Salt Pond Bay Beach – St John’s Best Snorkeling Spot

St John is full of the most picturesque beaches in the world. There are great snorkeling spots all around the island, but Salt Pond Bay felt like a hidden gem. It is a little out of the way from the more touristy beaches, but worth the beautiful drive (honestly it is like a win-win with views like that!).

Check out the video below to take a peak into the beautiful fish and corals Salt Pond Bay has to offer.

How to get there

The Salt Pond Bay is located on the small southern tip of the island, whereas many of the more popular beaches are on the North side. You can park in the parking lot, but since that fills up quickly you can also park along the road. There is a mall hike/walk to get to the beach. It is about 6 minutes to walk down the dirt path. On your way to the beach there is a downhill decline. Because of this it is hard to bring too much down, so keep that in mind in your packing!

The beach

The beach is a crescent shape with a narrow stretch of sand with limited shade. There are also a few picnic tables along the beach, but get there early to get those! In our experience the beach wasn’t too busy, but it also isn’t too large either.

Because of the crescent shape of the bay, the water seems to stay pretty calm. There are usually boats anchored in the bay giving it a picturesque view.

The Snorkeling

Now to the good part! The snorkeling is incredible! We saw huge fish, sea turtles, and SO MANY corals. If you go towards the right side of the beach you will find the “coral reef” as we called it. You do need to swim quite a ways to get to where most of the corals are so be sure to wear your fins. There were so many different corals in all different colors. We saw so many fish!