Caribbean snorkeling

[Bighorn Hockey Nut]

Ok here goes, I am new to snorkeling and a little experience with forums.
Taking a cruise in Dec 2010 to the Caribbean and will try to snorkel at these ports:
Grand Turks, Samana, Kralendjk/Bonaire, and Williamstad/Curacoa.
I know that the cruise lines excursions are very expensive and sometime VERY crowded, so I am looking for information from people who have snorkeled in these ports with local tours and or by themselves. My sister who has snorkeled quite abit (in St. Thomas) thinks we can just go by ourselves and have at it , but I am reluctant to do so. Maybe the open waters, currents, unknown area and general safety aspect of this concerns me...ALOT. I have my equipment and will start learning to snorkel here soon, starting in the local pool and then off to the lakes near by, as soon as it warms up. I have and will continue to check the cruise roll call for snorkelers who may have some experience in the areas mentioned.
I would assume that we are looking at beach entry locations and have heard about a sunken boat tour in Curacoa, that sounds interesting.
I have also ordered Snorkeling for Dummies as I really like to have all my ducks in a row and be aware of any dangers or concerns. I've been told it is an easy thing to do but frankly the idea of being out in open ocean is a tad bit intimidating to me. I grew up close to the Pacific coast and have a GREAT respect for that ocean and it's fury. I realize that we won't be snorkeling in that type of waters, but want to know what I need to be aware of.
So any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated. I was wondering what the buddy finder does on this forum, if someone can enlighten me. Can it hook you up with fellow snorkelers from the area you are to visit? Sorry if this is too long winded but I have alot of questions...so more to come I am sure.
Thank you for your time and expertise!

 

[diversteve]

I don't snorkel as a rule but do a little between dives. So here's a couple of options for Bonaire & Curacao:

First of all the water is often flat calm at both locations. And typically visibility can exceed 100'. One non-cruise option for Bonaire would be escorted snorkeling with Touch the See/Dee Scarr. TOUCH THE SEA®, Dee Scarr's Site. Dee takes small groups only.

You could also safely snorkel at any of the dive resorts north of town. All of them have either a dock or easy beach entry. But the good parts of the reef might be a little deeper than you can snorkel - at a lot of locations the reef starts around 30' or more. This map lists snorkeling options - the first 10 are in Slagbaai park - a long difficult drive out and the last 10 are likely to have stronger currents so not recommended for a new snorkeler. Anything around the Bari Reef area should be fine. Some of the sites south of town will have more difficult entries over sharp ironshore. http://www.infobonaire.com/divemap.html

Bari Reef is one that I might recommend, it's located between Sand Dollar and Den Laman Condos. Bonaire Dive & Adventure is the on-site dive operation there. Bari Reef has the highest concentration of counted fish species in the Caribbean. And it's shallow with an easy entry. I actually had almost as much fun swimming near a pile of rubble in about 4' of water as I did on the dive - saw all sorts of different fish. There's several large coral beds just off the dock also - 10-15' deep or less. And we saw about 50 squid just off the dock. BD&A also does guided snorkeling, both off their reef and in the mangroves. Bonaire Dive and Adventure Click on Eco Adventures.

On Curacao the Dive Bus is just a short ride from the cruise port. They offer snorkeling at their location on Pierbaai beach. The Dive Bus - Snorkel Curacao for cruise ship passengers

The sunken boat tour you referred to is probably the Tugboat. It's off a beach in 12' of water. We dove nearby and while waiting on the surface saw a large boat moor and drop over 50 snorkelers near it - I assume that was a cruise line excursion.

You could also drive there yourself with good directions - it's pretty easy to find. Probably 15mins. east of the cruise port or less. The Dive Bus - Tugboat

One thing to confirm is how many hours you have in each port before planning anything outside the cruise operations.

 

[robint]

Bonaire is awesome.....

webcams:
http://www.bonairewebcams.com/TheWorks.php
www.breathebonaire.com


robin