By Jim – (Denver, Colorado)
I am looking for some Bahamas snorkeling information. I plan to kayak and snorkel on my trip there. The Exuma island chain is of particular interest, but I also wonder if anybody knows of some good snorkeling spots on Nassau or Grand Bahama?
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Nicole & Galen – Jan 28, 2014 – Haven’t Been…
Jim, unfortunately we have not yet been snorkeling in the Bahamas and have not had much luck with good information being shared on our site. Hopefully you will get some useful responses this time.
We do have one nice submission about a couple snorkeling spots on the west end of Grand Bahama and Walker’s Cay.
Good luck!
Adam Thompson – Jan 29, 2014 – Snorkeling in Nassau
I don’t know about kayak-accessible spots, but my wife and I were in Nassau a couple years ago and took a snorkeling trip with a company called Seahorse. If memory serves, we paid about $40 each. The snorkeling was good and the rum punch was a nice freebie.
Since then, I have heard from multiple places that Stuart Cove’s is the most highly regarded snorkeling tour company on the island. I want to try them on our next trip.
Lu Ann – Jan 30, 2014 – Snorkeling Grand Bahama
There is a quaint little place out in the sticks of Grand Bahama called Paradise Cove and Resort. It is not at all like what we Americans think of as a resort, but it is a gem. It’s remote and quiet. It’s a beach, a gift shop, a little beach bar, and equipment rental shop. It has GREAT people who are really friendly and nice and are especially helpful to beginning snorkelers.
You can snorkel right off the beach by swimming just a few yards and then the beach drops off to a reef. It’s fabulous. My son followed a sea turtle around one afternoon. Early morning finds beautiful schools of hundreds of fish.
Rob – Feb 9, 2014 – Some Abacos and Exuma Tips
Seconding the comment about Stuart Cove’s on Nassau. A trip with them was an excellent introduction to Bahamas snorkeling for me, thirteen years ago.
Among the Out Islands places I’ve been, the best beach snorkeling is on Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, which is also a wonderful place to visit. Park your golf cart along the road closest to the beach on the northeast part of the island, and then just walk in; it’s an easy entry with nice reefs 3-8 feet deep and similar fish to the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. North of the northernmost beach on the Atlantic side, there’s ironshore, so don’t try to drive all the way to the top.
We also had nice boat trips to reefs south of Green Turtle Cay.
On Great Exuma the only good beach snorkeling I found was at the beach shared by Grand Isle Resort and Sandals.
The snorkeling boat trip on Great Exuma involved a scary tow snorkel, but there is some spectacular coral to be found among the Exuma Cays (but seemingly fewer fish than Green Turtle Cay, at least where I visited).
US Airways’ in-flight magazine has Eleuthera on the cover in February 2014 and mentions Paradise Beach near Gregory Town as well as Lighthouse Beach at the southern end. I’d love to try these someday.
Thanks to Galen and Nicole for this great site. I’m hoping to follow their advice soon, possibly in Belize!
Galen and Nicole – Nov 27, 2014 – New Nassau Snorkeling Trip Report
Another community post has been added to the site with information about snorkeling in Nassau.
Galen and Nicole – Nov 1, 2015 – New Eleuthera Snorkeling Info
There has been some information shared on this page about snorkeling Eleuthera Bahamas.
Spanish Bill – Sep 8, 2016 – Grand Bahama Beach Snorkeling
We have used and highly recommend Paradise Cove for snorkeling in Grand Bahama. For $40.00 They pick you up at your hotel and take you to their facility for the day. We observed many types of fish both large and small, Moon Jellies, an octopus, sea turtles and two types of rays. The coral was beautiful and there was a lot of it. In all the years I have been snorkeling this was the best, hands down. The food on site was as reasonably priced as I have seen in the islands. The owner is on site at all times and his care and attention show.
Atlantan – Sep 10, 2017 – Another Vote for Green Turtle Cay
Having made several trips to Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos, I second what an earlier poster said about its great snorkeling sites. A reef runs close to shore all the way down the east side of the cay. There is wide open access, simply by parking your golf cart along the road, and walking over.
If you have novice snorkelers, they’ll enjoy the calm waters of Bita Bay.
In any event, at least one trip with Brendal (Dive Center, adjacent to Green Turtle Club) is a must.
Galen and Nicole – Sept 19, 2018 – Abacos Islands Snorkeling
There is some more community info about snorkeling the Abacos Islands.
Marc – Sep 2, 2018 – Stuart Cove’s Bahamas
We snorkeled on the Stuart Cove’s boat trip in 2017. Price was reasonable and snorkeling was good. Went to several spots and swam with sharks. Boat and crew were great and friendly and helpful. They will pick you up from your hotel. You can also drive but beware the location is on opposite side of island and hard to find so get good directions. A nice way to spend part of your day and see a different area away from all the big hotels. I recommend it.
Galen and Nicole – Feb 12, 2019 – Another Paradise Island Nassau Trip Report
Check out this new trip report for snorkeling Paradise Island.