snorkelling help

[munkispank]

Ok- heres the situation: I would like somewhere to take my mother for her 60th birthday in May. She has never been snorkelling before, and would be better suited to somewhere that we can snorkel from the shore.
I am interested in anywhere caribbean except Bonaire- (I would not be able to control my self not to dive all the time and my mother would be on her own!!!!)

so if anyone has any experiences of anywhere- please let me know. I was hoping for somewhere reasonably priced with maybe an all-inc element, although that is not important. But no- where that would be too tempting for me to dive.

thanks in advance

jackie

[BIGSAGE136]

Look into the resorts around Nassau. There are 2 that offer all inclusive packages that might just fit your bill. They both have other caribbean destinations in case you want to check out something else like Jamaica. Mom can go snorkeling and just in case it does'nt rock her boat there will be a number of other adventures that will suit her and free you up for your own particular passions.

[munkispank]

tahnks for the Bahamas suggestion- is there shore snorkelling there- I guess so.

I have also been looking into the dominican republic- does anyone know if there is snorekelling from the shore there?

And is there anything in Grand cayman- I snorkelled there from shore, but it was a bit far out- and a bit too deep to see anything-

any other suggestions???

[crispos]

You need to be careful with your Mother snorkeling first time in open water. Take her to the pool and have an Instructor teach her first. Then choose a place which has tranquil waters during the time you are going.

I lived in Nassau one winter, and it blows pretty hard in December as it does in much of the Caribbean. So even though you can snorkel off Cable Beach or Paradise Island to some of the inner reef heads in shallow water, or take a boat out to Balmoral Island, weather is a factor. Where are you coming from? Getting flights could be an issue.

[munkispank]

thanks for the ideas- I am planning on doing some preparation with mom in my local area and hopefully that will be enough. I want to keep her shallow for the first couple of times- then move up from there is she is comfortable.

I will br flying from Florida, so the carrib is failry easy to get to.

[mchiapetto]

I think you would find that Anguilla fits your requrements perfectly. Lots of beautiful beaches with easy beach access to wonderful snorkeling. No current. Slow pace.

The restaurants on the island are fabulous. I would avoid getting an all inclusive as there are too many good places to try.

And you are only a 30 minute ferry ride from St Martin if you want to get a little French flavor and maybe do some shopping.

Diving is OK on Anguilla so you should be able to resist the temptation.

We did two snorkeling trips to Anguilla and seeing the life under the water is what interested us in learning to dive. So now all our trips are diving related. But we found Anguilla to be a great place to get introduced to snorkeling.