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My family is visiting St. Thomas for the first time in late Feb. We have never tried water sports and my husband and I are not strong swimmers. We do not want to purchase snorkeling equip. and then have to transport it. What is the approx. cost to rent?
Is it possible to rent well fitting equip? We are staying at Emerald Beach on Lindberg Bay but will have a rental car to travel to good snorkel location. What advice can you give? Also, I read in my tourbook about BOB...has anyone done the Sea Trekkin' at Coral World? From what I understand, it is all enclosed, swimwear not needed. Are there other places to BOB? Has anyone tried it?
Hello Terri,
Welcome to the board. Snorkeling equipment depending on the location can be from around $5-7. If you go to many spots what you end up spending might equal an inexpensive mask and snorkel at a shop. Although you said you don't want to bring the snorkel gear with you perhaps consider that the snorkels would have been in the mouths of lots of other people - 🙂 - and then consider just buying a mask and snorkel and traveling with it - don't travel with the fins - they take up lots of room - you can rent them if you need to. If you plan just to snorkel at one or two spots then sure rent gear at each of these spots - however not all beaches have snorkel rentals. Renting well fitted equip - well the person at the booth usually just gives you whatever... the fins they fit to the size of your feet. Good locations - Coki Beach, Secret Harbor, Sapphire... you might go to St. John one day and snorkel at Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay or Lemshur if you have a car to get there. I have done Sea Trekkin but not Bob... Sea Trekkin you do get wet as you are completely submerged in the ocean and you walk with a bubble over your head to breathe and the weight of the bubble keeps you at the bottom of the ocean and you walk along a path lookng at the fish and coral in a small area next to Coral World's main tank. Coral World itself allows you to view tanks and be dry.
Have a great time.
--Islander
Thank you for the info. I plan to get in touch with Coral World to see if reservations are necessary for Sea Trekkin' I live in a small town in PA. and am not sure how to find a snorkel and mask around here in Feb. Gander Mountain and Dick's Sporting Goods are both a two hour drive and neither carry these items. Could I purchase them
somewhere on the island for a reasonable cost? It is not appealing to put the rented items in our mouths....but we may never snorkel again after this one week, so I hate to invest too much... also I have very little time before we leave to try to order online...
Terry,
If you have a KMart nearby most of them carry inexpensive snorkel equipment. I've also seen sets at Costco and BJ's. You could also try WalMart or Sam's Club.
Good luck!
Mermaid
Underwater world. Even if you are not strong swimmers, you absolutely need to take a peek beneath the surface of the water. You will be amazed at the world you'll see. Crystal clear water, often down to 100 feet!
Not being strong swimmers is not a problem. Snorkle masks are easy to learn to use, and if needed you could wear a safety vest to help you float, although a reminder, sea water is more bouyant (spelling?) than a pool or lake.
Here is the website to check out the BOB idea. It appears to be a totally safe and awesome way to travel below the surface. You are only allowed to go a maximun of 9 feet deep. http://bobusvi.com.
Hello Terri,
Definately make reservations for Sea Trekkin if you want to do that - they get a lot of bookings from the cruise ships so get filled quickly. The snorkel comment is just a personal opinion - after having had a few chewed up snorkels given to me on charters to use I was like URGGGG. I have had more good snorkel equipment then bad though so if you only plan on snorkeling one or two times go ahead and rent the mask/snorkel. My comment was really meant for if you were going to try and snorkel every day at different beaches that some beaches do not offer rentals so you wouldn't be able to and if you snorkeled several times the cost of rentals muliple times might equal an inexpensive mask and snorkel set. Don't worry to much about it. Go to Coki Beach on St. Thomas and rent some gear from the dive shop there and then grab some dog biscuits and your underwater disposable camera and then go SNORKELING and have a great time!!!
--Islander
Hi Terri,
Absolutely go to Coki beach and try the snorkel there. We just returned and had a great time! Coki is not so deep, little current and there are scads of fish. When you feed them, they just swarm around you - it's cool. I think your children will really enjoy that! ( the fish were even nibbling on my hair!!) It's not scary at all, the water is calm and there are lots of people around if you did get in trouble. While we were there, a cruise ship brought a load of 65-70 year olds, snorkeling for the first time - fun to watch!
Have a great time! You'll love it there :)))
Vicki
