Snorkeling In Close Proximity to Hotel
 

My future husband and I are looking for a resort/hotel to have our wedding/honeymoon. We were thinking about an all-inclusive but it's not a mandatory stipulation. The most important thing we are looking for is a hotel on the beach that offers good snorkeling right outside. We really love to snorkel and would like to be able to just take a short walk to the beach and snorkel when we aren't doing other activities. We are looking anywhere in the Caribbean aside from MEXICO or Martinique. We won't travel to Mexico and didn't care much for Martinique when we went. Any suggestions? As for price, we don't like to spend a ton of money but we may increase our budget because it's a special occasion! :)

Why won't you travel to Mexico? There was snorkelling right outside our hotel in Cozumel, although it was not a beach since snorkelling requires rocks which the fish like to hide amongst. I've never understood the reluctance to go to Mexico, especially on the grounds of "safety".

It's always better if you give an actual dollar budget range - we have no idea what a "ton of money' means to you.

So, without knowing your budget - look at Caneel Bay Resort on St. John - it's not in the BVI's (as per your tag) but it's just a stone's throw from Tortola (the largest island in the BVI's). The resort has 7 beaches with some of the best walk-in snorkeling in the USVI's.

Also look at Mango Bay Resort on Virgin Gorda (BVI's). It's on Mahoe bay, a 3/4 mile long beach with a fantastic "double reef system" that begins just 50' or so off-shore and runs the entire length of the bay.

Neither of these resorts is All inclusive but Caneel Bay does have a Meal Plan.

There are many places on Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman where you can snorkel from shore. Right next to the Westin is Govenor's Beach where you can snorkel from the shore.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I will be looking into all of them. My SO is very, very hesitant about (and by very hesitant I mean "totally against") going places that have a significant history of violence against Americans.... which includes Mexico. It took about a year of begging/pleading to get him to go to South Africa with me. That being said, we stayed away from the city and encountered no issues. I have luckily changed his opinion of South Africa. I have been trying to convince him on Costa Rica, Belize and the Honduras but he is still putting his foot down. Mexico is just somewhere I really have no desire to be either. We just got back from the Caribbean and really enjoyed it. As for our budget... we did 10 days in South Africa with round trip flight, safari, great white cage dive, all meals, etc for under $5.5k total. We could probably spend about $10k total on this (but would like it to be a 2-week or so endeavor) because it will be such a special occasion. I have heard great things about St. John and we really enjoyed St. Thomas and St. Croix.

Oh, and I tried to tag a ton of places and it only let me tag 5, that's why USVI wasn't included in the tags.

Perhaps you might want to take a look at this...
http://howsafeismexico.com/

Sorry, but unfortunately, you have been fooled by the media hype, and possibly will be crossing a great destination off your list due to (MIS)information.

Not going to Mexico due to "significant history of violence against Americans" is just a false statement. Would you not go to Miami due to some issues in Boston? That's what you are doing in this case.

Just trying to inform the people who have been terribly mislead by our useless media.

I'm not 100% against Mexico, I would probably do a cruise that stops in Mexico but that's about it. I understand your point of view but unfortunately even if you swayed me, you wouldn't sway my other half. He's set in his ways and we are looking for a Caribbean island in this particular instance.

hellobethie...I think that is sad, but I understand. I used to think the same thing about Mexico until I tried it. I fely silly after visiting there when I discovered how unwarranted all the warnings are about Mexico. Trust me, there are places in the Caribbean that are far worse that the Riviera Maya.

Try looking at Grand Cayman. Plenty of great hotels & condos (best deal) along Seven Mile Beach that have fantastic off beach snorkeling if you are in the right areas.

I would also throw in a vote for St John. You won't find any AIs there, but some of the most beautiful beaches anywhere, and some amazing off beach snorkeling. The difference is that unless you stay at Caneel Bay which is very pricey, you will be taking a rental jeep to all the great beaches daily. By far one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean.

Both Bonaire and Curacao have wonderful snorkeling and you would will be close to beaches with snorkeling at most of hotels / condos.

And we got married on Grand Cayman and snorkeled and dived there. Provo also has some nice snorkeling and lots of nice hotels / condos although only Beaches is all inclusive I believe.

Grand Cayman and St. John are both great, personally I would pick St. John. Here is a great site I found that reviews snorkeling on both islands, as an avid snorkeler I found it very helpful and loved the photos and the videos to help in making a decision.

http://blog.sunplay.com/category/snorkeling-2/

Look at Virgin Gorda in the BVI's- maybe Little Dix Bay.

Look at The WIndsong Resort in Provo, Turks and Caicos. It's just in back of CORAL GARDENS, one of the prime snorkeling spots in Provo.

For a higher-end hotel, look at The West Bay Club ( quiet, wide section of Grace Bay Beach is just in front of the hotel), which is only a 10 minute walk from CORAL GARDENS.

I'm looking at The Buccaneer on St Croix. It looks great. Good prices, which include a full breakfast. Snorkeling looks awesome, and Buck Island national park is an easy excursion.

Not sure you'll find the snorkeling "awesome" at the Buccaneer. Buck island is nice, and the snorkeling there was nice, but I thought snorkeling on St John & Grand Cayman was much better.

We are booked at the Buccaneer. It offers everything we want, and its service is raved about. They have been extremely responsive and helpful via e-mail. They discounted the room rate even more than 20% off on-line.

I'll write a trip report in June about our experience there.

The only problem with your question is finding an AI hotel with walk in snorkeling from your hotel. I'm not sure it really exists in other places beside Mexico. Recommendations of Grand Cayman, St. John and Turks & Caicos are good for the snorkeling, but you are not going to find AI resorts on those Islands for a honeymoon if at all. If you take out that option, then Grand Cayman will be your best choice.

The Akumal Beach Resort in the Maya Riveria of Mexico has the best walk in resort snorkeling. Many tour companies sells excursions for people to go there to swim with the turtles. We are headed to Puerto Morelos, MX next month. This will be our 10th trip to the area since 2000. There is a reef right off the resorts in that area. I have been to Cozumel many times and found good resort snorkeling there. Cozumel has a lot of iron shore, but that is what makes the snorkeling good.

I'm not going to go into the fact that Mexico is safe. Actually, it's safer than my own backyard. That issue has been beat to death on these forums far too many times. You are missing a fabulous destination by listening and actually believing the news media hype. But, that's OK. As long as people keep believing that bull and not going, it leaves the prices low for me so I can continue to go. Really, to each their own because I felt safer in Mexico than I did in St. Thomas, St. Croix or Jamaica. Destinations, I would not return to.

KVR- curious where you are staying in Puerto Morelos? We went there on a day trip from Punta Bete about 10 years ago when it was just a pretty little town that did not have any real resorts- just a few condos and some nice beachfront houses. I liked the area and would be interested in which of the new places is a good find- you know so much about Mexico that I trust your advice.
Thanks!