This video gives you a glimpse of the amazing snorkeling that can be experienced in the beautiful bays around St. John, U.S.V.I. Although Hurricane Irma inflicted a lot of damage on the island and surrounding reefs in 2017, we definitely saw evidence that the area is recovering nicely on this visit.
We snorkeled at 11 different sites around St. John on this trip, which are presented from our least favorite to our very favorite spots. I wanted to provide a little more information on each snorkeling spot below.
00:00 Intro
00:15 #11 Trunk Bay - One of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Trunk Bay's pristine white sand beaches make for amazing water clarity. The self-guided Underwater Snorkeling Trail surrounds the tiny island that’s just a short swim out into the bay. Unfortunately, there’s really not a lot of life out there.
00:52 #10 Cinnamon Bay - The white sand beach at Cinnamon Bay rivals Trunk Bay for beauty. There are snorkeling opportunities at either end of the beach, as well as surrounding Cinnamon Cay, which is a short swim out into the bay. While we really enjoyed the beach and the landscape of Cinnamon Bay, we didn’t find the snorkeling great.
01:51 #9 Great Lameshur Bay - Located just east of Little Lameshur Bay on the SE coast, getting to this area by Jeep is a little dicey (if there's been a lot of rain, it's inaccessible), but there is good snorkeling to be had if the conditions are right. This trip, we snorkeled on the east side of the bay and saw some cool fish. Strong currents kept us from swimming all the way out to the point.
02:28 #8 Salt Pond Bay - Also located on the SE coast, Salt Pond Bay is accessible by walking the Salt Pond Trail (less than a mile round-trip) and there is some decent snorkeling on either side of the bay, including a few healthy coral formations. You can also access Ram Head Trail from the eastern end of the beach.
03:47 #7 Little Lameshur Bay - I think if the conditions were better, this would have ranked higher on our list. Little Lameshur has a beautiful white sand beach with good snorkeling on the east side of the bay. On our last visit, we were able to snorkel out and around Yawzi Point (which leads into neighboring Great Lameshur), which was some of the best snorkeling we’ve ever experienced. Unfortunately, on this trip, choppy conditions and a strong current around the point, kept us from venturing out and around. We did see a beautiful Hawksbill Turtle and lots of fish though.
04:31 #6 Maho Bay - I love snorkeling Maho Bay because you’re almost guaranteed to see turtles (at least if you visit early in the day) grazing in the sea grass beds. They are so calm and beautiful! We also snorkeled on the east side of the bay, where were saw a lot of beautiful fish, another turtle, and a 5-6-foot nurse shark. The visibility in the bay was not the greatest on this visit.
06:34 #5 Francis Bay - Typically less crowded than the other North Shore beaches, we were pleasantly surprised at the variety of marine life, corals, and conch we saw along the east side of Francis Bay/south side of Mary Point. I think next time we visit, we may try to rent a boat so that we can explore Whistling Cay as well.
09:08 #4 Honeymoon Beach/Salomon Bay - We accessed Honeymoon Beach by parking at the NPS office and hiking the Lind Point trail to the beach. While you can snorkel on both ends of Honeymoon Beach, we found the best variety on the west side leading around to Salomon Beach. We saw a lot of varieties of fish and coral, as well as a nurse shark.
11:26 #3 Haulover Bay - Our first visit to this out-of-the-way spot on the island's east end was was wonderful surprise! The coral and sea fans on the western side of the bay were gorgeous - it looked like a mermaid's garden! We saw more fish heading toward the eastern side of the bay, though it wasn't as pretty.
13:05 #2 Waterlemon Cay - The 30-min hike around Leinster Bay and the 10-min swim to Waterlemon Cay are 100% worth the effort! There is such a nice variety of marine life (including peacock flounder, eels, squid, tons of fish, and beautiful coral)! Walking back along the Leinster Bay Trail, we also saw baby sharks hunting in the shallows of the bay!
15:01 #1 Hawksnest Bay - Our favorite snorkeling spot this trip! Although you can snorkel all around the bay (and we did snorkel the area along the beach, as well as almost all the way up the east side of the bay!), the BEST snorkeling is at the shallow reef where you first enter the beach. It is SO easy to access and we saw the most amazing fish (including a HUGE Permit, schools of blue tangs, Nassau grouper, all types of Parrotfish and more), starfish, eels, squid, and beautiful coral - especially toward the end of the reef where it drops off.
Parking can fill up early, especially at popular beaches. Also, be sure to protect yourself from the sun with rashguards and reef-safe sunscreen!
I hope you find this helpful! Happy to answer any questions that I can!