Snorkeled the World, Eastern Indonesia the Best

Pat, glad you enjoyed my post. We sound very similar about snorkeling in deeper water or open ocean. I feel the same way regarding snorkeling from one reef to the next over a deep channel or getting dropped off a boat and having to snorkel hundreds of yards in open ocean just to get to the reef.

At one point I was an advanced snorkeler with no fear and used to do it all the time. Many of the places I listed above do require some very advanced snorkeling in deep water with very strong currents. However I nearly drowned a few years back snorkeling a very advanced location, so now I am a bit more timid and try to stick closer to land. I prefer to go no more than about 50-100 yards in any direction before I can put my feet back on the sand, even if that sand is still in the ocean and not officially back on land.

For those like me who may be a little timid in open water, my number one recommendation anywhere in the world for shallow snorkeling and a high quality reef is French Polynesia, especially Moorea. The water in many places is about 3-6 feet deep. The coral heads look like giant individual boulders, some the size of a car with sand around each one of them. So it is easy to stop swimming and stand on the sand next to a giant coral head if you need a break or get nervous.

Also in the South Pacific, Fiji has excellent shore snorkeling off Navini Island and Matamoana Island but the coral is much tighter together so there are less options to rest while still in the water without crushing the coral.

In the Caribbean I think I would pick the Virgin Islands over Bonaire for the best shore snorkeling as it provides a large number of islands very close together, a great choice of shallow sand beaches for snorkeling with a high quality reef very close to shore.

In the Virgin Islands there are so many islands so close together it is possible to hit many of them in the same vacation. I think St. John is the best option for shore snorkeling. I like Honeymoon Beach and Hawksnest Beach. Secret Harbor on St. Thomas is also nice. The BVI also has good access to shore snorkeling. On Virgin Gorda, from Mahoe Bay to the Baths, there are various locations for good shallow sand snorkeling.

One last thing, a great way to determine if a reef is truly shallow and can be easily accessed by land is to go on a home vacation rental website. Look up an excessively expensive beach front house located right on a beach you heard had good shore snorkeling and look at their images.

Anyone trying to get a renter for a house that expensive has high quality photos of the inside and outside of the house including the backyard, sand and how close the coral truly is to the shore. I have found those websites can have excellent images on what the reef actually looks like and if it is shallow enough that I would feel comfortable at that reef.