ToujoursVoyager

Good morning,

I just came back from a trip from the Maldives with a friend (who had Marriott points to burn). One of my favorite things to do there was to snorkel right from our overwater villa. I usually travel with my daughters ( 8 and 5 year old), and I kept thinking how much they would enjoy this coral reef. So now I am on the hunt to find a place where they could do just that but in a location that is closer to home. We live in Florida.

What I am looking for:
1) In the Caribbean (research pointed to Belize, Turk and Caicos, Roatan; totally open to other location)
2) Best time of the year for clear turquoise water and no seaweed.
3) Able to swim to a coral reef from the shore. Small current ok. Not always being able to touch the ground ok. A place where life jackets are not mandatory so we can do some free diving with our snorkeling gear.
4) A specific address, the name of a beach on a caye, a resort or an airbnb. Ideally less than 200$ a day.

What I am not looking for:
1) a high end resort; we don't even need AC, but ok if there. If you booked high end with points (Hilton, Marriotts, Hyatt) end loved your stay, please let us know.
2) all inclusive ok but not a must. We are ok with peanut butter sandwiches, fruits and yogurt coupled with eating out.
3) busy noisy beach with jet skis, multiple boats
4) trash on the beach
5) A reef only accessible by doing an excursion

Do you know such a place? I will peruse through the old trip reports.

Thank you for reading and helping if you can.

J.

Tdiddy12

Hi ToujoursVoyager -
We have snorkeled right off the shore in Roatan. In my limited experience I think it's the best place. We have snorkeled in Hawaii, Mexico, Belize, St.Marteen, St. Johns to name a few but Roatan excels. First of all from Miami it's a straight flight. If you stay in West Bay you can snorkel off the shore although it is probably 100 yards out to the big part of the reef you start seeing things closer in.