Snorkel Sites - Rated

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 3:08 pm Post subject: Snorkel Sites - Rated

This comes up quite frequently so I made it its own sticky topic.

There really is no "best place" for snorkeling, there's just the best place at the time, depending on weather & sea conditions and the experience level and interests of the snorkelers.

There is great snorkeling all over the island and the best places change almost every day, along with wind and sea conditions. While the snorkeling around the Queen's Monument is arguably among the best on the island, there is only about a 50-50 chance on any given day that it will be calm enough to snorkel.

Assuming the best possible conditions at all places, here's my rated assessment of the various snorkel sites:

Stingray City/Barrier Reef - 10 (used to establish a benchmark)

Boatswain's Beach - 10

Paid admission but where else can you snorkel nose to nose with shark and be assured of absolutely perfect conditions every time.

Queen's Monument - 8

Turtle Farm area - 8 (Rated the number ONE dive site in the entire Caribbean by Scuba Diving Magazine, 2008)

Smith Cove - 7

Eden Rock/Devil's Grotto - 6

Wreck of the Gamma - 5

Cemetery Beach - 4

Cali Shipwreck - 4

Anywhere on Seven Mile Beach - 3

Rum Point - 2

Note:

1. The scale is exclusive to the Cayman Islands where snorkeling conditions are exceptional. What I would rate as a "1" here would easily be a "10" somewhere else, like the Bahamas. Wink

2. The scale is predicated on the average depth a snorkeler would need to go to see the best parts of the area. For example, Rum Point (or practically anywhere) would be considered a 10, if you were to snorkel out 100 yards or more and free dive below 40-60 feet.

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:39 pm Post subject:

Joe - you forgot to add Cindy's front yard :-D Actually it's not a good point for snorkeling as you'll get battered on the reef but me votes for SRC/Reef area and then Queen's then Cemetary/Smith Cove/Eden Rock all being favorites.

Unfortunately Queen's is as you say an iffy sort of situation where as Smith Cove/Eden Rock/Cemetary are far more consistent in being able to snorkle them. Also the Gamma tends to have good times and not so good times and technically has a "public access" path through Poinsettia or just toddle through Pageant Beach.

Cindy Lou Who

theonewhostillhasnothadachancetogointhewatersinceshegotback :o

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:51 pm Post subject:

I forgot all about the Gamma. That's a great place to snorkel. Paul calls it the USS Tetanus. :-D

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:57 pm Post subject:

:-D :-D :-D :-D That would be an apt description for it but I saw my first shark there and my first octopus there so I'm rather fond of the frumpy rusty old thing and it's a perfect snorkle for beginners to advanced alike and the beach is pretty good and it's very quiet because every one does forget about it! That's why me likes it so much!

Cindy Lou Who

Newbie Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Posts: 18 Location: Nebraska

What rating would you give the north side of the island?

Temporary Resident Joined: 01 May 2005 Posts: 110

Rum Point is a 2? Have you gone out to the end of the dock? I've seen a lot of good stuff out that way.

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:20 pm Post subject:

daterry - The Queen's Monument area is on the north side of the island.

lesclaypool - If you go out 100 yards or more, any part of the island is excellent. Very Happy

The problem is, it gets too deep to see much from the surface when the water is that deep. Since this topic is about snorkel sites I classified them based on what they are like at a 20-30 foot depth.

I did do a couple dives at the dock at Rum Point a few years ago and it was a wonderful dive site. There used to be a white seahorse that could be spotted there quite often. However, I don't think most people who snorkel at Rum Point would go all the way out to the dock so I rated it according to what the conditions are like where the average person would go.

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 8:04 pm Post subject:

I'd say that Rum Point is positioned right. The snorkeling there has diminished in quality in the last year.

I love Queens Monument and the Turtle Farm area...as well as Eden Rock.

Shoot, I love them all. rolllaugh

Frequent Flyer Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 26

Sorry to bother again Embarassed

but I'm still not clear on whether or not Queen's Monument would be a good place to start for a novice snorkeler (assuming perfect conditions). Is the swim too long? After this, I promise to get a life and stop asking stupid questions Smile

Native Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 1212 Location: Kansas

webdiver!

Welcome, and just to let you know , there are no such things as stupid questions here on this board, I ought to know, I have asked them all!

kchick

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:44 pm Post subject:

webdiver: for a novice snorkeler I would recommend two things, first of all a must do is the Sotos tour of Stingray City and the Reef (Barrier Reef and known by other names as well) the second would be to stick to the west side for snorkeling, however it's a bit of a trek if you are staying on the east side or north side of the island so where you snorkle is also somewhat dependant on where you are staying.

Finally where you snorkel even though you might be a novice also depends on how comfortable you are in the water. I don't dive but I will snorkel dive sites even though what I'm looking at is quite a ways down (50 or 60 feet) but that is unusual. Most people who snorkel prefer things that are about 10 to 30 feet down and want to see a bottom that they could perhaps dive down to and back up in a short breath and want to see a "bottom" when they snorkel, hence most people don't snorkel what I call blue water which is deep water found on places like the wall dive sites. I mean it's not like you are going to get many great views that way Smile

but If I'm out on a boat full of divers I might still pop in the water and put on a mask and snorkel and just paddle around but that's me, I'm comfortable in the water here.

The other reason it's hard to give you specifics on snorkel sites is that prevailing weather conditions will also determine the best sites at any given moment. The east can be rough as can the south whereas the west is usually much easier (unless there is a storm coming through) and Stingray City tends to be sheltered (and is shallow so is good for all skill levels).

Also just like anything people develop their favorite haunts for snorkeling where they might be looking for certain types of marine life or whatever, for example for me, I don't like turtle grass so snorkel sites that require me to initially walk through or swim through a bit of turtle grass are not my favorite types of sites whereas other people quite like it soooooooo again it's a personal choice.

So after all this rambling I guess my question would be where are you staying, what is your skill level in the water and what are you looking to view when you snorkel and maybe that will help us give you a bit better advice.

Cindy Lou Who

Frequent Flyer Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 26

Well, I feel bad about garnering advice since I already asked this question (in a slightly different form), but anyway, I'm a certified scuba diver and I have a member of my family who doesn't dive, loves to snorkel, but is nota very strong swimmer. I'm choosing accomodations based on diving and snorkeling.

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:02 am Post subject:

webdiver wrote:

Sorry to bother again Embarassed

but I'm still not clear on whether or not Queen's Monument would be a good place to start for a novice snorkeler

webdiver - The Queen's Monument area is absolutely not an appropriate place to bring a beginner. The entry is over slippery hard pan and sharp ironshore and it can get choppy, even on a good day. This area is suited to advanced divers and snorkelers who are extremely comfortable in the water and very strong swimmers.

As I mentioned in another topic, I would not recommend selecting your accommodations based on diving or snorkeling spots because the conditions change every day. You could easily find yourself staying in North Side during a small cold front where it would be impossible to dive or snorkel anywhere on the north side for the entire week. The same holds true for any part of the island.

I completely understand that your vacation is important to you and you want to be in that "perfect place" where the diving and snorkeling are perfect all the time. Unfortunately, no such place exists. You will have the best chance of the most consistently calm conditions staying on Seven Mile Beach. That area is very suitable for beginner snorkelers and it is centrally located to many of the best shore dives. I am assuming that you are going to be doing most of your dives from a boat and they will always take you to the best places, given the prevailing weather conditions. The last thing you want to do is commit to any single location and deprive yourself of the beauty and diversity of the myriad exotic locations all around the island.

Planning your vacation around what you think might be the best place to snorkel is a crap shoot. You might get lucky and have wonderful conditions most of the time, or you could just as easily end up having to drive clear across the island every day to find a calm and safe place to snorkel. I recommend you choose your accommodations based on budget; resort vs. condo amenities; and whether you are looking for a quiet, remote, crowd-free getaway or wanting to be near all the best restaurants, activities, shops, etc. Let the weather conditions dictate the best place to snorkel on any given day and go there. Wink

Moderator Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 1826 Location: Ohio

Another couple of pennies on the pile....

I think the rating of snorkeling sites can be a hard thing to really "quantify". (is that a word?)

I would rate Smith's Cove and Eden Rock near my very top because of the octopi and wide variety of fish seen and ease of use, etc.

Rum Point was very shallow and sandy when I was there last and the only fish to be seen were around the pier pilings. I do think it is a great place to relax and spend the day.

The water was kind of rough the day we went to Stingray City last June and besides the wonderful stingray encounter, the snorkeling was good but not the best we experienced for the week.

Am I making any point here? I hope so - it's just that most everywhere I have been has offered something pretty cool for my family who loves to snorkel and that some days are better and can be different than others. Smile

Kay

Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:43 pm Post subject:

I may be adding confusion to this topic, when I say "the reef" I am not meaning the resort I mean the barrier reef out in the sound near SRC, I also sometimes add even more confusion by referring to the Aquarium as "the reef" also and also depending on who I am talking to I might be referring to my own front yard in Prospect Point area when I say "the reef".

The barrier reef area is a great combo snorkle with SRC but of course anytime you can step out your own front door and snorkle for however long you wish to and see plenty of marine life that is fantastic. However many visitors do want to see as many sites as they can or do want to experience SRC and if they can do a combo snorkle and see some other areas as well then I think that enhances their visit.

All opinions about best snorkle sites and dive sites are always going to be subjective and the parameters that are used to judge them are also subjective.

Having been in the Cayman watersports industry I know what my guests used to use to judge best dive sites and snorkle sites versus what my instructors used and sometimes they did not agree, nor would mine agree with theirs. I know there are some people who like to dive and/or snorkle and want to see as much as they possibly can take in. I also know of those who like to dive and snorkle and just hover in one spot for as long as they can just to see what happens by or what is going on in that spot. I'm one of those types. I can hang around in a spot for a couple of hours and just be quite content paddling back and forth just watching what is happening right under my nose.

In my opinion as long as you can be in the beautiful waters here then it is all good Very Happy

Cindy Lou Who

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