size coves of beach that filled our needs. Let me know if you need more info.