Snorkeling suggestions

[Sorcha2]

So my husband is planning us a trip for this fall to go an island. My one requirement is I really want to go snorkeling and see a reef. So what are some good snorkeling locations/trips? Budget friendly is preferred but honestly by this fall we'll be in a more financially flexible position so I would be also interested in places that are more beautiful but more expensive?

 

[Terence]

Fiji. Period. If you want to go somewhere that almost make you cry the moment you put your face in the water. Go to a remote island like Matangi.

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you are really budget minded, look into the Florida Keys and a trip to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson (70 miles west of Key West). I'm trying to get a snorkeling thread going here at R2R where we can all compare notes and discuss various places and activities. I even have maps for off the beach snorkel sites in the Keys. There is a link in my signature below. Please check it out and participate!

If budget is less of an issue, there are a lot of nice snorkel sites in the Caribbean. Even Bimini in the Bahamas is easy access and good snorkeling. But there are a bunch of islands out there. My issue with most of them is they are great scuba dive sites, but WAY less suited to snorkeling. There are islands off the coast of Belize that are really nice to snorkel. We spent several hours in less than 4 feet of water off one small island and the bottom was covered with coral.

But if budget really isn't an issue, snorkel sites in the South Pacific are probably the best. I've never done anything in the Pacific other than Hawaii and it was very good.

IMHO the Caribbean reefs are very cool, but there is less color and less soft coral than in the South Pacific. BTW, friends of ours went to Fiji for their honeymoon and did a bunch of scuba dives and said it was spectacular. But they were all areas deeper than I want as a snorkeler. For me, if the top of the reef is more than 10 feet down, it's way less fun. The sites we snorkel in the Florida Keys are all shallow; most less than 5 feet deep. Some are less than two feet deep and completely covered in corals (soft and stony) and sponges! Seeing huge coral heads and reefs is very awe inspiring, but for me, getting up close and personal with all the crazy wildlife under the water surface in the shallows is just too much fun!

P6210219 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[Captain Quint]

I couldn't agree more Ron Reefman. I've scuba dived around the world and Key Largo is still one of my favorite locations and it doesn't break the bank.

 

[Terence]

Plenty of shallow places to snorkel in Fiji. Even some really cool walls that top out at about 2 feet and then drop off to about 30 feet. Stuff all along the walls. I have been to FL, Belize, Routan, Utila, Jamaica, and three islands in Hawaii and nothing comes anywhere close to Fiji. All of those places were great - and I’ve made more than one trip to many of them - but The place I went in Fiji was on a whole other level. From a field of Xmas tree worms in every color of the rainbow to groups of clown fish on rock walls to you name the fish and coral. Every day was a new discovery. The place we went would take us out in a boat to all kinds of spots multiple times throughout the day. No cost. Just us.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Plenty of shallow places to snorkel in Fiji. Even some really cool walls that top out at about 2 feet and then drop off to about 30 feet. Stuff all along the walls. I have been to FL, Belize, Routan, Utila, Jamaica, and three islands in Hawaii and nothing comes anywhere close to Fiji. All of those places were great - and I’ve made more than one trip to many of them - but The place I went in Fiji was on a whole other level. From a field of Xmas tree worms in every color of the rainbow to groups of clown fish on rock walls to you name the fish and coral. Every day was a new discovery. The place we went would take us out in a boat to all kinds of spots multiple times throughout the day. No cost. Just us.

Good info, I'll add it to my Bucket List. I'd love it if you would get on the snorkeling thread here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/snorkeling-collecting-discussion-group.412414/
and share some of your knowledge.

I have no idea how much a trip to Fiji would cost. I assume it's not cheap. The OP was asking about, "Budget friendly is preferred but honestly by this fall we'll be in a more financially flexible position so I would be also interested in places that are more beautiful but more expensive?" Which doesn't lock out much of anything.

I find that many/most people who snorkel but do NOT scuba dive are looking to keep costs down. Not all, but a big percentage. And I've tried to discuss even less expensive ways by going places where you can even snorkel off the beach. So no need for a boat or even a charter. And IMHO, seeing big reefs is very cool, but as a snorkeler, most big reefs are look and don't touch. I find snorkeling in shallow reef flats where I can get up close and personal with everybody who lives there is more fun over time. However, I completely understand some people find underwater critters 'creepy' or even 'scarry'.