This was a tough one. There are so many great snorkel spots on Saint John and I had a really hard time picking my top five, so I tried to give a good variety here.  Check it out and add your own in the comments!

1. Waterlemon Key and 3 Buoy Reef- Rolling these two into one because they are my favorites.  Located as Far East as you can get on the North Shore Road, you park at the Annaberg Plantation ruins and then venture on the flat trail from there.  Go all the way out past the tire and the beach for water lemon but if you want to snorkel right off the beach, three buoy is right off the trail. WARNING. Entering the water here is very risky (we actually prefer to come here by boat,) be ware of sea urchins, and please please please don’t stand on anything but white sand, as you can easily damage the fragile coral reef.  We frequently see octopus here, as well as tons of fish and loads of healthy coral.
2. Dennis Bay- This little secret spot is one of the best snorkeling spots we’ve seen.  There’s a hidden trail on the way up to Peace Hill that will lead you down here and the snorkeling is amazing out towards the rocks on the left, just be careful of waves and boat traffic
3. Salt Pond Bay- Another favorite of the best snorkel spots on Saint John. I always tell people the best way to snorkel Salt Pond is to go directly out towards the rocks in the middle and explore there. It’s a bit of a swim, but 100% worth it!
4. Maho and Little Maho Bay- Turtles! Maho isn’t great for coral but its a really good spot to see stingrays, sea turtles, and sometimes even giant red starfish
5. Groutpan- Another hidden gem. I can’t tell you how to get here, but if you do make it out here you snorkel either side and explore the caverns and coral along with spiny star fish, sometimes reef sharks, and loads of fish!

As always with snorkeling, please don’t stand on the reef and always watch your fins so they aren’t kicking the coral.  We’ve seen drastic damage to the reefs here in the past few years and we all need to do our part to help prevent any further damage.  Sunscreens that aren’t reef safe are a huge detriment to our reef as well.  Consider wearing a sun shirt instead of sunscreen and look into finding a reef safe brand if you’d rather wear sunscreen!  St John and the reef will thank you!