VACATION?! Where to go?

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SEnsch

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Location
San Clemente, California
My wife and I are trying to plan our next trip. Was looking for suggestions on some places we can go that have awesome snorkeling that we can get to from the shore. Looking for beautiful beaches and beautiful underwater scenery.

Thanks!
 
I have to say that the best snorkelling venue I've experienced in a half-century of snorkelling was just down the coast from where you're based, La Jolla Cove. I can understand why "skin divers", both scuba and breath-hold, began their love affair with the underwater world in Southern California in the early 1950s.

In the 1970s I regularly snorkelled too in the Mediterranean, but that sea often had stony beaches and areas of pollution where bathing wasn't safe. On the other hand, France, Spain, Italy and Greece had plenty of alternative compensations for someone who had spent four years studying European languages and literatures in higher education!

I expect you have in mind some tropical paradise island with long empty beaches for your vacation and I'm not the one to advise you about those. Having reached the age of 62 and travelled widely throughout Europe, Russia, Canada, the United States as well as Hong Kong and Japan in the Far East, I'm content now to enjoy snorkelling in my own "backyard" in the North East of England from a sandy beach in the North Sea. No flora or fauna to speak of, other than seaweed and the occasional small and relatively harmless jellyfish, and I wear a suit all the year round to keep warm, but it's good enough for me. I expect most of my compatriots would disagree with this choice of venue and insist that Sharm El-Sheikh is the place to go. I wouldn't know as I've never been there, but if I were going anywhere in Egypt, I'd rather visit Cairo or some other destination of major cultural and historical interest in the country rather than a tourist resort with only watersports to offer.

Wherever you end up choosing as your destination for your snorkelling vacation, I hope you both have a great time! :)
 
i dont know- maybe some warm water tropic location...
i had a blast SCUBA diving in koh-samui and my father went free-diving there...we also sailed around the dalmatians (croatian islands...my fathers a skipper...) and there are some incredible locations there (although its more of a mediterrainian and blue water type location)...several parts of africa have great sights and are known for having "aquarium like" diving and snorkeling experiences...
 
thanks for the suggestions!

that funny you mentionc croatia, i just had someone tell me that the islands there are spectacular. so i am definetely gonna look into that some more. and also some carribean spots i have been looking into.

:)
 
fiji was good, i wouldn't hesitate to go back there... except we're going somewhere else this year.
 
Since you live in Southern California, one very easy and cheap (air fare) place to get to is Cabo San Lucas. I very much enjoyed my visit to Cabo Pulmo, which has probably the best off-the-beach snorkeling on mainland Baja. Cabo Pulmo is a very isolated spot about an hour and a half drive from the Cabo airport, with the last six miles on a dirt road. There isn't much there in terms of resort facilities, but you can rent bungalows, and the diving infrastructure is fairly well developed. Don't go in the winter because it is usually too windy most days for snorkeling. Here are some photos I took when I was there last April:
Baja California Mexico underwater 2009 Photo Gallery by Dave_Clausen at pbase.com
Baja California Mexico 2009 above water Photo Gallery by Dave_Clausen at pbase.com
Note: In addition to Cabo Pulmo, some of the photos were taken near the big resort area of Cabo San Lucas.

In the Caribbean, I recommend the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, for very convenient and easy off-the-beach snorkeling. Again, if you want fancy resorts and a lot of luxury, this probably isn't for you. Although certainly more developed than Cabo Pulmo, there are no major resorts on the island, and most of the accommodations are guest houses or rental houses. It is very easy and cheap to fly to San Juan, and then you take a puddle-jumper plane to Culebra. Actually, in terms of geography and geology, Culebra should be part of the Virgin Islands; it's closer to St. Thomas than to the main island of Puerto Rico. Basically, it's the Virgin Islands without the people or the development. There are several beaches that you can drive to where you park with maybe two other cars, get out, lay down your towel, and take a few steps into very calm water. It's very safe. The reefs are in pretty good shape. Although I didn't find the fish to be overly-abundant (there weren't very many large ones), there are enough to keep you occupied. Here's some photos:
Culebra & Vieques Puerto Rico underwater 2008 Photo Gallery by Dave_Clausen at pbase.com
Culebra & Vieques Puerto Rico above water 2008 Photo Gallery by Dave_Clausen at pbase.com
Hope this helps.
 
So that you dont waste a lot of time and money, I would suggest that you send me as a scout to 3 or 4 destinations. I will report back and let you know which spot is the best.:crafty:

Seriosusly, a nice spot for snorkelling is right the mayan riveria. We have stayed at 3 different resorts along there. Our favorite is the Barcelo Maya because of the snorkeling right off of its beach.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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