Snorkeling with kids on St. John

[goofydadeo]

On the Western we had a great snorkeling experience at Grand Cayman with our DD4 and DS8 (very calm and shallow with lots of marine life). Does anyone have any recommendations for a similar experience in St. John or St. Thomas? We are on the 11/2 Eastern. We had heard current can be an issue in National Park at Trunk Bay.

 

[my3kids]

Can't answer your question, but join us on the 11/2 cruise thread started by garyss7 titled something like "Anyone from New Jersey on the 11/2 Magic". There are a couple of us not from NJ, but we are the real minority that week!

I am planning to take my children to the beach and to snorkel either at Trunk Bay or one of the other 2 recommened beaches on St. John-Hawks Nest or Cinnamon Bay. Probably Trunk Bay.

 

[RellingTwin]

We have been snorkeling at Trunk Bay 2 times. Once on the "5 star " excurtion and again last month "on our own". My kids had a great time snorkeling both times BUT...with the excurtion we snorkeled from the boat (a little harder) and there was a mild current. Also your snorkeling time is VERY short.
By comparition the "on your own" trip was MUCH better! Cost less, snorkeling from the beach much easier, time to enjoy the snorkeling and the beach, MUCH longer.
If we were to go to ST Thomas again, I would do Trunk Bay again "on our own".
PS my kids are 8 and 10y/o

 

[AnnMorin]

We did the 5 star at trunk bay. They had little dingy boats that could bring you to shore if you did not want to snorkle from right off the boat. DS (who was 8 at the time) and I just waded in from the shore and started to swim, there is a reef not far (maybe 15 feet or so) from the shore. He loved it!

 

[garyss7]

We welcome all people on our Jersey Cruise..(Even you Southern Folk)lol... Wish they had
some good Southern cooking on the boat...No good southern resturants up north, at least
not near me! Back to the question, snorkeling is wonderful at trunk bay but I would suggest
taking the tour that goes to the beach. If your kids get a little quesy on boats taking the
surry to the beach is better than staying on the snorkeling boat. When they anchor the boat
can really start bouncing around and getting people seasick. Taking the other tour at least
you are on the beach. I remember the water to be pretty calm for snorkeling so you should
be ok with smaller kids, our's were 9 and 12 two years ago when we went. Cheers, Gary

 

[MnParrothead]

We did our own excursion to Cinnamon Bay (St. Johns) and snorkeled with two kids 10 and 14 at the time. We had a great time and got to spend probably three hours or more there before heading back to the ship. It was the highlight of my trip.

 

[LarryC]

I've snorkled Trunk Bay 4 times (2 with Disney). Each time was from the beach. My son did it at 8 with no problem (they make you wear a life vest).

 

[Lisa7mike]

Hello!

We went on the same cruise in Jan 2002 in St. Thomas we rented a crewed sail boat for the day. They took us sailing and snorkeling, it was the best day of our vacation!!! Our DD (4 and 8) loved it! They served a small snack when we boarded then sailed for about an hour over to a small beach @ St. John then DD 8 and my husband went snorkeling while me and my DD 4 took the dinghy with the captain to shore and swimmed. Eventually, my DD 4 put on a life vest and went snorkeling with us and then swam out to the boat with us. When we got back on board they served a wonderful lunch and then sailed back.
The crew is a couple from New York and very patient with children. Next time we go to St. Thomas we are doing the same thing all over again.

The company was Daysail Fantasy http://home.att.net/~sail-fantasy/
I don't represent this company at all, we just had such a wonderful time on our own I just highly recommend them!

Good Luck,

Lisa

 

[macbasset]

We did the snorkeling trip to St. John that took you from the ferry by open air buses to the beach. Our son loved it and the best thing at Trunk Bay is that it is an underwater National Park and you follow a trail of marked sea life such as many types of coral fish, etc. They have lifeguards in the water, actually protecting the coral and reef from snorkelers stepping on the sealife. It was great. We are returning on 12/28 eastern. We like sticking with the disney excursion in that you know they won't leave you if you are late returning; to me, it is peace of mind. barb

 

[mog]

We went on our own to Cinnamon Bay. I highly recommend this. We had 3 kids - 3, 6 and 9 at the time. They all snorkeled and loved it. This beach is very uncrowded, so we were essentially the only ones in the water. There were a few other people on the beach. Because of this, the kids were not intimidated by a lot of people swimming around them. It is very easy to get around either by rental car or taxi on St. John - Cinnamon Bay is simple to get to and has a little convenience store to buy snacks/drinks, it has restrooms and places to rinse off, etc.

Now a question for you... Where did you take your kids snorkeling on Grand Cayman? We are going with ours in February and I've been looking for a good easy place to take them snorkeling.
Thanks!

 

[randytenn]

Another huge vote for Trunk Bay. I didn't notice any current at all. The island had a great reef, with all types of coral and fish, and there is an easy trail to follow. Also, there are lifeguards in the water with you, so that's not a problem.

I can honestly say that the time spent snorkling at Trunk Bay was the highlight of the cruise, for me.

 

[goofydadeo]

Thanks for all of your posts. I appreciate all of the advice. It sounds like Trunk Bay is where we will be going. Does anyone have any advice regarding transportation to Trunk Bay - what is the best way to get there from the Port? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to next Friday!!!