I would just like to know the better snorkling options since we are thinking of renting a villa with beach access at Klein Bay and Chocolate hole.

~Thanks

Anyone have opinions of the snorkeling in the areas mentioned or closeby?

--Islander

These are not popular sites for snorkeling...probably for good reason. Access is not that great and perhaps the formations are not established to attract enough fish to make it interesting. If you are renting a villa in that area, I assume you will be renting a car also, so accessing the better areas (Hawksnest, Honeymoon, Maho, Francis, etc.) should not be an issue.

They may not be popular for snokeling but this is what I have read on other sites:

"CHOCOLATE HOLE (harbor). Only a few high-priced homes line the quiet shores of Chocolate Hole Harbor, and all have a path that leads down to swimming and some excellent snorkeling in the turquoise waters at the mouth of the harbor. "

"KLEIN BAY. This beautiful little cove is also a part of Rendezvous Bay on the south shore. Klein Bay has a pebble beach that you can easily walk to, while a white sand beach is a 10-15 minute nature walk or a 10 minute swim. You'll like the swimming and snorkeling here."

I was just curious if anyone had any experience with these bays and the snorkling. Since they aer not as popular, I would assume that the coral may even be in better condition then the north shore areas which are heavily used.

If you choose to go, let us know how it was. I stayed at Reef Bay, driving past both of these on our way to Francis and others as I was told they were not that good. Would be interested to learn if there was a jewel in our own backyard.

I snorkeled at Klein Bay on our recent trip to St. John. It was very different than most of the other places we snorkeled. The beach is completely made of rocks (they are smooth rocks, at least), which makes entering the water a little difficult. I would recommend wearing water shoes in, and then tossing them up on the beach once you are in the water.

This is a beach that has sea grass in the center. We saw lots of rays and conch. There is good coral on both sides of the beach, along the rocks. There are about 4-5 villas on Klein Bay. We were the only people on the beach when we were there.

We stopped by Chocolate Hole beach, but ended up not snorkeling because there were a lot of boats moored in the water.

I would recommend renting a car no matter which location you choose, so that you can experience all of the different types of beaches on the island. I hope this is helpful.

Can't speak to Chocolate Hole, but our villa (Morningside) is on Klein Bay, and we've always enjoyed snorkeling along the rocks out to the beach along Ditliff Point, then cutting straight back home over the sea grass and counting the rays and starfish we see.

Supposedly, Klein is a "deeded beach", which I'm told means it's only open to owners or guests staying in the villas in the immediate vicinity, and there is parking for only a couple of vehicles at best. That said, I'm not sure how anyone would know (or if they'd care) where you were staying if you snorkeled there.

We just got back (yesterday) from STJ. We rented a villa on Klein Bay. I suggest staying there!!!! It's a beautiful bay and we actually had very interesting snorkeling there. We saw sting rays and EXTREMELY large tarpin--so large, in fact, it was a little scary! Klein Bay is close to town, but far enough away that it feels very secluded. We stayed in an incredible villa there and will be back again next year!

kbh,
Out of curiosity, which vila were you in?

We stayed at Latitude. We tooled around the island quite a bit and were so pleased with the location of the villa--you're lucky to have a villa there!!!

Wow! Thanks for the responses everyone. I think you have helpded with the decision to rent on Klein bay instead of Chocolate Hole. I can't wait to go back next year. We are already so addicted to St. John - such a beautiful place.