Best Cruise ship island for snorkeling?
 

Hello. We will be visiting St. Thomas, Tortola, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbados in March. We can't do an excursion on all of these islands, especially those $100 catamaran/snorkel excursions. So we want to do only the ones that will have the most beautiful coral and fish. I think we're going to do the Baths (Virgin Gorda) for sure, as we've been there and loved it. All the other islands are up for grabs. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

None of the islands you are visiting are outstanding for any kind of snorkelling. For your St Thomas stop, if there is a trip that takes you to St. John that might be worthwhile. Barbados would be a distant second.

On St. Thomas you can take the ferry to St. John, then take cab to a beach. Some of my favorite snorkeling beaches on St. John that would be easy to take a cab to and from are Caneel, Honeymoon (you can walk there from Caneel), and Cinnamon. Most cruise shippers will go to Trunk, which also has good snorkeling, but I prefer the less crowded beaches.

In Virgin Gorda the Baths are great, but if you want to go snorkeling, Spring Bay and Mountain Trunk were also nice.

In Barbados, I'd recommend the snorkel with the turtles for your one Catamaran Snorkel.

I have been to Antigua, but did not snorkel there, so I can't comment. And I haven't been to St. Lucia (though it's high on my list!)

I don't know that I would classify this as the most beautiful coral and fish, but Secret Harbor on St. Thomas has nice snorkeling right from shore in a protected cove. The beach is pretty and I think you can rent a chair and towels for the day. I'd call them to double check 800-524-2250. The outdoor restaurant there is very good as well. It's at the far end of St. Thomas near the ferry to St. John but it is quicker and easier to taxi there than ferrying to St. John and then having to take a taxi from town to a snorkeling beach with limited hours in port.

I have to agree with the posters above about St. Thomas & St. John.

If you have enough time St. John has fantastic snorkeling. Trunk & Cinnamon are great, but with a limited amt. of time I would cab it to Caneel Bay. Their main beach has wonderful snorkeling plus a good outdoor restaurant for lunch. It's somewhat quiet(not jammed with cruisers like Trunk). Have the driver stop on the hill overlooking Trunk for that stunning view you see so often. In the many times we have been to St. John our favorite days have been spent at Caneel Bay. BTW, the lunch may be a bit expensive, but well worth it especially if you count in your day on the beach. When you stop at the guard house you tell them that you're having lunch and there will be no problem getting in.

If you wish to stay on St. Thomas, Secret Harbor is one of the best walk-in snorkeling spots we have been to in our 20+ trips to the islands. We saw many more fish, octpus, etc. than Virgin Gorda, although we did like The Baths for the structure itself. They also have a good beach bar and a very good restaurant at Secret Harbor.

In taking a cab to these places you will save a lot of money. It's very doable.

IMO,Antigua has some very nice beaches, but in 2 trips we never did find great snorkeling. Same for St. Lucia.

Barbados and the turtles are fun---You definitely will see huge turtles. Take a tour boat, "Cool Rinnings" is a good one, very nice people.