Finding the best snorkeling in the Caribbean
I have been very lucky to be able to snorkel frequently over the last two years. In this article I will discuss some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean.
Before I go into details on some of my favorite Caribbean snorkeling spots I want to offer you some tips and go over some of the advantages of snorkeling in the Caribbean.
First, you will find that the Caribbean is one of the best places to snorkel in the world.
From the United States you can easily reach any of these destinations by Cruise Ship or by plane. You often can find great deals for these snorkeling locations.
The weather is usually mild nearly all year round. We just returned from a cruise in the middle of January and we were able to snorkel in three of the four destinations we visited.
Last but not least, I want to give you some tips and describe the cameras we used to capture the sea life during our trips.
Caribbean Snorkeling Tips
Tip 1- I usually book excursions off of the ship or resort. The reason is simple, you are basically doing the same excursions they offer but at a better price! For excursions I use Shore Fox. Shore Fox offers a return to ship guarantee and on top of that most of the time there are people on these tours that did book directly on the ship.
Tip 2- Taking a cruise ship is an easy way to see several Caribbean destinations without breaking the bank. You can always come back again by air if you really like a certain spot. I use Cruise Direct to find the best cruise deals.
Tip 3- You are really going to want to capture some moments while you are snorkeling. We use two cameras when we snorkel and most of the images were taken with either our Go Pro Hero 7 Black or our Fujifilm FinePix XP80 Digital Waterproof Camera. The Fulifilm FinePix X80 is around $250 less than the Go Pro and still takes nice pictures.
In fact, the first picture on this page is using the Fujifilm FinePix camera!
Best Dives in the Caribbean Book
Tip 4- I highly recommend this book. Best Dives in the Caribbean. We have used it to pick some of the locations we have snorkeled and have yet to be disappointed!
I have not listed any of these Caribbean snorkeling destinations in any particular order. While I have been to nearly all the destinations mentioned, as you will see in the pictures, some of my information has been gathered through social media, snorkeling groups and online reviews.
If YOU have any suggestions for snorkeling in the Caribbean PLEASE leave a comment at the end of the article! This is likely to become a living document which I will update with more pictures and Caribbean snorkeling destinations.
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Curacao
I mentioned a moment ago that the first image on this page was taken with the Fujifilm camera. What I did not mention is I got that photo while snorkeling in Curacao.
We snorkeled Curacao while cruising and we booked the Tug Boat and Beach Snorkel, That excursion took us to a sunken tug boat and then the driver took us to a beach with a reef. These images are just some of the shots we took while we were there.
Beach Snorkel Curacao 
Tug Boat Snorkel Curacao 
Curacao is approximately 40 miles long and three to eight miles wide. If you end up staying at a hotel or resort there, you should have no problem snorkeling off the beach. A cruise ship limits you a bit but as you can see we had a great experience snorkeling in Curacao!
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Aruba
Aruba is another great Caribbean island with a really laid back and fun atmosphere. Once again, we were on a ship and booked an excursion for our snorkeling adventure.
Our excursion took us to a sunken German ship from World War II and then to another shallower area. The locations we snorkeled in Aruba were the Antilla Shipwreck and Boca Catalina Bay.
You will see from the pictures that the water around the Antilla Shipwreck is quite deep. It is not necessary to be a strong swimmer to do this tour since you will be offered all the equipment you need to have a safe and enjoyable time.
Boca Catalina Bay has quite a bit of sandy bottom but it does offer some structure and there are interesting fish there. This location is where I saw my first Green Moray eel and I also say a Spotted Eel. Sadly, I did not get a good picture of the Green Moray.
Antilla Shipwreck Aruba 
Boca Catalina Bay Aruba 
Spotted eel Aruba 
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman has been a very interesting snorkel trip for us. We have done the snorkeling at Eden Rock in the Grand Cayman three times now over the last three months.
Each time we go, we seem to see something different.
We found another great benefit to snorkeling at Eden Rock. You can basically do it for FREE!
If you come from a cruise ship you simple take a right once you leave the terminal and walk for five to ten minutes. Once you see a building with a green roof, you are there! The name of the building is “Paradise Seaside Grill”.
This establishment is a restaurant and lounge that also has a snorkel center attached to the front of the building. The proprietor will rent you snorkel gear and a locker if you need it and he also sells “fish food” if you would like some. We happened to have my mother on the cruise with us and she accompanied us to the restaurant when we got to Grand Cayman.
Since she does not snorkel, she sat outside by the water and enjoyed lunch while we snorkeled. We were able to leave our bags and personal items with her instead of renting a locker.
You can also find a dive shop right next door to the restaurant if that is more your speed.
Once you enter the water you will see some sea life and coral. Then you can swim out to the white, round buoy that marks the location of more reef. Upon entry the water is four to six feet deep. As you swim out towards the buoy the water will be anywhere from 40 to 60 feet deep.
The coral rises up to almost just beneath the surface in some spots so you will see plenty of fish just a few feet away from you.
So far we have seen French Angelfish, Parrot fish, Snapper, Drum, Grouper, Tarpon and Barracuda around Eden Rock. Some fellow cruisers who went out earlier than we did told us they saw two sharks out there. They claimed one was four to five feet long and the other was probably six to seven feet long. We did not see any shark during any of our snorkeling visits to Eden Rock but below you can see just a few pictures of area and some of the fish.
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Belize
Belize is one of those locations where you will have to get on a boat to go snorkel. Yet again, we had a cruise going there and we took the chance to snorkel the beautiful reef.
Our tour took us to Caye Caulker and the reef system nearby. The excursion also took us to Shark Ray Alley and then back to Caye Caulker to enjoy lunch before bringing us back to the port.
Belize has gorgeous underwater sea life and a vibrant reef system. I saw many of the typical reef fish as well as another Barracuda, named “Henry”, a large Green Moray Eel and a Sea Turtle.
Later we went to Shark Ray alley where the guides threw some sardines in the water which attracted dozens of Nurse Sharks and Sting Rays.
Neither the sharks nor the Rays seemed to mind being touched and they were not disturbed at all by the presence of humans in the water with them.
Belize Reef Snorkel 
Henry 
Sea Turtle 
Nassau Grouper 
Shark Ray Alley 
Moray Eel
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Cancun
Cancun Mexico is a very popular tourist destination and is home to dozens of resorts. We stayed eight days in Cancun at one of these resorts and we had a blast!
This trip was a little different than some of our other snorkeling adventures but it was every bit as enjoyable.
We stayed at the #1 rated snorkel resort in Cancun, Grand Sirenis resort Riviera Maya.
This location gave us access to their beach, which has abundant sea life and a reef just a few feet from shore. Then we had access to the cenotes in the the area. A cenote is just a natural pit or sinkhole but swimming and snorkeling these areas is a ton of fun.
Finally we snorkeled with Whale Sharks while we were in Cancun. There is a dive shop located just outside of the resort and we booked directly with them. However, you can also book with any of the tour desks scattered around the property. If you choose to you can also just take a cab to some of the snorkel areas and save yourself the money associated with booking a tour. Pro tip- Go through BookVip and save $$$.
We snorkeled the Dos Ojos Cenote as well as Cenote Famila while were there.
We got an absolute STEAL for this trip at Grand Sirenis Resort!
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Honduras
We once again traveled by cruise ship to Roatan Honduras. The snorkel tours we did were the Anthony’s Key Resort tour and another time we did the Roatan Three Snorkel Site Hopping excursion.
The three snorkel tour might be a bit much for newcomers since you spend several hours in the water going from site to site. I would say we spent three hours or more in the water and perhaps another hour on the boat going from location to location. The water depth in two of the three locations was probably 20 to 30 feet. One of the locations was more of a sandy bottom and the water here was five feet or so.
The Anthony’s Key Resort Snorkel was a much shorter tour, perhaps an hour in the water. No boat trip is required on this tour since you get in at the end of the pier that is in the resort. The water goes from four feet all the way to a depth of 80 or 90 feet in this location.
In both cases the tours took us to some beautiful reefs that were filled with sea life. The reef around the Anthony’s Key snorkel area can come up pretty high, so be careful where you swim. While the depth in some areas can be 15 to 20 feet, the reef can come up to just a few feet below the surface.
Another benefit to the Anthony’s Key snorkel package was we were fed lunch and we were given tours around the property. The resort serves as a refuge for some animals so you will get to see a Jaguar, several birds, monkeys and more. If you are lucky, the resort staff will let you get pictures with some of the monkeys!
Another spot in Honduras that offers good shore snorkeling is West Bay. We have not been there yet but we intend to go there in the near future.
Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean- Final Thoughts
I have not discussed all the locations we have snorkeled. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I intend to continue to update as time allows. In the meantime, I hope you leave a comment below and let the readers know where you think the best snorkeling in the Caribbean might be!
