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Quick question re snorkeling St. Maarten

M

martinus_scriblerus

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Messages
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Location
London, ON, Canada
I'm headed off shortly with my 2 sons, 10 and 12. Both are good swimmers. Any suggestions where the most interesting place to snorkel from shore?

We're staying at the Royal Islander, but will have a rental car. Thanks.
 
Hi,

Snorkeling from Shore is somewhat limited. Probably the best spot is Pinel Island. It is a short "ferry" ride (5 minutes) that leaves from just north of Orient Beach. The "ferry" is a large rowboat with motor. Pinel is about 1/2 miles offshore at the entrance to orient bay.

The snorkeling off the beach at the Divi resort is OK, not great. Head out to the left from the beach along the rocky shoreline.

If you have been to the USVi, you will be very disappointed with St. Maarten snorkeling. The topography of the island does not afford the many protected bays which makes the USVI and BVI the snorkel capitals of the caribbean IMHO.

John
 
Snorkeling in St. Maarten is just OK. You can snorkel off the beach where the Divi Resort is located. You can park at the resort and just go to the beach and use their lounges and spend the day.
I think the snorkeling on Pinel Island is better. You need to drive to cul de sac and take the 5 minute ride on the ferry to get to Pinel. It's a great place to spend a day. There are a few restaurants which are on the expensive side.
You can also snorkel at Baie Rouge if you go around the rocks on the right side. There can be some stronger currents there.
I've been told you can also snorkel at Friar's Bay and Dawn Beach but have never snorkeled at either location.
If you want to take a short boat trip you can go to Creole Rock. The boats go thru the lagoon thru Marigot so it's a nice ride. Trips that I have done go out of Simpson Bay.
 
The South end of Mullet Bay Beach is pretty cool, as is the area a couple of hundred yards south of the beach at Divi.
 
I agree regarding Pinel Island, however, we were just there 3 weeks ago and the boat operators were on strike so no one was able to get to Pinel Island. Instead, we went to Oyster Bay (at Dawn Beach) to snorkel. Don't do it! Terrible! The coral is very shallow (to the point of dangerous for inexperienced snorkelers) and there were very few fish.

If it were me, I would plan for Pinel Island, but also be prepared that the strike could still be going on in which case you may want to explore a quick second option!

tj
 
We stay a Divi and usually do a couple of snorkeling swims as others have described. There are alway fish to see, but it's not nearly as good as other islands where we have snorkeled. If it's been windy, the water can be murky from the sand. During quieter times it's pretty clear.
 
What did I miss at Pinel? I took a snorkel out, didn't see anything more than shallow white sand.

No boat to Pinel? A strong swimmer could just swim over. Heck, you could practically WALK over.
 
I found the best snorkeling to be at Friar's and that was just OK. Catch the ferry to Anguilla in Marigot, get a taxi and head over to Shoal Bay. Excellent snorkeling and good food, chair/umbrella rental all make for a very nice day at the beach.
 
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