St John Snorkeling – Recovering From Recent Storms

We compiled this St John snorkeling information while visiting there in 2015 and wrote an eBook guide to snorkeling the island. In September 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria directly hit the island causing massive damage. We have not been back to St John since the storms and have no plans to return yet to update this information. We have been seeing many damaged reefs in recent years which is frankly depressing, and we can’t bear to see the damaged reefs in St John.

St John snorkeling, with tropical fish and beautiful corals
Sea Turtle in St John, resting under a rock.

Before the storms hit we had decided that St John had the best Caribbean snorkeling we had seen yet. It also had the most great shore snorkel spots than any of the other Caribbean islands we had visited. Unfortunately, we can no longer say these things.

You might still choose to visit the island and check out the St John snorkeling for yourself. It was a quaint and enjoyable vacation destination. It is a little mountain island that is mostly a U.S. National Park. There is really only one small town, two gas stations and a few grocery stores. There is not even an airport; you ferry over from St. Thomas.

St John Snorkeling Spots

Since we are have no plans yet for revisiting the island after the storms, we don’t feel comfortable sharing our specific snorkel spot information on the website like we normally do. It is no longer valid information about the state of the reefs. Instead we are lowering the price of our St John Snorkeling Guide by over 40% to reflect the fact that the underwater information may no longer be correct. Visitors who have used it after the storms have told us the guide is still very useful for locating snorkeling areas.

St John Snorkeling Guide eBook Cover

St John Snorkeling Guide eBook – In this pre-storm eBook you get:

  • The Best Snorkeling on St John
  • Easy Find Directions and Maps
  • 734 Beautiful Pictures

Sign up for our free newsletter to learn when we will update our snorkeling guide to St. John.

Our Decision to Delay Returning

This decision has taken some time to make. We have received many reports from folks who used our guide to snorkel the island after the storms and they were not promising. But, when we were made aware of these videos that the Virgin Islands National Park has shared about the state of the reefs, our decision was made. The shallow St John snorkeling reefs were significantly damaged by the hurricanes. Apparently some of the reefs fared better than others, as with any natural event.

The information that follows on this page gives you an overview of the pre-storm St John snorkeling we found along with some safety and travel tips you can use should you visit the island.

St John Snorkeling Video

Watch our St John snorkeling video below to see what to expect. The footage in this video was taken in 2015, before the storms hit in 2017. We compiled clips from all over the island.

What Did We Love About St John Snorkeling Before the Storms?

1. Loads of Free Snorkeling From Shore at Your Own Pace
While there are many boat tour options on St. John that can be lots of fun, you can access nearly all the best St John snorkeling locations for free from shore. And if you are interested in renting a kayak there are a couple of great areas easily paddled to that are in fairly protected water. And no matter what the wind direction, you can always find some place calm to snorkel.

Beautiful white sandy beach and turquoise  water in St John, USVI
Tropical fish schools in St John

2. Plentiful Fish, Creatures, Corals, and Sponges
If you know where to go, St John does not lack for healthy fish populations in good variety.

We saw very few eels, but lots of other fish species, many squid and even a few octopus.

We saw no sharks, but some of the biggest barracuda ever.

You can also find healthy soft and hard corals, including a great deal of Elkhorn Coral around the island. Although it seems that purple sea fan health is threatened around the island.


Big Elkhorn Corals in St John

3. Turtles and Rays Everywhere
If you do your St John snorkeling at dusk or dawn, at nearly every location you have a good chance of swimming with turtles and rays. That is always a treat.

Turtle resting on sea grass in St John
Spotted Eagle Ray over sea grass in St John

4. Interesting Underwater Topography
We are particularly fond of snorkel areas that have cool features to explore, like walls, caves, big boulders, and other interesting underwater landscape features. And there are numerous St John snorkeling locations that got us really excited because of the cool topography.

Interesting big rocks to snorkel around in St John

Snorkeling Sunburns Suck!

Check out the snorkeling rash guards, wetsuits, and reef safe sunscreen we use to protect ourselves and to protect fish and coral from sunscreen chemicals.

St John Snorkeling Safety Tips

As you can see in the St John snorkeling map below, the snorkel locations are spread out all over the island. 

St John snorkeling map

Most Spots Are Fairly Exposed
While many of the snorkel beaches on St John are within some sort of bay, none of them are behind a protective barrier reef, so they are open to waves, surge, swell, and currents. And a number of the better ones are located around rocky points that are very exposed.

Trade Winds Blow
The island gets a fair amount of wind, primarily a trade wind out of the east. But it can swing around from other directions.  

For both of the reasons above it’s important to check weather websites and buoy data to choose a safe place to snorkel. See our travel information below for links to weather websites.

Rocky ridge separating rough water and calm water in St John

Protective Footwear
Some form of protective footwear is necessary for entering and exiting the water on St John because of rocky shores. Yes, there are a number of nice sandy beaches, but a good portion of the best locations require foot protection.

St John Travel Tips

Best Time of Year for Snorkeling St John? 

For a number of reasons we think the best month for snorkeling in St John is March. It has one of the lowest probabilities of winds and lowest wind speeds. March is also a dry month for rains and is not during hurricane season.

One downside to March is that water and air temperatures are lower; water is 79 to 81°F and air high and low are 84°F and 72°F. We just used our neoprene tops and were warm enough for snorkeling for extended periods of time. Another downside is that you are traveling during high season which is more expensive and busier.

St John Water and Weather Information

White sandy beach and snorkelers in St John

If March does not suit you then here is some more snorkeling weather information for St John.

The months with the lowest probability of wind and the lowest average wind speed are March, April, September, October, and November. Wind is predominantly an easterly trade wind that can shift to the northeast and the southeast. Here is a link to the Windfinder statistics page

There is not necessarily a rainy season, but the most rain has historically fallen in September, October, and November. Hurricane season in the Atlantic runs from June through November, with the highest chance of storms in August and September. There are some rain statistics and hurricane information on this page.

Air temperatures never get very cold, but the average lows in the winter, November-April, are 70-73°F and winter highs are 83-85°F. While the average lows in the summer, May-October, are 74-77°F and summer highs are 86-89°F.

Water temperatures range from 77°F to 86°F in St John. The coolest water temperatures are in January, February, and March between 77 and 81°F. Warmest water temperatures are in the fall months, September through November between 83 and 86°F.

One more factor to keep an eye on for snorkeling safety is ocean swell. Here is a surf forecast page for St John.

For current conditions when you are on the island look at the webpage for NOAA’s weather data buoy south of St John.

Getting to St John and Around It

You will be flying into St Thomas, the island just west. Then you have a choice to make. You can rent a vehicle on St Thomas and drive it onto the car barge that takes you over to St John. Or you can catch a taxi to one of the passenger ferries over from either Charlotte Amalie or Redhook and then rent your vehicle on St John.

St John car barge

Once on St John, you will be driving on a small mountain. Most rental vehicles are jeeps. A four wheel drive vehicle is very useful if not necessary depending on how much exploring you want to do. The roads are extremely steep and winding with some very tight switchback corners.

Oh yeah, you also drive on the left side of the road, in a left hand drive car. So that takes some getting used to. Drive slow, because donkeys, cows, goats, pigs, wide trash trucks, buses, and pedestrians do suddenly appear on these narrow roads.

Forested hills of St John, with a bay full of sailboats

More Caribbean Snorkeling Tips