St. Marten snorkel on your own

[berly1657]

We have a 5 yr old and 8 yr old. Wondering if there are snorkel excursions we can do on our own - we had planned on doing Pinel island, but don't want the restrictions on "Disney time" and we want to be able to explore on our own, the beaches etc. Can we get a taxi, snorkel equipment inc? and what should we expect for cost?

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I would look into bringing your own snorkel equipment. You could buy an inexpensive set for what they'd charge you to rent it at Castaway Cay.

As far as snorkeling on your own, with young children, I'd suggest Little Bay Beach. It's just west of Great Bay, where the ship docks, and should take you about 10 minutes in a cab. I don't know if you can rent snorkeling equipment there, but there's a Divi resort on this beach, so you might be able to get it there. Again, I'd recommend purchasing your own.

Another good snorkeling beach is Dawn Beach. This is on the Atlantic side of the island, near the French-Dutch border. The only reservation I'd have with recommending this to you is that it sometimes tends to get rough, if there's a storm anywhere in the Atlantic. Some days, it's really calm and is (I think) the best snorkeling on the island. Others, it's really pretty tough to snorkel. Given the ages of your kids, I'd say that Little Bay is a safer choice. It's on the Caribbean side of the island and tends to be more serene.

 

[Alex]

We brought our own snorkel gear this time. I HATE lugging that much stuff but at 25 for an adult and 10 for a child on CC it pays for itself.

 

[stancan]

we just got back and we brought our own equipment and rented a jeep $ 107 per day. The vans cost about $60 per day. You can rent a car at the end of the pier, it was easy and we did not book ahead of time. We took our young kids to dawn beach, it had big waves but the kids enjoyed it. Mullet bay was very calm , but not much to see underwater. There are plenty of beachs , if one is wavey , then you can find a calm one just a few minutes down the road.