Shore Snorkeling Destinations?

Hi. My girlfriend and I are looking for a place in the Caribbean where we can do a lot of good shore snorkeling without spending a fortune.

We just went to Bonaire recently and really liked it. However, the snorkeling there appears to not be as good as it used to be, due to a recent storm surge that reportedly knocked out a lot of the shallow corals. And since we were just there, we'd like to try somewhere else anyway.

I want shore snorkeling because I don't want to be tied to the set schedule, duration, and community of a boat (not to mention the added cost). I'd rather just hop in the water whenever, wherever, and for as long as I (and my buddy) want. We're not dive certified yet and won't be able to fit that in our budget till next year, so we're really just interested in snorkeling and hopefully starting to explore freediving.

Apart from ample shore snorkeling opportunities, the other things we're looking for are few people (the opposite of a hoppin' tourist destination), a pretty place, an overall inexpensive trip (might preclude St. John, for example), relatively few man-eating sharks ut:, and some other outdoorsy things to do, like some hiking or birdwatching. Bonaire sure fits that bill nicely, but it would be nice to see another place.

Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks!

My brother is not a diver and he and I travelled to Provodenciales in the Turks and Caicos. I enjoyed the diving and he throuroughly enjoyed the snorkelling. I have not snorkelled in many places but he has and he indicated that the snorkelling was plentiful and very good.

Check out Ambergris Caye, Belize. The reef is 5 minutes off the shore, and the snorkeling is out of this world. And that's not mentioning the cheap beer, white sand, palm trees, good wholesome food, ancient ruins, nurse sharks, golf carts, great shops, laid-back lifestyle, and super-nice people.


Matt

We are headed to Bonaire this week-end. Where did you stay? Where did you snokel? Did you post a trip report?

Please respond, if you have the time. Thanks!
-DD

Toe,
Tobago fits alot of your requirements.
I stayed in Charlotteville several years ago. One of the most wonderful relaxing places I've been. Snorkeling is excellent and bird watching, nature walking was great. Diving is not for the faint of heart but that's not on your list.
Its out of the way and therefore not overly touristed (not sure that's a word). Don't know your budget so not sure it would fit.
We just came back from Bonaire. We enjoyed it very much. But if it wasn't for the ease of Bonaire diving I'd be going back to Tobago.

Bob

Scuba Barbie once bubbled...
We are headed to Bonaire this week-end. Where did you stay? Where did you snokel? Did you post a trip report?

Click to expand...

Hi, Barbie. We stayed at Aqua Viva, which is across the street from the Eden resort. It was nice and inexpensive, though not up to our extremely picky standards of cleanliness. It also had some holes in the screens which resulted in our being eaten alive. We learned to apply huge amounts of mosquito repellant before going to sleep, which then resulted in our only being nibbled alive. Sigh.

No matter what you do, be sure to bring both mosquito repellant and sunscreen. Both cost a TON on Bonaire... like $15 or more. Even if you have the darkest, most tanned skin, you will need sunscreen, as this is the tropics and the sun there is much more intense than anything you may experience in milder climes.

Haven't posted a trip report as we didn't dive there (and this was our first time snorkeling anywhere, to be honest). We repeatedly snorkeled the wreck of a resort next to the Eden (just walked over there from our room). That was really nice. You can access it from the wrecked resort, or from Bongos beach bar (at the Eden). That's nice, since it's a nice beach and a nice beach bar. There's also a nice shallow ledge right off that beach. We saw some cool stuff at these places including an octopus, a flounder, and a 4' eel. The corals there seemed very young, so be extra careful not to damage.

We also drove up the coast and snorkeled 10,000 steps and Krahgwguyeuihwtyrhvcderhwi (or something like that). Both were quite nice, though visibility wasn't that great.

We kayaked to Klein Bonaire (to the hut... ask the kayak rental people; we used DiscoverBonaire) and snorkeled there. Visibility was awesome, and the corals were much bigger than anywhere else we saw. The water was cool, then had currents of much warmer water whipping around. And those warm currents were filled with big schools of various blue tang. That was awesome.

We also wanted to snorkel the sites in the Washington national park, but by the time we got to them, the ranger showed up and kicked us out. You have to leave that site around 4:00 to make it out of the park before it closes, and the rangers push you out. I think the snorkeling there would be awesome, so my advise would be to go there as early as possible so you can get there in time. Or go twice: once to see the many cool sites in the park, and again to see the waters around it.

Also next tme, we would probably sign up with DiscoverBonaire to both kayak and snorkel the mangroves. That's the only way you can do it, and I'm guessing it's worth it.

Other then that, all I can recommend (other than to emphasize the sunscreen and repellant) is to chill at Bongos and eat at the Lion's Den and at the pizza-by-the-slice place in the "mall" in town. Oh, and read up on the reports of theft on BonaireTalk. Don't leave anything valuable sitting around when you snorkel/dive, and if you have a car, leave it unlocked so they don't break the window to see what's inside.

Enjoy!

Thanks for all the recommendations so far. Keep 'em comin'!

I should also mention that in addition to shore snorkeling, we're into kayaking to good snorkeling spots, assuming there are available kayaks and they don't cost an arm and a leg.

As for budget, we are trying to fit everything (including airfare) under $1K per person from Washington, DC. We managed that to Bonaire, though that was the low season....

Thanks for all of this valuable information.

We definately want to kayak the mangroves. Sounds great.

Instead of renting a car, thought we might rent those little mopeds for a day of sight-seeing. Other than that we are going to dive the Calabas reef at the hotel or take the hotel dive boat. (We bought the hotel/dive package.)

-DD

Indeed, we only rented a truck for two days. We walked into town when we needed to, and walked to much of the snorkeling we did.

But just a couple warnings: If you want to go to the Washington park, you must have a 4-wheel vehicle with a spare tire. They won't let you in without one, and a truck is highly recommended. It is VERY rough roads with a lot of cactus needles everywhere. The park is very cool and there are a number of dive sites only accessable from inside the park. So just something to consider. When we rented the truck, we just asked are gracious host at Aqua Viva, and he called it in for us. Hertz came and picked me up to get the truck, then when we were done with it, they came and picked it up. At no extra charge.

The other warning is if you get a scooter to make sure it is secured anywhere you park it. They get stolen a lot, apparently. I don't know how to secure them, but at least be sure to ask about it from the people you rent it from.

Hope you have a blast (it's hard not to on Bonaire)!

There are some amazing shore snorkeling locations in grand cayman

Have a look at this link, there are loads of spots to hit on your own

Grand Cayman Offshore snorkeling Guide