8 Best Caribbean Islands for Snorkeling AND Hiking

Without a doubt, St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands is our number one pick for combining both outstanding snorkeling and hiking in the Caribbean!

My husband and I specifically seek out destinations with great snorkeling and often plan entire vacations around what we like to call our “snorkations.”

What sets St. John apart is that you don’t need to book a tour or excursion to reach most of the top snorkeling spots. About two-thirds of the island is protected national parkland, which means you’ll find some of the best shore snorkeling anywhere in the Caribbean.

Swim alongside more turtles and stingrays than you can count in Maho and Francis Bay.

Explore vibrant coral and sea fans in Haulover Bay and Little Lameshur Bay.

And if you’re lucky, you might even spot a nurse shark or a family of squid at Waterlemon Cay (yes, Waterlemon, not Watermelon).

I personally rate and review every snorkeling site we visit, with detailed info on how to get there, where to snorkel, and what to expect.

Be sure to check out my Ultimate St. John USVI Snorkeling Guide for all the details!

With its hilly, mountainous terrain, St. John is naturally a great place for hiking.

One of my personal favorites is the Ram Head Trail, which rewards you with stunning panoramic views at the end.

Other excellent hikes include the Reef Bay Trail and the Petroglyph Trail, both offering beautiful scenery and a taste of the island’s natural and cultural history.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend downloading the AllTrails app!

It features over 450,000 trails worldwide, including detailed guides for St. John. All the trails are reviewed by fellow hikers and include helpful tips. You can even download maps to use offline.

Perfect for exploring without worrying about getting lost.

If you’re wondering how to fit all this incredible hiking and snorkeling into one trip, be sure to check out my detailed 9-day St. John itinerary.

It pulls everything together for one unforgettable vacation!

I’m genuinely surprised that Bonaire hasn’t gained more recognition as a top Caribbean destination.

With new boutique hotels popping up and an unexpectedly impressive food scene (we’re obsessed with Kite City and CHEFS), it feels like the island is on the edge of discovery.

But for now, it still flies under the radar.

While Bonaire is well-known for its world-class diving, the shore snorkeling here is also incredible.

My husband and I are avid snorkelers, and after our first trip left us completely blown away, we knew we had to come back. So we did!

Some of our favorite snorkeling highlights include spotting eagle rays at Angel City, swimming with multiple turtles at Salt Pier and 1000 Steps, and seeing an incredible variety of fish at Red Beryl (including the adorable porcupinefish in the photo above!).

Klein Bonaire is another highlight and is one of the better drift snorkels we’ve done. It requires a short boat ride, but you will likely see turtles and some friendly French angelfish that aren’t shy about swimming near you.

Then there’s Bari Reef, where I unexpectedly found myself surrounded by a swirling bait ball. It was thrilling!

Thankfully, no shark in sight, but we did see a barracuda and even a peacock flounder chasing the action.

Bonaire keeps surprising us, and if you’re into snorkeling as much as we are, this little island should be at the top of your list.

Want the full list of our favorite spots?

Don’t miss my Ultimate Bonaire Snorkeling Guide. It’s packed with tips and everything you need to explore the best of Bonaire’s underwater world.

If you’re up for a bit of adventure, Subi Brandaris is said to be one of the best hikes in Bonaire.

Located inside Washington Slagbaai National Park, it leads to the island’s highest peak and offers some of the most breathtaking views around.

According to those who’ve made the climb, the trail includes a bit of a rock scramble near the top, but the panoramic views make it worth the effort. On especially clear days, hikers have even reported seeing all the way to Venezuela!

Before you go, don’t miss my park guide on 9 things to know about the park to make the most of your visit.

I’d be impressed if you’ve heard of #3 on my list… until recently, I hadn’t either.

Welcome to Saba, the Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean. This hidden gem is a dream for nature lovers, with lush landscapes, dramatic cliffs, and not many tourists.

Just getting there is an adventure: a heart-pounding, 12-minute flight from St. Maarten lands you on the world’s shortest commercial runway, perched on a cliff’s edge!

Saba is famous among divers for its untouched reefs and volcanic pinnacles, but don’t count it out for snorkeling.

We slipped into the water and were quickly greeted by multiple sea turtles, with stingrays and nurse sharks cruising in the deep.

Here’s my full account of our snorkeling experience!

Saba reminds me of a mini St. Lucia, with its dramatic, mountainous peaks and lush terrain. The island’s rugged topography makes it a dream for hikers, offering a mix of both easy and more challenging trails.

While Mt. Scenery is the most popular hike on the island, one of our personal favorites was the Sandy Cruz Trail.

The path winds through beautiful rainforest and offers peaceful, scenic views. If you time it just right, you can even watch the tiny planes land on Saba’s famously short runway far below.

Watching the planes land from above was an incredible sight!

From our personal experience, St. Croix often flies under the radar compared to its more popular neighbors, St. John and St. Thomas.

But for snorkelers and hikers like us, it has some truly incredible spots worth exploring.

One of our absolute favorite and most unique snorkeling experiences in St. Croix was at Frederiksted Pier. Swimming between the pilings, we came across a massive school of squid, a swirling bait ball, and colorful schools of tropical fish, including plenty of blue tang.

The pier’s pylons were covered in vibrant coral, sponges, and even brittle stars. It was like snorkeling through an art installation.

We also loved Buck Island, where we swam through a huge school of jacks, and Cane Bay, which gave us some fantastic turtle sightings.

While St. John and Bonaire remain our top snorkeling destinations in the Caribbean, St. Croix still offers plenty for snorkel lovers to enjoy.

If you’re planning a snorkel trip to St. Croix, don’t miss my detailed St. Croix Snorkeling Guide.

It highlights all the top spots, includes snorkeling maps, and features photos of the amazing marine life we encountered along the way!

From our own time exploring St. Croix, we found two hiking trails that are absolutely worth adding to your itinerary.

The first is the scenic Isaac & Jack Bay Trail, a coastal hike with sweeping views and the option for a refreshing swim or even a snorkel if you bring your gear.

It’s exposed with very little shade, so we recommend starting early in the morning to avoid the heat.

The second, and less well-known, is the trail to Mount Eagle, the highest point on the island.

Finding the trailhead was tricky (we definitely had to do some digging), but once you’re on the path, the hike is fairly easy and leads to a spectacular panoramic view at the summit. The effort was more than worth it.

If you’re wondering how to fit these hikes in with your snorkeling adventures, be sure to check out my 8-day St. Croix itinerary.

It lays out exactly how to make the most of your time on the island and experience the best of both land and sea.

Several years ago, my family and I had planned a trip to Puerto Rico, but we had to cancel due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.

We’re still hoping to rebook in the near future, as Puerto Rico has long been on our list for its incredible snorkeling and hiking opportunities.

Even though we haven’t made it there yet, I wanted to include it on this list because it’s well-known for offering some of the best snorkeling in the region, especially around the nearby islands of Vieques and Culebra.

These two off-the-coast gems are famous for encounters with turtles, rays, and nurse sharks in their clear, protected waters.

If you’re not staying on either island, Pure Adventure offers a highly rated snorkeling tour to Culebra and Vieques from mainland Puerto Rico, making it easy to experience the underwater magic even if you’re based elsewhere.

Some of the best hikes can be found in El Yunque National Forest, which is the only tropical rainforest managed by the U.S. National Forest System.

Discover Puerto Rico offers an excellent description of all the incredible hiking trails to explore in the cloud forest from easy to hard. Expect cascading waterfalls, rivers, and natural pools depending on the trail you pick.

The highly regarded company Spotin Tours will even show you how to slide down the Natural Waterslide if you are adventurous.

One of the main reasons we spent a few days in Aruba before heading to Bonaire was to relax on some of the most stunning beaches in the world. The photos don’t lie, wow!

What did catch me off guard, though, was the snorkeling.

Aruba has good snorkeling? Surprisingly, yes.

Two of our favorite spots were Mangel Halto and Tres Trapi, where we saw an impressive number of turtles cruising through the shallows.

At Mangel Halto, we were amazed by the large formations of starlet and lettuce coral, along with vibrant schools of fish like blue tang. We even spotted several eels, which was a fun surprise.

If you’re planning a visit, be sure to check out my detailed guide to Aruba’s top snorkeling spots, where I share everything you need to know for a great underwater experience.

Aruba is home to the beautiful Arikok National Park, which won the Best Caribbean Attraction Award by USA Today.

There are several different trails to choose from including the very popular Hooiberg Hike.

We tackled this hike on a recent return trip to Aruba, and the views from the top of Aruba’s second-highest peak were absolutely worth it!

Be ready for a bit of a workout though. It’s a 587-step climb to the summit, but the panoramic views make it more than rewarding.

To help you make the most of it all, be sure to check out my complete 7-day Aruba itinerary.

It shows you exactly how to combine the island’s best spots into one unforgettable trip.

Although the snorkeling is not as spectacular as the above Caribbean islands, Barbados does have one pretty unique snorkeling site: Carlisle Bay.

This snorkeling site has 6 shipwrecks to explore, which are always fun to swim over and slightly creepy at the same time.

Tropical fish such as the usual Sergeant Major, coral, and sponges love to take up residence on these sunken boats. We even got to see turtles and rays in the seabed below.

You could swim from shore to access the wrecks if you are a confident swimmer or take a tour with the highly-rated company, El Tigre Catamaran Sailing Cruises.

We did the snorkeling tour with Snorkel Wid Nevil, but I don’t think he’s running tours anymore.

There are several beautiful hiking trails in Barbados that don’t require too much effort.

One is the Bathsheba Coastal Walk, which stretches from Bath Beach to Bathsheba.

Another relaxed trail is walking along the sea on the Richard Haynes Boardwalk. There are a few beachside cafes for a drink or snack along the way.

I cannot wait to visit the Guadeloupe Islands. Besides its famous Rhum Agricole and delicious French food (it was a French colony!), it is known for its JUVENILE LEMON SHARKS.

I am obsessed with sharks but not scary sharks.

Although we did cage dive with a great white shark in Cape Town, South Africa that was behind the protection of steel bars (or so I thought, lol, I did live to tell the tale).

My favorite “shark” experiences were in Ambergris Caye at Shark Ray Alley, the Outrigger Maafushivaru in the Maldives (my #1 snorkeling resort in Maldives!), Sharks & Rays Sandbar in Moorea, and the Tiputa Pass in Rangiroa.

One of the Guadeloupe islands is Petite Terre. This island offers a unique snorkeling experience to snorkel in shallow water (we’re talking like knee-deep!) with juvenile lemon sharks.

It’s also known for turtles and rays.

Tarzan Excursion has exceptional reviews and can make this experience happen.

There are several fantastic hiking routes to choose from including the challenging hike up to the volcano, La Soufrière.

Another difficult but well-loved trail is the Carbet Waterfall hike, which requires a few technical parts involving ropes to go up or down.

According to fellow hikers, the 2nd fall is easy and the 1st one is hard.

My husband and I love discovering exceptional snorkeling and hiking experiences.

It’s not always easy to find Caribbean destinations that offer the best of both worlds, but after visiting many islands over the years, we’ve discovered several that truly stand out.

If you’re an active traveler like us, these 8 Caribbean islands are perfect for your next adventure!

And don’t forget … bring your own snorkeling gear for the best experience. We never rent.

After testing countless items across 74+ snorkeling sites, we’ve narrowed it down to the 13 essential gear pieces we trust and pack for every Caribbean trip.

These are our go-to favorites for comfort, performance, and reliability in the water!

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