Good snorkeling from the Shore?
 

Our families (children ages 8-12) are planning a Caribbean or Mexican trip to an all-inclusive in January. We've had a hard time finding a place with great ratings and calm enough waters for the kids to snorkel and do the water activities right from the beach. Any suggestions? What parts of which islands are better for calmer waters, but lots of cool sealife?


(We love what we've read about the Iberostar Paraiso Lindo in the Mayan Riviera, but we are afraid the water will be too rough after reading other messages...)

THANKS!

You will love the Yucatan Peninsula. There is a lot to do.

* You can take the ferry from Playa del Carmen (30 min) to Cozumel and spend the day snorkeling and visiting.
* You can take a taxi to Akumal and spend the day snorkeling from the beach there.
* There is also a great cenote in Akumal called Yal Kul Lagoon. Great place to snorkel. $5 to get in...stay for as long as you want.
* Go to one of the snorkel parks. We went to Xcaret. But go early. It gets quite crowded.

Have fun. Great place.

Peace, Greenie

St John and Grand Cayman ... great options for snorkeling righr from shore

Presidente Intercontinental - Cozumel
Mango Bay - Virgin Gorda
Anse Chastanet - St Lucia
Akumal - Half Moon Bay or Yalku Lagoon

I've stayed at Beaches at Turks/Caicos - a very family friendly resort. If you walk about 1/4 mile up the beach there's great snorkelling right from shore. The resort itself was great, though not a lot of night life. Beaches is also all inclusive, so might end up cheaper in the long run.

Ping:
We did the Riveria Maya thing and also went to Cozumel in July. We traveled with our three kids...all snorkeling enthusiasts. We found the snorkeling from the shore was the pits. Beautiful sandy beaches...calm water for swimming & relaxing, but too calm and sandy for snorkeling. There was one place...I think it was called Half Moon Bay near Akumal. Nice, but truthfully, I'd seriously think about snorkeling in Maui....you can get some great flights....great motels with breaksfast meal plans...or go the condo route so you can eat on the beach. We found that there was great snorkeling in Cozumel, but one still had to take a boat off shore. It might be worth checking in to.... Good luck!

Aruba- Baby beach and an all inclusive day trip to De Palm island from your resort are both fabulous off shore snorkeling.

Just returned from a wonderful time in St. Lucia. Stayed at Windjammer Landing-lots of families there and I think it has everything you are looking for although the snorkelling is not the best on the island. But lots of water activities, great staff and food and a very nice laidback ambiance.