Hey Dave, Karrieb from Foxboro here- are you hung up on the Reef Bay area for some specific reason or just curious? We haven't snorkled there but have in many other spots (we've been there 4 times so far over 20 years). Have you read the Fins-4 wheel book found at the top of this Board yet which is very accurate about the snorkling spots around STJ? Have you been to Haulover Bay? How about Francis Bay? Wicked good spots everywhere, maybe i'm just reading your message wrong but why bother re-visiting a place that didn't cut it before. How about the BVIs?? Norman Island is very cool, caves are there which add to the fun. Maho Bay out to Whistling Cay, Mary's Point, then back to Francis Bay is good too. I personally think the all time best snorkling for coral as well as fish is Haulover Bay.

Thanks Karrieb,

I don't know that we're hung up on Reef Bay... I think it's more like, I suspect there are some cool reefs and areas there that we haven't found. I'm always eager to find a new spot!

FWIW, the Fins-4 Wheels book has helped us immeasurably to explore the island and surrounding waters... GREAT book and if anyone out there hasn't used it, I at least would give it a hearty endorsement.

Maybe I should ask my question another way: What are the great but less notorious or well-known snorkel spots on St John that we could recommend to eachother? I agree, Haulover is excellent (we've especially enjoyed Haulover North, and also if you are willing to do a marathon snorkel and explore along the NE part of the shore). Everyone knows, Waterlemon and Francis make for a good day expedition. Possibly my favorite snorkel spot, though you gotta be a strong and confident swimmer, is Ditlif Point, somewhere down there off of Leinster Bay (hey, it's been nearly a year now and I'm not checking a map!).

Re-reading your message, we should definitely try Maho to Whistling Cay to Mary's Point... That's not one we've tried before.

As an aside, I always get a kick out of how many of us are from Mass. or New England and use the Virgin Islands experience to get through our long winters :-).

I second karrieb on Whistling Cay. Start from Francis and cross Fungi Passage. We found the best spots are on the East side of Whistling but the trip out can be glorius if Mother Nature cooperates. It can get rough on the north side.

When we did Reef Bay, we concentrated on the East side. Have to watch the urchins but as you approach open water on the tip you meet up with larger fish.

Also like Little Lameshur bay and the trip into Europa.
Haven't been but recent post mentioned Brown Bay as a site worth visiting.

If you enjoy a day that includes both hiking and good snorkeling, here's a suggestion. Take the Reef Bay Trail to the Lameshur Bay Trail and end up at Little or Big Lameshur Bay or Europa. Then you have the option to either hike back up the Reef Bay Trail or walk a mile to Salt Pond and pick up the public bus (for $1 each).

Chris and karrieb - do you swim to Whistling Cay from Maho or Francis? If so, do you have to worry about boat traffic?

JeanWC

I prefer from Francis. Boat traffic is not an issue when I go (summers) and Fungi Passage is not that wide that you are exposed a long time.

We're all ova' the place!

Many thanks for the tips, Chris & Jean & Karrieb,

Definitely looking forward to checking out Whistling Cay. I'm trying to remember if we've snorkeled Brown Bay... is that one you hike to from somewhere over on East End road, but the bay is on the north side of the island? That'd be a good one to do again.

Another one we need to try is the mangrove/fish nursery area.. can't recall the name offhand.

Can you guys tell that I'm counting down the days?

🙂

we rented a double kayak from Maho (we stayed at Concordia this trip) and paddled out to Whistling Cay, then paddled over to Mary's Point where there are a couple of rocky small beaches. We snorkled from there then paddled back along Francis Bay. We didn't run into too many boats but I can't image swimming straight out to Whistling Cay to snorkle. Actually, if you were a strong swimmer, you could swim along Francis quite nicely out to Mary's point and snorkle your way around. Whistling Cay itself, on the side that faces Maho was very,very rough, really rough so I don't think anyone snorkles at that spot. Someone told us that if you boat out to the far left off the Cay, there is a rock or something with good snorkling around there. We didn't try it as it was too rough and too many boats on that side of the Cay.

Take the Leinster Bay Trail to Johnny Horn and hang a left (East) along the Brown Bay trail.

I was in St. John last August just as Hurricane Katrina was starting to gather momentum, and I snorkled every day for about 2 weeks. I didn't go to Reef Bay, because it didn't seem like it was worth the effort - too many other great places to go that didn't require walking down (and perhaps back up) the hill.

I did find some great snorkling spots that are rarely visited. These do come with some caveats tho. Caveat 1 is, that snorkling is individual, for instance some people think they've found snorkling paradise at Trunk Bay, and others think they've found the beginnings of Urban Blight. To each his own!!!

The next caveat is that snorkling is DYNAMIC. It's always changing. In the morning you snorkle one place and think, "wow this it the most beautiful place I've ever seen," then you come back that evening and don't see a thing. I guess somebody should inform the fish of St. Thomas/St. John that we expect a show.

What I found snorkling St. John is that the East side of the bays are generally better than the West. The Coral formations on the East sides of the bays are generally bigger and more pristine. Sometimes on the West sides, you see a lot more coral rubble and generally smaller corals.

My family and I snorkled from Maho (by the road) out to and past Francis on a couple of occasions during the trip and thought that this was some of the best snorkling we had seen. We saw turtles, stingrays, baracuda, swam through enormous clouds of finger size fish and watched Tarpon devour fish. It was awesome and I highly recommend this area for the variety of marine life as well as accessibility (especially with small children). If you want a simple little snorkle, park your car at Maho, and snorkle the East wall (right side) out to the first point, it's easy and you'll see lots.

My favorite off the beaten path snorkle was a place that isn't really off the beaten path. We snorkled the East Wall of Gibney Beach. You can start at Hawksnest and swim along Gibney until you come to the wall. It's a deep snorkle. The wall is as steep below the water as it is above the water. It's also a little rougher than some places. The coral heads on this snorkle are huge. There is old ancient coral that has been eaten and looks like swiss cheese. These are great habitats for juvinile fish. In my opinion the adult fish are bigger here as well. This is where my kids and I saw the biggest turtle of our trip (easily twice the size of any turtle we'd seen previously). We saw good sized rays there also. Overall, I'd say it was the best snorkle of the 2 weeks.

JFP

We all count Dave, believe me. Please go and bring back some sunshine to dreary Bawston for us, thanks

Alas, it is still WEEKS and WEEKS, closer to two than one month, before we've got our feet back in that lovely St. John sand. But I totally appreciate everyone's thoughts on snorkel spots. Helps me daydream this (mild, so far) winter away.

John & all - Gotta LOVE that long Francis Bay snorkel. That is some of the most amazing underwater scenery, just chock full of schools of tiny fish, lots of variety, amazing habitat.

Sigh 🙂

Dave, have you tried Mangrove snorkeling? It sounds gross, but it is quite interesting. Lots of baby fish hanging out under the roots, big fish, little fish, etc. We rented a little dinghy from Crabby's in Coral Bay a few years ago, and headed over to the Mangroves in I think, Princess Bay. I could be wrong on the Princess Bay part, but it was in one of the Mangroves along the east end. It was pretty cool. Try it and let us know!!

Thanks for the tip, Jo-Ann.

The mangrove snorkel, as well as renting a dinghy, are things we haven't gotten around to during the previous three years when we've been lucky to be able to have St. John vacation. And I think this is the year to do them both!

Does anyone have recommendations/advice on the issue of renting a dinghy, and the pro/con of going out of Coral Bay vs. Cruz Bay? Good tips on which places to explore from either? Half day or full day?

We got ours for four hours. We stopped at a little stretch of beach somewhere, no one else around, and explored all the little bays around the east end. We stay in Coral Bay, so we go out of there. The guy who owns crabby's is a pretty interesting guy, and we spent a long time talking to him. He gave up tips on where to go, etc. He gives you a radio in case you run into trouble, and tells you where and where not to go. Nice guy. We haven't gone out of Cruz Bay. Too busy. Of course Coral Bay is getting pretty busy too! We have 8 days to go before we see the sun n'fun on STJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh, 8 days! You're Killin' Me!

Well, we're just at the "six weeks from tomorrow" mark, and as anyone reading this board can see I can't help but prattle on about STJ... excitment is mounting and the countdown is underway.

🙂

Hi Jo-Ann, when you rented a dinghy at Crabby's were you able to take it anywhere around STJ or were you limited to the Coral Bay area? I want to rent one for a day and get to the more secluded beaches. We leave tomorrow morning. Can't wait!

Who is Grabby? Is that the same spot as Noah"s Ark? we have rented from Noah's Ark 3 times and a couple of times from the previous owner? If there is another dingy rental I would like to check them out. Noah' does not allow you to cruise around the whole Island. The limits are at Waterlemom. I will be arriving in st. thomas on feb. 15

M&G -
There's a place called Crabby's in Coral Bay that you can rent a dinghy... I haven't ever done that so don't know what limitations are put on where/how far you can take the craft. Noah's Ark is out of Cruz Bay (right?). Not sure if there are other dinghy-rental opportunities on STJ or if those two are it.

D.