My husband and I want to take a trip in Feb. or March 2006. We love to snorkel. We have been to Bonaire 4 times and love it, but would like to try someplace new. Any suggestions? We really prefer beach access to the reef. Also has there been a lot of reef damage from this season's hurricanes?

There've been a number of posts on this board on your topic. I think you'll get plenty of good info if you do a search. We've been to Bonaire once-- didn't enjoy it as much as St John (or even Cayman, tho Cayman is not an attractive island).

Hello Kittykat! I canht help but recommend St. John. Make sure you snorkle Hawksnest and absolutely yoiu must snorkle Leinster Bay on the East end of St. John. You may need to rent a boat forLeinster because there is a rock off thw shore where all the fish and sea turtles are but it is worth it. Dont wear any thing that camn reflect the sun though because that attracts barracudas. If you dont wear anything shiny they will ignore you so dont worry and haver fun. Leinster is my favorite snorkeling period.

We have been to all the islands and so far St John is the best place to snorkel for us. Rent a jeep and explore the island. 39 beaches that I know of. Order the book St John feet,fins & four wheel drive by Pam Gaffin. Good restaurants, good shopping, great beaches and nice people. You are very close to the BVI and you can do more snorkeling.
Check it out. It's paradise.
Good luck and have fun where ever you go.

kitty,
We enjoyed St John.

The best snorkeling spots for us were Waterlemon Bay (also known as Leinster bay),Waterlemon Cay is said to be the best but the day we went..we did not see much,Francis Bay..we saw seaturtles and angelfish and a ton of other fish,Hawksnest bay,Gibney bay,and I have also heard that the snorkeling is great on the South shore at Lameshur bay,Haulover bay and we enjoyed Salt Pond bay also.
Good luck!!
Christie

One of our favorite snorkeling spots is at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cozumel..nice hotel with fabulous snorkeling at its' own beach. Try a search on this board for more info.

Check out this site for good information and pictures of the Barcelo Maya resort on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. It has good on site snorkeling on one of the best beaches in the area.
http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/
8-)

Hello christie!! Leinster Bay in St. John is an awesome place to snorkle isnt it!! I didnt know they also called it watermelon Bay but I love to snorkle Leinster. I made friends friends with some sea turtles there masny times!!!!

caribedon,
It is Leinster Bay but the cove part near Waterlemon Cay (the island)is called Waterlemon Bay..further out is Leinster.I did not know this until we got a detailed map of St John and it had the names of all the little bays on it.

We saw some stingrays and turtles there..but when we went to Waterlemon Cay..we did not see a whole lot.It must have been a bad day for us because I have heard that the Cay is one of the best snorkeling spots on St John.A couple that stayed in the hotel that we stayed at saw hundreds of starfish near the cay..we missed them, so it must be a luck thing!

Christie

I too love snorkeling and try to find places to shore snorkel. The best I've come across is Roatan, in the Bay Islands of Honduras. All round a wonderful island and fantastic snorkeling right off one of the finest beaches you'll find. I thought Bonaire had great variety of sea life but that was ten years ago. I've read some of the reefs have been decimated. The out islands on the Belize reef are great too but you have to enjoy the seclusion. Akumal, Mexico is good but haven't heard how the reefs fared after the hurricanes of this past season. I leave for St. John this weekend and look forward to a wonderful week of underwater exploring. I hope it can come close or even beat Roatan but I'm not betting on it. Check out the Bay Islands.

I'll add a vote for St John. By far the best and most easily accessible snorkling we've encountered in the Caribbean.

Christie, I think the starfish at Waterlemon are hit or miss...we've always had great snorkling there, but sometimes 100's of starfish are there, and sometimes none. It's really cool when they are there! When are you going back? We'll be there in May.

Have visited about a dozen Caribbean islands, including Bonaire and all three of the Cayman Islands. Bonaire has been the best I've seen for snorkeling but St. John comes pretty close.........and it's a much prettier island.