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Snorkeling

Grand Bahama Island

East End Adventures (Freeport. 242/373-6662. www.bahamasecotours.com) takes you on a Blue Hole Snorkeling Safari that includes a 55-mi jeep ride and a powerboat jaunt. The six-hour (10-4) excursion is $85 for adults. Snacks and drinks are included.

Old Bahama Bay (West End. 242/350-6500) rents snorkel equipment and has mapped out a series of seven snorkeling trails to reefs and wrecks in waters 5-15 feet deep.

Paradise Cove (Deadman's Reef. www.deadmansreef.com. 242/349-2677) allows you to snorkel right offshore at Deadman's Reef, a two-system reef with water ranging from very shallow to 35 feet deep. It's considered the island's best spot for snorkeling off the beach -- you're likely to see lots of angelfish, barracudas, rays, and the occasional sea turtle. Bus tours deliver you to the spot or you can stay at one of the cottages. Its Red Bar is a popular gathering place for water-sports enthusiasts. There is an access fee of $3 per person; snorkel equipment rentals are available for $10 a day, $5 an hour extra for wet suits or floatation belts. Try the new battery-operated Seascooters, which pull you through the water, for $15 an hour. For $35, a snorkel tour includes a briefing, narrated transportation, equipment, and lunch. It's a great deal, especially if you go early and stay late.

Paradise Watersports (Island Seas Resort, Freeport. 242/373-4001) offers a 90-minute reef snorkeling cruise ($35).

Pat & Diane Fantasia Tours (Port Lucaya Resort. 242/373-8681 or 888/275-3603. www.snorkelingbahamas.com) takes snorkelers to a shallow reef two times a day on cruises aboard a fun-boat catamaran with a 30-foot rock-climbing wall and slides into the water. The fee is $40 for the two-hour trip.