Snorkelling
 

Does anyone know of a resort in the Caribbean with good live coral and lots of fish right in front of a resort? I'm tired of paying for boat rides that only offer an hour or two of snorkelling.

I wish the sails offered more time for snorkeling, too.

From what I've read, Caneel Bay on St. John offers a full resort atmosphere with good snorkeling from more than one beach.

Coral Gardens, more of a condo-type place than a resort, on Provo in the T&C islands has good snorkeling from its beach.

The snorkeling from the shore at Anse Chastenet, Ti Kaye Village, and Jalousie Hilton on St. Lucia is pretty good.

Grand Cayman is supposed to have good snorkeling from the shore in various places on 7 Mile Beach and near the Reef Resort on the east end.

The British Virgin Islands have very good snorkeling from shore. Various beaches on various islands.

Of the above, I've experienced only Jalousie Hilton and Guana Island in the BVI. I found both to be colorful and teeming with life. Hope you find a place that suits you so you can snorkel to your heart's content.

In addition to Caneel on St. John you could rent a villa and drive to the numerous shore snorkeling sites. The island is not that large and access to the sites is mostly very easy.

Another island with excellent shore snorkeling, although totally different above the water, is Bonaire. Great site to research Bonaire:

http://www.bonairetalk.com/

Intercontinental Presidente, Cozumel

I would second many of the prior listings:

Bonaire has the most off shore sites of any island. So in addition to right in front of any hotel, there are dozens of other shore sites, minutes away by car. We often did 5-6 sites a day, each different and very alive. The thing about Bonaire is that water sports is about all there is do, so if want night life or such your out of luck.

We found that Virgin Gorda in The BVI to be great for shore snorkeling as well, with a bit more variety above the water. Guana, as mentioned has great snorkeling, jst not as many sites as VG.

In Cozumel, The Intercontinental is the best snorkeling on the entire island.

Caneel has about five beaches to snorkel from, but a villa seems to be the more popular way to go. St John has some tremendous sites, all reachable by car.

Have not been to St Lucia. We heard it was good, but some people have commented that it tends be very windy there.

In Cozumel The Intercontinental has good snorkeling, its true -- but The Coral Princess also has an amazing coral wall right in front of the resort. Your kids can snorkel and you can keep an eye on them while having a beach massage. Now that is heaven!

Bonaire is by far the best for not only shore access but fish/coral diversity, water clarity. There are over 50 sites accessible, all you need is a rental car. The best I have done was Karpata, amazing huge area in which you snorkel right along with the divers...however to a limit (the drop off).

Coral Gardens, Provo, Turks & Caicos, is directly in front of a coral reef. You can easily walk right in (sandy bottom) and start snorkeling.

We love Grand Cayman. The beaches are all open and there is a whole lot of snorkeling from shore. We stay on the Northside and it is just a short swim to the reef.

Eden Rock is gorgeous.

Coral Gardens is excellent, yes walk right in put your face in the water and an underwater city abounds....quite impressive. However the only thing about that is that its the only snorkeling site really on Grace Bay, for the most part its a sandy bottom. Its a truly excellent beach and for swimming exellent as well. I cannot say anything bad about Providicialies! Loved it! In contrast if you do want serious snorkeling I highly recommend Bonaire, over 50 sites shore accessible...however there are no real beaches there its pretty much rocky coast and the few "beaches" are grainy somewhat sandy but to marbel sized coral bits. Not a beach destination. The restaurants are excellent and there is a level of crime there. Happy travels.