off beach snorkeling at christmas
 

My family is looking for a nice place during Christmas vacacions where we can snorkel from the beach. I am afraid that southern Caribean would not be good for snorkeling during this time of the year, because of dirthy water. The best for us 5 would be a simple vila or condo near the sea.

When asking questions about where to go or where to stay it is always helpful to give us an idea of your actual budget for airfare, accommodations and food. Try to give a specific dollar value as terms like "affordable", "not too expensive", etc. are meaningless without a point of reference. Tell us too where you are flying from and how many and ages of the people in your "family".

Now Christmas in the Caribbean is one of the busiest and most expensive times in the Caribbean. Expect to see the highest room rates of the year and many places will have minimum stay requirements. Lastly, if you are planning the trip for Christmas 2012 don't wait too long to make your flight and room reservations as flight fill up quickly and many rental condos, villas and resorts are booked a year in advance so right now your selections may be somewhat limited.

Now for some suggestions on where to look:

Check out rental villas on Mahoe Bay, Virgin Gorda (BVI's) - great beach with very good snorkeling just 100 feet off shore.

Also look at "condo resorts" on Grace Bay on Providenciales's in the Turks & Caicos - fantastic 11 mile long white sand beach with a few near shore reefs for snorkeling.

Check out Little Dix Bay on St. John (USVI's) terrific resort with 7 private beaches and very good snorkeling.

Thee are many other places but need your budget to make meaningful suggestions.

I think RoamsAround is thinking about Caneel Bay on St John, owned by Rosewood as is Little Dix on Virgin Gorda. ;-)

I am not sure what you mean by "dirty water" in the southern Caribbean. They do tend to have darker sand beaches because of the volcanic nature of the islands,but the water is clear. But I do agree the the Virgin Islands have the nicest snorkeling.

eastenderusvi is right - I meant Caneel Bay on St. john - sorry for the brain fade.

look at condos on seven mile beach on grand cayman. gc has very good walkin snorkeling. good grocery stores & plenty of dining options.

water in southern caribbean is not dirty in december & will have warmest air & water temps.

The ewaters in T&C can be far to chilly for snorkeling arouind Christmas. It's a risk.

Thank you for your generous replies.
we are looking for something not luxuous, kind of middle range.
Starting from Canada.
Dont you think that Turk and Caicos would be cold at Christmas?
I went in Venezuela at christmas 2009. The rainy season was not over and I could not snorkel because of high turbidity. That is why I ask this question.
I was looking for something south of Cuba and north of the Antilles.

You do realize "the Antilles" is a general term for all the islands in the Caribbean from Cuba in the north to islands off the coast of Venezuela in the south. So, there is nothing that meets your parameters of being "south of Cuba and north of the Antilles".

Perhaps you meant south of Cuba and north of the "Lesser Antilles". or what are known as the Greater Antilles. If so, than you'll have to confine your search to Hispaniola (The Dominican Republic and Haiti), Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands. All the other Caribbean islands make up the Lesser Antilles.

So, we need further clarification from yours to what area in "The Antilles" you want to visit.

Also, it would be helpful if you gave us an actual dollar range for your accommodations budget rather than use nebulous terms like "not luxurious" and "kind of middle range" as they can mean different things to different people.

Although not much for beaches, the walk in snorkeling in Bonaire is wonderful. Lovely ocean front condos aren't terribly expensive either. Lots of wonderful restaurants.

We're heading back in December, two weeks this time......