Would appreciate any info about the snorkeling quality in Nevis, both off beach and day trips. I am thinking about Four Seasons as my location. Thank you for your help.

Diane, I believe Four Seasons is still closed.

I love Nevis, but it's not a great snorkeling location. Nisbet Plantation is a wonderful place to stay, and there is some snorkeling on the off shore reef, but it's kind of a hassle swimming out there. The water can be a little rough. There are day trips to the west coast of St. Kitts, but I would describe the snorkeling as fair at best (though the trip is fun). Nevis is a beautiful island, but not a good choice if one of your main goals is lots of snorkeling.

As lovely as Nevis is, good snorkeling is definitely not one of its many attributes. St. Kitts has decent snorkeling but I saw next to nothing of interest in the water on Nevis. Which is not to say it isn't a perfectly wonderful place. But its joys are above the water, not below.

I highly recommend going with Barbara Whitman at Under the Sea next on Oualie Beach. We did a trip with her a couple of years and it's outstanding. She snorkels with you and tells you great stories and also a great teacher.

The Four Seasons is closed until at least November. I would suggest any of the plantation inns, but my personal favorite is Montpelier with Nisbet a close second. Nisbet is the only plantation on the water, but Montpelier's service is second to none.

The others summed it up pretty well. The Four Seasons is closed and I wouldn't count on it opening anytime soon. FYI - the property is not owned by the Four Seasons they are only the management company. The bank has foreclosed on the property because the owner defaulted on the mortgage payments. The bank is trying to find a buyer for the property. There are also problems with insurance as the insurance underwriters will not insure the property unless major changes are done to prevent future losses due to storm surge. All this means it will be quite some time before the resort reopens.

As for snorkeling around Nevis - at it's best it is below average. The island lacks a comprehensive off-shore reef system so there isn't very much to see under the water. While you'll find some snorkeling around the man-made jettys at Nisbet Beach, by the man-made breakwaters at the Four Seasons' beach, along the rocks at the north ends of Oualie Beach and Tamarind Bay and along the artificial reef and a small natural reef at Herbert's Beach the truth is if all those spots were linked together as one continuous snorkel site you'd see all there was to see in less than an hour's worth of snorkeling. To put things more in perspective - in places like the BVI's it's common to see people walking along the beach carrying snorkel equipment - on Nevis that's a rare site indeed.

The best snorkeling you'll find in the area is at Shitten Bay off of St. Kitts but you shoul;d know on it's best days the snorkeling there is only "average". It's an area assessible only by boat - you can take a 1/2 day sail excursion on the catamaran Caona out of Oualie Beach.

like the others said, if snorkeling is a high priority for you then Nevis is not the place to visit.

RoamAround is 99.9% on the money. The only thing I might challenge is that Shitten Bay is average. I would say compared to even Nassau or the Abacos it is less than average . On a clear underwater visibility day you migh get 20-25ft.max. and I would call it barely fair snorkeling. But, snorkeling is not the only thing to do though I must admit the one time we went fishing we had no luck nor did other guests on two other outings. But, Nevis is lovely (lush) with very nice beaches, very friendly locals and we loved FS, though as said will likely open for high season '09, but Nisbet we enjoyed almost as much in 2005.

OK, I'll easily go along with StanKase's rating of the snorkeling at Shitten Bay as "fair". Whenever I've posted comments like that on this or other travel forums there's always someone who responds saying they think I'm being too harsh. Regardless of the rating system, snorkeling on Nevis (and St. Kitts) leaves a lot to be desired.

Thank you all for your input and advice. So sad about Four Seasons. It must be very difficult times for resort and tourism business

Four Seasons in Nevis has now reopened!! All of the hotels are offering half day or full day snorkeling trips to St. Kitt's, private or non. There is also a great day out to Cockleshell Bay, which has 3 excellent restaurants on the beach with reasonable prices, with snorkeling. It's not the best in the world but the water's warm and clear and lots of turtles now coming back.