Best Snorkeling in the Caribbean: 10 Islands & Beach Spots

Where is the best snorkeling in the Caribbean? This guide ranks the 10 best Caribbean islands for snorkeling, with the exact beach to snorkel from shore on each one, the best scuba diving spots, when to go and 6 rules for snorkeling safely: Turks and Caicos, the US Virgin Islands, Roatán, Bonaire, Cozumel, Curaçao, Barbados, Grenada, Aruba and Tobago, plus a bonus pick, Saint Lucia. Quick answers: • Best Caribbean snorkeling from the beach: Turks and Caicos (Smith's Reef, Bight Reef), Trunk Bay on St. John (USVI) and West Bay Beach on Roatán. • Best for shore diving: Bonaire (86 marked dive sites) and Curaçao. • Shipwrecks you can see from the surface: Barbados (Carlisle Bay), Aruba (Antilla) and Grenada's underwater sculpture park. • Calm-water pick in hurricane season: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao sit south of the main hurricane belt. • USVI rule: sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate or octocrylene are banned, so pack a mineral one. Full guide: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/cari... Island snorkeling guides: Turks and Caicos: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/turk... US Virgin Islands: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/us-v... Cozumel: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/cozu... Curaçao: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/cura... Grenada: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/gren... Aruba: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/arub... Tobago: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/toba... Saint Lucia: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/sain... More guides: Best Caribbean beaches: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/best... Best Caribbean islands: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/best... Best time to visit the Caribbean: https://caribbeanislandstrip.com/best... Chapters: 0:00 Best snorkeling in the Caribbean 0:16 How we ranked the islands 0:41 #1 Turks and Caicos: Smith's Reef & Bight Reef 1:22 #2 US Virgin Islands: Trunk Bay trail 2:02 #3 Roatán: West Bay Beach 2:35 #4 Bonaire: shore diving capital 3:09 #5 Cozumel: Palancar Reef 3:44 #6 Curaçao: Playa Piskado & Tugboat 4:13 #7 Barbados: Carlisle Bay wrecks 4:47 #8 Grenada: underwater sculptures 5:23 #9 Aruba: Antilla wreck 5:46 #10 Tobago: Buccoo Reef & Speyside 6:18 Bonus: Saint Lucia 6:31 Snorkel or scuba? 6:54 Best time to go snorkeling 7:25 6 rules for snorkeling safely 7:55 So which island is best? #caribbeansnorkeling #snorkeling #caribbeantravel Credits: photos and footage from Wikimedia Commons (cropped, animated and color-graded). Paul Prior (CC BY 4.0); Adalberto Hernandez Vega from Copan Ruinas, Honduras (CC BY 2.0); Adamboluu (CC BY-SA 4.0); Aneil Lutchman (CC BY-SA 2.0); Atsme (CC BY 4.0); Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK (CC BY 2.0); Betty Wills (Atsme) (CC BY-SA 4.0); Boris Kasimov (CC BY 2.0); Boris Kasimov from Toronto, Canada (CC BY 2.0); Brian Gratwicke (CC BY 2.0); Caicos Rentals (CC BY 4.0); Coolcaesar (CC BY 4.0); DDJJ (CC BY-SA 4.0); DJ Cane (CC BY-SA 4.0); Dameon Hudson (CC BY 3.0); DanielleJWiki (CC BY-SA 4.0); Darkonc (CC BY-SA 3.0); DavidMPyle (CC BY 4.0); EgorovaSvetlana (CC BY-SA 4.0); Fred Hsu (CC BY-SA 3.0); Giles Laurent (CC BY-SA 4.0); Gregor Julien Straube (CC BY-SA 4.0); Gruepig (CC BY-SA 3.0); Gruepig (CC BY-SA 4.0); Islanderin (CC BY-SA 4.0); JZimmerman (CC BY-SA 3.0); Johnnie Flashlite (CC BY-SA 4.0); KSI Photography (CC BY 2.0); Kalamazadkhan (CC BY-SA 4.0); Kp93 (CC BY-SA 3.0); Kris Mikael Krister (CC BY 3.0); LASZLO ILYES from Cleveland, Ohio, USA (CC BY 2.0); Martin Tuchscherer (CC BY-SA 3.0); Matthew T Rader (CC BY-SA 4.0); Michal Strzelecki, Wojtek Strzelecki & Jerzy Strzelecki (CC BY 3.0); Navin75 (CC BY-SA 2.0); Nhobgood Nick Hobgood (CC BY-SA 3.0); P. Hughes (CC BY-SA 4.0); Paul Mannix (CC BY 2.0); Pi3.124 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Postdlf (CC BY-SA 3.0); Prayitno (CC BY 2.0); Rennett Stowe from USA (CC BY 2.0); René Bongard (CC BY-SA 3.0); RoadTripWarrior (CC BY-SA 3.0); Roatanavi (CC BY-SA 3.0); Rob Bixby (CC BY 2.0); SNORKELINGDIVES.COM (CC BY 2.0); Seasidesaltlife (CC BY-SA 4.0); Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA (CC BY 2.0); Stefan_und_Bille (CC BY-SA 3.0); SunCat (CC BY 2.0); Tim Sackton (CC BY-SA 2.0); TropicLens (CC BY 4.0); VV Nincic from Toronto, Canada (CC BY 2.0); Varun Kapoor / Vkap (CC BY 3.0); WalkingGeek from Westport, CT, USA (CC BY 2.0); WhatsupDarren (CC BY-SA 4.0); amanderson2 (CC BY 2.0); bez_uk (CC BY-SA 2.0); dpursoo (CC BY-SA 3.0); dronepicr (CC BY 2.0); fenderstyler (CC BY 3.0); john norton (CC BY 2.0); joskrum (CC BY 2.0); sarah moolchan (CC BY-SA 3.0); shutterstuman (CC BY 2.0); socaltraveler (CC BY-SA 3.0) Music: original. Voice: AI narration.