white beach & snorkeling
 

Help! Our family - 2 14 yrs old girls, mom and dad - would like to go to the whitest beach area in the Caribbean that also has great snorkeling. Been to Maui; loved it, but looking for soft, white beaches and clear waters. Thanks!

Forst you should realize that in the Caribbean you'll find the whites sand on the flat coral based islands. These are normally very arid and have little natural vegetation. That being sais, the Caribbean island with best combination of the "whitest sand" beach and "great" snorkeling is Anegada in the BVI's. It offers miles of powder white beaches and fantastic snorkeling along the extensive reef system that surronds the island. It is however, very difficult to get to and there is little on the island besides two small motels, two restaurants and a handful of rental cottages.

Anguilla has 35 fabulous white sand beaches (not quite as white as Anegada) but only two or three beaches offer decent off-beach snorkeling. The island has plenty of hotel and resort accomodations (three of which are quite upscale and among the best in the Caribbean. In addition the island boasts over 80 restaurants. All in all it is a terrific island for those seeking beautiful beaches, gin clear tourquoise blue waters, fine restaurants and above average resort accomodations and loads of rental villas. All this comes with a price tag though as Anguilla can be expensive.

For a good combination of smaller "light golden" sand beaches, excellent off-beach snorkeling (among the best in the Caribbean), a variety of restaurants and accomodations consider either St. John (USVI's) or Virgin Gorda (BVI's). These islands will give you a more tropical feel with lots of natural vegetation, a mountainous interior and plenty of flora and fauna.

Don't get hung up on "white" sand because if you do you'll miss out on some really beautiful beaches. Good luck picking your island.

Provo, Turks and Caicos
Isla Mujeres, Mexico

look into Coral Gardens Resort in Turks and Caicos. You can snorkel right of the beach there. The sand doesn't get any whiter, the water any clearer than there!!!

I agree with the blamona. Coral Gardens, Provo, Turks & Caicos. We were there for two weeks in June. We went snorkeling everyday. To see it on line go to www.coralgardens.com.

The north shore of St.John has what you are looking for. A very pretty island, beaches with warmer water than Maui, and the beaches/snorkeling superior to anything you experienced in Maui. Caneel Bay Resort is paradise on earth. The rooms are scattered about 170 acres and 7 tree shaded white sand beaches and wade-in snorkeling. You can stay in rooms where your patio or balcony will be on the sand, maybe 30 feet from the water.

Another vote for Provo, T&C. Never stayed at Coral Gardens but we snorkeled there just about every day on our vacation last year. It is great.

I'm curious. I would love to visit T&C in early Dec but how is the water temp? Seems chilly to snorkel but would love to know so I can add to my list.

newyorkergal,

try http://www.provo.net/Weather.html

according to the website

"Ocean water temperatures at the surface are between 82°F to 78°F in the winter months, perfect for swimming and snorkelling, ranging higher in the summer months from 82°F to 86°F."

Another vote for Turks and Caicos. Have been there 3 times,all the first week in February and the water is wonderful.White powder sand and the clearest turquoise water you can imagine.

St. John without a doubt. Some of the most beautiful beaches and they looked pretty white to me.

Hello Luda13. If I were you I would go to Anguilla and for sugar sand go to SHOAL BAY EAST and stay at the ALLAMANDA BEACH CLUB. Beautiful place right on Shoal Bay East with a gourmet restaurant and outdoor BBQ grill with good live music. I dont have the number but go to allamandabeachclub/Anguilla on the net and you will find it there. You can get a wonderfuyl room there for less than $150 per night.

St John. The snorkeling is awsome

while Anguilla is one of my favorite islands, it doesn't have the best snorkeling.
Stick to Turks and Caicos, or St. John's. Turks has the whiter sand and clearer water, St. John's is overall more scenic. Both have great snorkeling.

I would suggest St. John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, or Jost Van Dyke for nearly-white sand beaches with very good to excellent snorkelling. My list is in descending order of nightlife &being touristy. Staying in the BVI (of which the last three on the list are a part) enables you to island hop with ease and make daytrips to wodnerful snorkel spots. You can island hop from St. John, but the BVI offer a greater ease of accessibility.

All of these islands are somewhat mountainous and fairly lush, which makes for a lovely variety of scenery inland, as opposed to the coral based islands that are fairly flat and relatively unappealing from a purely aesthetic point of view.

Soft, white sand beaches and excellent snorkeling sounds just like the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman has absolutely beautiful (large) beaches and fanstastic snorkeling all around the island.