3 BEST St Thomas Snorkeling Spots – US Virgin Islands
St Thomas is a small island in the US Virgin Islands. The mountainous island is green and lush and surrounded by beautiful blue waters that make St Thomas snorkeling some of the best in world!
We spent 6 weeks living on St Thomas and snorkeled every beach that we could (what can we say? We love snorkeling!). There are 3 beaches we kept coming back to because of their beautiful corals and variety of fish! Here are our favorites:
Remember not to touch the corals or any of the sea creatures such as the turtles!!
1. Secret Harbor Beach Resort
Secret Harbor Beach on St Thomas is Rachel’s favorite snorkeling spot on St Thomas. The beach is part of the Secret Harbor Resort, so the beach parking is a little far away (up a steep hill, next to tennis courts with only a few “beach” assigned spots). To get the beach walk back down the hill after parking and go into the parking lot. There is a walkway in between two of the buildings – walk through there and you will see the beach.
⛱️ The beach has chairs, umbrellas, and towels that are for resort guests only. The beach is really nice with palm trees planted and nice sand. This beach is less narrow than others we have been to. There is a dock to the left and lots of different boats docked near shore. There is also a scuba dive shop down the beach.
? We went snorkeling off the left side past the docks. Just past the docks there are many different coral spots with a large variety of fish! It felt like a snorkeling playground with lots to find! The water was very calm and clear, making it a very easy snorkel. The corals are near the coast in shallow water so the corals were so close and easy to see (but remember not to touch!)
We continued down the coast to the point where there are fewer corals but lots of large rocks to swim around. The contrast was very fun and the rocks were unlike any of the other snorkeling we have done. There we saw lots of fish and even some squid! The water becomes deep and more rough at this point, so beware!
There is also great snorkeling when you go off the very right side of the beach, past the beach bar. Watch out for sea urchins in the water on this side! You will see similar corals and a variety of fish as the left side.
2. Brewer’s Bay
Brewer’s Bay is near the University and right next to the airport runway. If you are there at the right time you can watch a plane land! There are a few food trucks always there plus some showers and bathrooms. It is very crowded and loud on weekends with lots of locals gathered there, but very quiet and open during the weekdays. It is almost a guarantee to see sea turtles here, and likely you will also see string rays!
⛱️ This is both a very wide and long beach! There are lots of shaded areas and areas for sunbathing and playing in the sand.
? This is a gem for snorkeling! We went towards the left side just straight off the beach. Go to the seagrass and snorkel along there. Here you are almost guaranteed to see sea turtles and sting rays! There are some small spots with corals, but mainly there are fish swimming in the seagrass. Here we saw THOUSANDS of small minnow‑like fish! We have heard snorkeling off the right side by the rocks also has some great wildlife.
3. Hull Bay
Hull Bay is more of a local’s spot on St Thomas. It has been the hardest beach to navigate to due to bad roads and faulty Google Maps directions, but the snorkeling had some of the best coral on the island.
? The snorkeling here was one of our favorites. We went on the east side. The water stays shallow for a long ways so we were able to go far out ‑ just keep an eye out for boats!! We saw lots of different, colorful corals, a good number of fish, and some crabs! We even saw a small sunken boat! Also keep in mind that the wind really affects the visibility here so best to snorkel when it is a calm day.
⛱️ This beach was almost empty! The beach itself is much more rocky with more pebbles than sand. The location is still beautiful and has many shaded areas.
Looking For Other Places To Snorkel in the US Virgin Islands?
St Thomas snorkeling is hard to be beat, but St John also has some incredible places to snorkel. Check out our Waterlemon Cay video guide and our Salt Pond Bay guide for snorkeling on St John!
