lovetotravel2

We're trying to decide on our next vacation destination for Spring 2004. We just returned from a Caribbean cruise and my daughter LOVED the snorkeling in Belize (even with the sting rays). Do you have any favorite snorkeling spots for Spring for a family?

LPOWMAC

We too had been on cruises (kind of like a buffet of islands)! Our last vacation, however, we chose one island... St. Thomas. While St. Thomas is a lovely island, St. John (a 20 minute ferry ride away) is the most magnificent place we've ever seen! The snorkeling was fantastic... we swam with stingrays, a sea turtle, all kinds of spectacular fish. We plan on going back next spring/summer, but instead of staying on St. Thomas, we'll be staying on St. John... it is truly paradise!

lovetotravel2

Where would you suggest a family stay on St. John? I assume food and lodging is very expensive there. Is it as pricey as Hawaii? We live in California so airfare will be high too.

Diana

Best snorkeling I've seen:

Cozumel, Mexico
Provo, Turks and Caicos
Akumal, Mexico
Various islands, BVI's

elston

Stepping into the water at the beach at the Anse Chastanet Hotel in St. Lucia was like being plunked into an aquarium. Our son was about 10 years old when we stayed there several years ago and he spent hours snorkeling happily in shallow water. He also did well in deep water when we took the hotel run excursions to interesting snorkeling spots nearby.

dfrostnh

We have camped several times at Maho Bay on St John. It's considered luxury camping. The tents are canvas covered wood framed on wooden decks and come complete with all the gear and furniture. You can bring your own food. There's a propane stove and ice chest. There are condo-like eco cabins higher on the hill but it's a steep hike. You have the option of eating breakfast and dinner in an open air pavilion. It wasn't too expensive and was served cafeteria style. You can snorkle from the beach so it's a great for beginners. It's still camping so there are public restrooms and showers. The views are spectacular and a shuttle bus system gives you access to most of the island. You can hike to other beaches or go by shuttle. Check out their website for current rates. Families seem to really enjoy the place and kids make friends with each other. We usually packed a lunch and explored a different beach every other day. There are usually trips over to Tortola or, as the other poster mentioned, it's a short inexpensive ferry ride to St Thomas.

JMM

Provo - the Whitehouse reef in front of the Coral Gardens resort - the fish and bits of Coral start appearing in waist deep water and just get better the further out you go. If you are lucky you might see a turtle in the the turle grass nearby.

Owen_ONeill

Cozumel - in many places there's good snorkeling just offshor from the hotels (typically a rocky shoreline - few real beaches). There are also a few "beach clubs" or parks like Dzul Ha or Chankanaab that offer excellent snorkeling. Chankanaab is sheltered from the current that is rather strong off Cozumel (need to be careful of the current if not a strong swimmer). Visibility and the color/health/variety of the coral in Cozumel is markedly superior to Belize but Belize seems ot have more abundant fish , rays etc.

friendlyfrank

We did awesome snorkeling in St. John last summer. We rented a villa up in the Bordeau Mountains & rented a jeep so we could check out all of the different bays. Check out the many different websites to see what's available for rent. You can use Google as your search engine. The prices are not bad in spring/summer. We used Private Homes for Private Vacations(www.privatehomesvi.com)
Hope this helps.