[ad_1] Best Snorkeling and Diving in the Eastern Caribbean The Eastern Caribbean provides variety for divers and snorkelers, from Florida‘s underwater state park in Key Largo to some signature wrecks like the RMS Rhone in the British Virgin Islands. The mostly shallow shorelines of the islands listed here make Eastern Caribbean cruises perfect itineraries for
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The Eastern Caribbean provides variety for divers and snorkelers, from Florida‘s underwater state park in Key Largo to some signature wrecks like the RMS Rhone in the British Virgin Islands.
The mostly shallow shorelines of the islands listed here make Eastern Caribbean cruises perfect itineraries for those looking to experience some of the best diving in the Caribbean.
There are more than 700 islands in The Bahamas, and the island chain is a veritable buffet for scuba divers.
For day excursions, you’ll most likely be confined to Nassau or on Grand Bahama near Freeport, where the ships dock, but never fear: There’s plenty of underwater action to be had. Just a quick boat ride from the Nassau cruise terminal, the shallow Rose Island Reef is home to barracudas, green turtles, stingrays and smaller tropical fish.
If you are on a short itinerary exclusively in the Bahamas, you may be able to fly to Andros Island. The stunning Andros Barrier Reef has a drop of some 6,000 feet in the Tongue of the Ocean side of it. Deep water sponges, marlins, stingrays and red snapper are only some of the creatures you’ll see.
Open water-certified divers are allowed to go to the famous Lost Blue Hole, which is about 200 feet deep. Visibility is excellent year-round at 72-78 feet, and you can expect to see sponges, turtles and reef fish.
Governor’s Beach, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos (Photo: tose/Shutterstock)
Tiny Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos is a gem for divers. Do yourself a favor and hightail it from the cruise port to Cockburn Town, where you’ll find a number of dive shops strung along an oceanfront street. Just a few hundred yards from shore, the crystal-blue water gives way to inky cobalt where the wall drops away to 7,000 feet.
Most dives are on the west side of the island, with the reef starting in just 30 feet of water. Visibility averages 100 feet at sites like The Aquarium, where the reef rises and falls to create several sand canyons. Although some of the coral has been affected by the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), you can still see healthy brain coral, boulder star coral and sponges.
Visiting snorkelers will want to join an excursion to Columbus Landfall National Park, a protected marine sanctuary running along the entire western side of the island. For the best snorkeling in this Caribbean island, head to Pillory Beach, where you’ll likely see nurse sharks, conchs and small tropicals.
Panorama of the Sunset at Bayahibe Beach, La Romana, in Dominican Republic (Photo: Lena Serditova/Shutterstock)
The eastern region of the Dominican Republic, home to both La Romana and Samana, offers tons of scuba options. The once sleepy fishing village of Bayahibe, about 30 minutes from La Romana, is the launching pad for many of the island’s best dives.
At El Penon, you’ll find a reef ledge overrun with life, from green morays and nurse sharks to giant crabs. The wreck of the St. George offers exploration of the wheelhouse and hallways.
Snorkelers will want to check out the coral around Saona Island, part of the protected Parque Nacional del Este.
The Baths at Virgin Gorda, BVI (Photo: Doug Wallace)
The BVIs are not only a playground for sailboats, but for divers and snorkelers. The granite boulders of The Baths on Virgin Gorda are a must-snorkel, even for the hardest of hard-core divers.
After that, take your pick of wrecks like the famous RMS Rhone, a royal mail steamer that went down with 123 passengers in 1867 — the BVIs’ signature dive and shallow enough to be enjoyed by snorkelers.
The Chikuzen, a 246-foot-long refrigeration ship lying between Virgin Gorda and Anegada is also worth a few tanks; it attracts sharks, cubera snappers and a resident 600-pound goliath grouper. For advanced divers only.
Intermediate divers will want to take a look at Spyglass Wall, which features lots of sea fans and small fish, such as damselfish, wrasse and fairy basslets. Keep a lookout for southern stingrays and passing tarpon.
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (Photo: Achim Baque/Shutterstock)
St. Thomas is one of the Caribbean’s most popular cruise ship ports, but it’s also a good jumping-off point for some great underwater sightseeing, especially for experienced divers.
The waters around St. Thomas are littered with wrecks; the most requested is WIT Shoal II. Originally a warship, it sank in 1984 a few miles southwest of the St. Thomas airport. There are five levels of decks to explore, and the ship is home to horse-eye jacks, stingrays, lobster, crabs, cup coral and sponges. The ship sits in 85 to 90 feet of water, though, so it’s best for advanced divers.
Don’t fret if you want to stay closer to the beach; there is also great snorkeling and exciting swims with sea turtles near the reefs.
Of all the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix is the most well-known to divers. You’ll be spoiled for choice with wrecks, reefs, walls and a fantastic macro dive at the Frederiksted Pier (a terrific night dive, if possible). Scattered debris under the pier provides habitat for a number of sea animals, from juvenile drums and smooth trunkfish to seahorses.
Located on the West End of the island, Butler Bay holds a number of wrecks. Cane Bay, in the north, is renowned as one of the finest shore dives in the Caribbean; swim out and you’ll find the awesome wall, which plummets to 3,000 feet. It’s home to soft coral, sponges and gorgonian sea fans.
Dive itineraries in St. Kitts often include the M.V. River Taw, a 144-foot freighter that sits in about 50 feet of water. It was intact until 1989, when Hurricane Hugo broke it in two pieces, but it’s still a good spot to see plentiful fish.
There are wrecks, reefs, walls and caves, too. At the Black Coral Reef site, divers can check out the eponymous black coral abundant at the site, as well as creole wrasse and snapper schooling along the wall’s edge. At Monkey Shoals, a large coral atoll, flying gurnards and scorpionfish are frequently sighted, depending on the current.
White House Bay offers sheltered waters for snorkeling. While the beach is pebbly, the rocky bottom provides plenty of hiding places for fish. Keep an eye out for the buoy that marks a shallow shipwreck.
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