Non Disney snorkle-St Thomas

[jdmom]

Hi, we are on the Jan 22 cruise. Have 4 yr old and 7 yr old DDs. Our oldest loves to snorkel and is pretty good at it. We are looking for snorkeling trips that are reliable but not operated by Disney. Disney won't let 4 yr olds on these kind of trips. Our daughters have both been on all-day catamaran sails and loved it. So we are trying to find some way of doing this. Our main fear, of course is missing the boat.

We may end up going to St. John for the day, probably will unless we can find
an independent operator who is recommended...anyone know anyone?

Or has anyone ever gotten around the age thing where only 5 and up can go???

 

[faireygod mother]

We rented a taxi at the pier and went to sapphire beach. It was nice snorkeling there.

 

[Utah5]

We are just back from the 7 day eastern Magic and did a day sail in St. Thomas. We have a 7 year old who is a great swimmer as well as a 3 year old non-swimmer. We booked with Day Sail Fantasy. We sailed from the Red Hook area in St. Thomas and sailed slowly to St. John where we anchored just off of a beach that is part of the Caneel Bay Resort. Our 7 year did great but it was more difficult for our younger one. Great snorkeling. We saw a turtle, sting ray, squid, octopus along with many other types of fish. However, I would probably choose another outfitter next time. I did not feel that Day Sail lived up to their promises on their website. We were expecting a husband/wife/owner team. We found out that they rarley sail together any longer. No sailing lessons, no fishing, no expert snorkeling lessons, no trip to the beach in a dinghy, music barely audible. While on the beach to which we snorkeled, we were told by security guards that children were not allowed on the beach. Lunch was a delicious caribbean curry chicken with rice but not overly kid friendly. But they did hand us a bottle of peanut butter and jelly and said we could make our kids sandwiches from the left over french bread. Check them out at http://daysailfantasy.com. Overall, we had a fine time (5 on a scacle of 1 to 10) but I think other outfitters might be more family/kid friendly. Just make sure they tailor to you and your kids wants and needs. Another operator that comes highly recommeded is Jester Sailing. He was booked on the day we wanted to sail or we would have gone with him in the first place. His web site is www.sailjester.com.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Viking]

CokiBeach is a great site to dive and snorkle on St. Thomas.
Check out www.cokidive.com
They even pick you up at the pier and shuttle you over to the beach.