Snorkeling at Castaway Cay -- Fish?

[labdogs42]

Are there decent fish to see at Castaway Cay? Or is it mostly about finding the hidden Mickeys? I'm hoping for at least some cool fish. Am I going to be disappointed?

 

[Postal68]

good fish and rays

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Are there decent fish to see at Castaway Cay? Or is it mostly about finding the hidden Mickeys? I'm hoping for at least some cool fish. Am I going to be disappointed?

Here's one we saw:

 

[Capt_BJ]

kinda depends on what you are comparing to . . . .

the area IS open to the sea .... but IS a protected area ....

some people are happy to see a grunt {that's a species of fish} or two

and some want

 

[Pegasus928]

Is there SCUBA gear available for hire, along with lessons, or is it best to do the lessons in advance?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is there SCUBA gear available for hire, along with lessons, or is it best to do the lessons in advance?

AFAIK, there isn't scuba at CC. Only snorkeling.

I believe other ports have scuba, but I think you need to be already certified for it. I could be wrong.

 

[njdisneylovr]

I personally was disappointed in the fish at Castaway Cay, but, that being said, I didn't venture out too far ( the cold wate was kinda taking my breath away). I was comparing to one of our previous stops, Grand Cayman, and there we saw tons of beautiful fish.

 

[labdogs42]

Yikes. I'll pass on the moray eels! But I'd love to see an angelfish, trigger, or parrotfish for sure.

 

[noahsmom]

The key to successful snorkeling at Castaway Cay is to go early! We saw lots of great fish two weeks ago. The lion fish was huge!

 

[DisneyDreamer2504]

We saw many cool fish, much like the pics shown. However, we also saw a barracuda, or tarpon(sp?) or similar looking fish, which totally freaked me out. It didn't do anything, and they do say its possible.....but it still freaked me out!

 

[Princess Sleepy]

Where is the best area to snorkel there? The last time I tried it, I saw nothing!

 

[jl234]

I saw plenty of fish on our last cruise. I can tell that they are trying to grow a reef in the snorkel area.

The other thing that was the really neat was the underwater Mickey. It's in about 15 feet of water and there is a white buoy marking it. You may want to ask someone to point it out before swimming out there. I took a waterproof camera to take pictures and video of it. Was totally worth the swim for me.

 

[QueenGuinevere]

The best place to see the fish is all the way back and then swim to the right. The last 2 times I've been, there were so many fish back there it took my breath away. Up until that point, tho, there were only scattered groups. The swim is worth it!

 

[labdogs42]

Oh, cool! I was planning to snorkel early and we are good swimmers, so this sounds encouraging. I have the underwater digital camera ready to go. Thanks for the scoop!

Love the lionfish, BTW, wasn't expecting that level of fish coolness! Awesome shot!

 

[Mazz519]

Wasnt reall that impressed with the snorkeling at CC. This was the second time we did this at saw minimal fish at best.. We snorkeled in Grand Caymen and it was incredible, fish were everywhere, all diiferent types and sizes. Next time we wont waste our time on CC

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We saw masses of fish, but you have to go out to them. NEver did find Mickey though! Guess this mermaid will just have to try again next year!

I have seen brighter, but it was still super enjoyable. I use my tail to swim close to the fish and if you peek inside, you can see some great colors. It's not hawaii, but it's definitely worth doing! I suggest having a good lunch an hour or so prior (that's what we did, because it takes a lot of energy to swim against the current and the fish are all the way at the end of closer to the protect rock area. This is great 'beginner' snorkeling too because lifeguards are posted the entire way out (I've never seen that before). I also saw a pretty blueish purple sting ray but I had used up my film by then!

We haven't snorkeled in the Serenity Bay unprotected side, so maybe we will get to that too next year. I have heard others have found barracuda etc out there, but I'm still interested!

 

[Halleann]

It may depend on when you go. We were there last October and saw lots of fish and took some really cool pictures. The water was beautiful and the farther out you went from the beach you did notice a drop in water temp but it was awesome! There are some Disney surprises under the water and if you have a waterproof camera they make cool scrapebook pictures!

 

[princesspwrhr]

We saw masses of fish, but you have to go out to them. NEver did find Mickey though! Guess this mermaid will just have to try again next year!

I have seen brighter, but it was still super enjoyable. I use my tail to swim close to the fish and if you peek inside, you can see some great colors. It's not hawaii, but it's definitely worth doing! I suggest having a good lunch an hour or so prior (that's what we did, because it takes a lot of energy to swim against the current and the fish are all the way at the end of closer to the protect rock area. This is great 'beginner' snorkeling too because lifeguards are posted the entire way out (I've never seen that before). I also saw a pretty blueish purple sting ray but I had used up my film by then!

We haven't snorkeled in the Serenity Bay unprotected side, so maybe we will get to that too next year. I have heard others have found barracuda etc out there, but I'm still interested!

Yes- this is a GREAT beginner snorkel adventure. I was surprised at how well my 8&9 yo did. They made it all the way to the back of the snorkel area and back to the beach. I love the fact there are life guards.

Like others have said the fish are way in the back. Up closer to the shore you'll see a random fish, some sand dollars, a sea star or two, but mostly a lot of sand and reeds/sea grass. But take Dory's advice and "just keep swimming, swimming, just keep swimming." And you'll begin to see more.

There are red and white buoys marking points of interest. We found the nautilus ship from 20,000 Leagues under the sea, a tug boat, Mickey, and Minnie. When we went back out later in the afternoon, the tide was out and Minnie was close enough to the water line that my Minnie loving 9year old was able to give the statue a hug. lol

I'm a bit disappointed in our pictures though. The water looks a bit green in them, but it was much clearer through our own eyes!

 

[kjackson83]

Where is the best area to snorkel there? The last time I tried it, I saw nothing!

We snorkeled at Serenity Bay-Adults only (not protected) and always see a ton of fish about 50 or so feet out by the 'wreckage' More colorful fish. We have seen many starfish, one octopus, a couple barracudas (one was about 4-5 feet long that followed us), tons of sand dollars, tangs, angels, butterfly fish, gobies, lionfish (some were really big), damsels, urchins, etc. We have only gone on cruises from Oct-December so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with what fish are there or not. When we snorkeled at the family beach we never saw anything worth snorkeling for.

 

[DisneyDreamer2504]

We snorkeled at Serenity Bay-Adults only (not protected) and always see a ton of fish about 50 or so feet out by the 'wreckage' More colorful fish. We have seen many starfish, one octopus, a couple barracudas (one was about 4-5 feet long that followed us), tons of sand dollars, tangs, angels, butterfly fish, gobies, lionfish (some were really big), damsels, urchins, etc. We have only gone on cruises from Oct-December so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with what fish are there or not. When we snorkeled at the family beach we never saw anything worth snorkeling for.

I didn't thin you were allowed to snorkel over there! Good to know, DH and will have to try it next time.