Roy Walker

Where is the best snorkeling? We're going to the East Caribbean ports of San Jaun, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau.

Pam

Take the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John and go to Cinnamon Bay. It is right next to Trunk Bay, less crowded and doesn't charge admission. Snorkeling is great and the bay is beautiful.

Carl

Follow Pam's advice. Cinnamon Bay is great and you may have it to yourself. Trunk Bay is OK but can be crowded especially on the Excursion from the boat. Just take a Taxi from where the ferry docks in St John and go. Be sure to arrange a time for the driver to pick you up. I've been to all the other places and while the snorkeling was good in St Maarten and Nassau, The Virgin islands were better.

stephanie

Regarding taking a taxi to the beaches - how do you assure a taxi pick-up at the time you need it in order to return to St. Thomas & catch a cruise ship before it leaves port? Do you ask the taxi driver who took you to the beach to return later and pick you up? And how can you feel sure that they really will return?

Carl

Hi-- <BR>Regarding Taxi's and beaches. The 1st time we took a taxi to the beach was in St John and the Driver was the one who asked when we wanted to be picked up. Since then we've always asked the driver before getting into his taxi if he could pick us up at a certain time. If he hesitates at all we move down the line and get another cab. We've done this whether we went to the beach or to an attraction, in the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, and only once was the taxi late. Some Beaches are so popular that there are Taxi's already available there, just know beforehand if your going to a secluded spot or not. (the shore excursion office will know) If you're still concerned if you'll get picked up or not try this method. Take a $10 or $20 bill and rip it in half and give 1 piece to the driver and you keep the other. Then tell him he gets the other half as a bonus if he picks you up on time. I've never done this but I've run into travelers who did. Also I leave early enough to have plenty of time to get back to the ship (at least 2 hours) in case something goes wrong which hasn't yet.

kpinn

Hi Roy:We were snorkling at Trunk Bay in St. John this past April. It would have been a real disappointing snorkling trip except for a very smart young tourist. She had brought a ziploc bag full of fish food with her. Until we came upon her we had seen very little marine life. Once she brought out the fish food it was like being in the middle of an aquarium. Also at Trunk Bay they rent equipment for only $4.00 for the Day, half the price as the ships. We took the ship sponsored excursion to Trunk Bay which included a tour of St. John. The Taxi driver that was suppose to pick us up at the dock in St.Thomas to drive us to the ship was very late, it was a relief to see the guide on his walky talky knowing he was in communication with our ship. The ships will wait for ship sponsored trips to return to the dock. We made it in time but I know that if we were on our own and this happened it may have been a disaster. Another idea for you, we rented a car in St. Maarten and really enjoyed touring on our own. It is a very small island and is very easy to explore. I probably would not do this on many other islands (except Barbados which is also easy on your own!). Karen