We had great success at Hawksnest, Cinammon & Maho/Francis. Since you are already familiar with the area and routine for rentals, I would suggest renting a jeep (get reservation to avoid time looking) and going direct.
We used Wayward Sailor for our day cruise (10AM-4PM) out of Cruz Bay and had a great time.
http://www.waywardsailor.net/

Vicki,
You can still use Allura although you will have to book directly not from the cruise ship. Their direct line is 340-777-1203 or email them at [email protected]. I'm sure they would love to hear from you.
Pamela.

I would use a Jeep rental, use St John Rental Car, they are only a block from Cruz Bay ferry dock.

I would skip Trunk bay if you've been there already, it can get crowded.

We loved Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, and if you have a lot of time, try Waterlemon Cay. It's a little further, and about a mile hike. But it was wonderful. We saw lots of sea life and tons and tons of starfish. Hawksnest was also nice and pretty empty of people. Have fun!

Thanks pamela, I have not given up on that yet. they need a group of 15 or more to do and they go out of red Hook. I miss them so much and maybe they will have a charter already for that day and we can tag along. Concerns are the ship arrival time and when they leave for the day trip but will try to work it out. HA sometimes changes time in St. Thomas, that's what I heard. I will get to them one way or another even if I have to swim to them. They are a wonderful crew and she makes the best banana/mango bread..rum punch ain't bad either...I want to see her grandchildren. we have not seen the g-son yet .love baby's want one for me.Tell Claire- vicki said hello if you see her.

Since you've been to Trunk, I would rent a jeep and check out some of the other great snorkeling spots. I went to Francis Bay this past weekend for the first time and loved it. The beach wasn't crowded at all, lots of sea life, and it is easily accessible compared to some of the other "out of the way" beaches. If you can get your hands on it, St. John Off the Beaten Track is another great book with descriptions of all the hikes and the sea life you are likely to see at the various snorkeling destinations.

We are going to be in St. John in two weeks. We have a 4 year old and a 6 year old. Where would you recommend that we snorkel? Cinamon Bay sounds nice, but you mentioned walking 1 mile. What exactly did you mean? Thanks so much. We are excited about our trip and want it to go well. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Thanks,

Bill

She was referring to Waterlemon Cay being a one mile hike. You can drive right to Cinnamon Bay; it's just a short walk from the parking lot. Great beach to visit: very long so it's never crowded, lots of water sports rentals, also camping if that interests you. I've never snorkeled there but I've heard it's good off of Cinnamon Cay which is just offshore. Only thing to look out for this time of year (July/August) are jellyfish, so keep your head up!

The parking lot is a long walk from the beach, but not even a half mile. Any north shore beach is nice. Jumbie is a great, small, secluded beach, but it has limited parking, short road walk and short steps/trail to beach.

Sorry, I was thinking about the Cinnamon parking lot. The watermellon cay walk is about a mile. I was tempted to swim it from Annaberg.

My experience last week:

We snorkeled Waterlemon, Trunk, and Hawksnest. For young kids(we have a 7 & 10 y.o.), Waterlemon was a little tough - after a mile walk, the entry is very rocky. There is alot to see though. Unfortunately, we did Waterlemon on our first day and it turned both kids off to snorkeling for the rest of the week.

I thought Hawksnest was the easiest and best for kids to start with. Easy beach entry, reef very close to shore.

Trunk would also be an excellent starter snorkel, the earlier in morning (B4 11am) the better(crowds late am / early pm). We went to Trunk two days because the kids loved the beach and water there.

We visited Cinnamon, but the Cay is a little farther out than Trunk and Waterlemon, and it was very windy in the morning so the water was a little choppy. We looked around a bit and then went back to Trunk.

All three sites we snorkeled were very good, plenty to see.

Our experience last week....Waterlemon was by far the nicest snorkeling we had, but it's not for the beginner. You do have to hike a mile to get there, but the hike is right beside the ocean the whole way and it's very pleasant. I couldn't imagine missing Waterlemon....it was truly wonderful.

It's best to start with Trunk Bay, or Maho to get your confidence level up. The smaller kids can really get used to the gear when the location is calm. Only after you are comfortable, Waterlemon can be fully appreciated. If you go counter clockwise around the island, you'll be swimming with the tides for an easy trip. Good luck!