Where to take the kids (5 and 8) snorkling.

[ScubaMarc]

I told both of my kids if they do well in swimming class I will take them snorkeling.

Kids ages are 5 and 8. The 8 year old is a decent swimmer and is playing with his snorkel gear in the pool and is very comfortable. The 5 year old is a much better swimmer than the 8, but does not have the maturity of the 8 year old and does not use any gear.

I want to take the family on a snorkel vacation somewhere in the Caribbean, Mexico or southern US. I was thinking of some sort of resort that has a closed in area of some sort.

I was looking at:
Riviera Maya Mexico Xel-Ha Ecological Water Theme Park but it is only good for a day.
Curacao has many beaches that are closed in from the ocean.


Anyone with ideas? Thanks.

 

[jeepguy]

Curacao is a great place for snorkeling. I snorkeled there at Breezes resort two years in a row before I decided to become a diver. Check out this web site The Dive Bus - HOME. They are a great dive op, but have recently also started running snorkeling trips to the best beaches in Curacao. Great people, loads of fun, and really cater to families. You can email Suzy with any questions or concerns. We already have reservations for our 5th trip to CUR. Feel free to PM if we can be of any help.:14:
Tom & Isabelle

 

[smokey braden]

scubamarc,
bonaire has some very good shore diving.
this would allow good snorkling as well.
they have a map showing all of the sites which are numbered.
you could rent a truck and spend the week going to different sites without repeating any.
regards,

 

[docmartin]

bonaire is most likely the best you will find in the caribbean when it comes to snorkeling. tons of sites (basically the entire west side of the island) calm water, no current and the reef is super close to shore.
our kids are 3 and 4. we took the 4 year old snorkeling all over the place in the puerto aventuras/akumal area while dragging the 3 year old along in his inflatable airplane. worked well and in akumal they will see turtles, rays, baitball and BIG baracudas. however, Bonaire is much better for snorkeling.

 

[Mr.X]

I told both of my kids if they do well in swimming class I will take them snorkeling.


I want to take the family on a snorkel vacation somewhere in the Caribbean, Mexico or southern US. I was thinking of some sort of resort that has a closed in area of some sort.

DisneyWorld in Fla. has that kid friendly dive park? Something cove? Also, Catalina island in California has a small beach filled with friendly Garibaldis & Kelpbass. It's a quick walk from the Avalon dock (not the Casino). Kids will need a shorty right now. Also, you can go to In & Out Burger in LA + the original Disneyland. Kids love both.

X

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

I agree that the snorkeling in Bonaire is the best in the Caribbean but when you are topside there won't be much for the kids to do.

 

[scubajb]

Not an expert here but we went to paradise island bahamas a few times this last year. Took my 7 and 10 year old (who is also junior open water certified) snorkeling quite a few times. Went to one place (I believe it was the leeward side of Heart Island) that was perfect for the little guy - lots of fish and clear/calm water. Seas were a little unpredictable though. If protected lagoons are what you are looking for, we also snorkeled at Atlantis which was totally calm - a few fish, and lots of people...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

DisneyWorld in Fla. has that kid friendly dive park? Something cove? Also, Catalina island in California has a small beach filled with friendly Garibaldis & Kelpbass. It's a quick walk from the Avalon dock (not the Casino). Kids will need a shorty right now. Also, you can go to In & Out Burger in LA + the original Disneyland. Kids love both.

X

I know it's near disney but may not actually be a part of it. It's called dolphin cove. Problem is it's well over a 100 bucks a day PER PERSON!

 

[robint]

Cozumel has Chankanaab park which has great snorkeling, lots of fish. I would think that one of the resorts on Belize outer islands would have good shore snorkeling too.

I agree about Bonaire though, amazing diving and snorkeling... one of the best shallow spots is right downtown in front of Yellow Submarine dive shop... you can see every type of ocean critter or fish within feet of the shore. Really nice area. If you stay at a place like Buddy Dive, they have excellent snorkeling right there with ladders to get in and out of the water. I think most of the resorts have this, plus activities for the kiddies while you go diving each day. Check out my pics and videos: <Ron & Robin's Bonaire Trip>Photos
we were just there in June and thought it was the best diving we have done in the Caribbean!

robin

 

[diversteve]

If you decide on Curacao stay in town. Breezes, the Marriott or Lions Dive all have protected beach areas that the kids could snorkel in. They might also like spending the day at Sea Aquarium, there's a dolphin encounter and they also have snorkeling in a pool that's has a lexan wall on one side, you can feed turtles and sharks safely through it. Not sure of age/size limitations for either of them though.

You could also drive out to Sunset Waters or Habitat one day. Sunset Waters has a protected cove that doesn't get deeper than about 5' out to the breakwater. Habitat has flounder 20' offshore to the west of the dock in water you can stand up in, as well as a big school of baitfish under the dock. And there's a resident barracuda who sometimes hovers nearby but he's a wimp. There's also a rocky area just 3-4' deep where there's an interesting variety of fish and a couple of eels. If you do Google Earth, there's a picture of the dock area linked there. Let me know if you need placemarks.

Another easy snorkel would be Varsenbaai (Police Beach) saw about 100 squid 20' from the dock, baitfish under the dock and about 50' to the east there's turtles feeding in 6' of water. It's protected so was flat calm the morning we were there. I saw several smaller children snorkeling by themselves along the cliffs there.

Curacao's going to be far easier to get to than Bonaire also. And has more non-dive stuff to do.

You might also consider Grand Cayman. There's some places along Seven Mile Beach where there's coral just offshore, TICondos is one - they even have a marked snorkel trail. Sunset House and Eden Rock have snorkeling right offshore and a short drive north to Cobalt Coast resort, they have good snorkeling just off their dock also. Other things for the kids would be Boatswains Beach - a waterpark that now incorporates the Turtle Farm - note: they're grown for food and become souvenirs there - and the Butterfly farm.

And there's the Sandbar Stingray City encounter. I'm not sure of the age requrement, I think it's more of a height requirement, but if your oldest was tall enough he'd have fun there. We did the SRC dive, it's in 15' of water and there were snorkelers on our boat - I'd guess they were about 10 or so.

Last place I can think of is Virgin Gorda in the BVI's. For two reasons. One is the Baths which is one of the most famous snorkeling places in the Caribbean - it's mostly 5' or less with lots of fish. And Little Dix Bay resort has one of the finest beaches I've ever seen with snorkeling 20' offshore. There's resident turtles there in the shallows also. But LDB is pricey, like $400+/night. And almost nothing else for the kids to do on Virgin Gorda - there's a watersports rental place and sailing farther north in the Leverick Bay area. But that's about all.