Snorkeler’s Review: Top St. Martin/St. Maarten Snorkeling Sites

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If you read any of my snorkeling guides, you will find I rate all the sites we check out using my snorkel rating key. Hopefully, these ratings are helpful when you are trying to figure out what sites to prioritize especially if you have limited time.

Please see the rating key below.

OVERALL SNORKEL RATING KEY

🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿   =   World-class snorkeling and worth traveling just for the snorkeling alone!

🤿 🤿 🤿 🤿   =   Incredible snorkeling and should be on your list of top things to do!

🤿 🤿 🤿   =   Decent snorkeling and worth the effort!

🤿 🤿   =   Worth consideration if you are running out of things to do!

🤿   =   Not worth it!

We snorkeled 3 different sites while visiting Saint Martin (Pinel Island, Petite Clef, Divi Little Bay).

There were a few others (Baie Rouge, Creole Rock, Dawn Beach) that were also recommended. We are hoping to explore those on our return trip later this year.

I will update the map with our rating once we do.

You are going to need a ferry, boat, or kayak to access the snorkeling area on Pinel Island.

Pinel Island is located off the eastern shore of the French side of Saint Martin.

The fastest way to get there is by a 10-minute ferry ride, which runs daily starting at 9:30 am. No reservations are needed. You might even be greeted by the resident donkeys.

You are going to need a ferry, boat, or kayak to access the snorkeling area on Pinel Island.

Pinel Island is located off the eastern shore of the French side of Saint Martin.

The fastest way to get there is by a 10-minute ferry ride, which runs daily starting at 9:30 am. No reservations are needed. You might even be greeted by the resident donkeys.

The second option is by boat.

We stayed at probably one of the most amazing properties in Saint Martin, the Karibuni Boutique Hotel. One perk of staying at this hotel is they offer a FREE private boat transfer to Pinel Island.

You can get there BEFORE all the other people from the ferry arrive.  

If you want to know more about this incredible hotel, don’t miss my full review below.

The third option is by kayak.

You can rent kayaks from Caribbean Paddling. It will take you about 20 minutes to paddle over to Pinel Island.

If you are looking at a map of Pinel Island, we found the best snorkeling was on the northeastern beach.

It requires a short hike. If you are facing the Karibuni Restaurant from the water, walk to the left and up the small hill PAST the outdoor bathroom.

Hike along the wall-marked trodden paths on the right towards the beach. See the map below.

Do not snorkel if the water is too choppy.

We entered the water at a sandy point, so entry was easy. There was a little wave action, but it was not hard to navigate. Use common sense.

My husband has an incredible eye for picking out marine life.

One of the large rocks had all these crevices. He pointed out several lobsters hiding in these holes. The giveaway was their antennae poking out alerting us of their presence.  

Other crustaceans we saw were shrimp.

I have eaten plenty of shrimp but have never seen them while snorkeling. That sighting was pretty cool.

You really have to look closely in the rock crevices to spot them.

I have seen more blue tang than I can count over the course of our snorkeling adventures. Regardless, they are always beautiful to see especially when they congregate in large schools.

Lastly, I saw a massive pufferfish. I love their oversized heads and little puppy dog eyes. They are quite shy.

You can get here by kayak or paddleboard.

Petite Clef is the island located right before Pinel Island. Our accommodation, Karibuni Boutique Hotel, provided us with FREE kayaks to use for our stay.

In less than 10 minutes, we reached the soft sandy beach. We dragged our kayaks to shore, secured our belongings, and then hopped in the water with our snorkeling gear.

We snorkeled clockwise around the island.

Entry is super easy. No rocks or sea urchins. The sandy bottom makes entering and exiting a breeze.

Don’t get too excited. There is not a lot of marine life to see. We saw a few blue tang here and there.

What amazed me though was the quality of the soft and hard coral on the backside of the island. We saw some beautiful sea fans waving around in the sea current.

Put in “Divi Little Bay Beach Resort” in GoogleMaps and follow the driving directions.

This snorkeling location is located on the Dutch side. There is a huge parking lot in front of the resort. Park and walk outdoors through the resort until you reach the beach.

As you are facing the water, walk all the way to the left on the beach towards the rock wall.

This is the spot where you enter.

There are two areas worth checking out.

As you face the water, you will be snorkeling on the left hugging the rock wall. Take your time and look in the crevices. We found an eel slithering along and ducking into one of the holes in the rocks on the sea bottom.

The second area of interest is near a large floating wooden platform known as the Tiki Hut. If you keep snorkeling to the left, you cannot miss it.

After you snorkel, you can climb aboard and have a refreshing rum punch and a snack at the bar or relax in a lounge chair.

They were closed when we went, and I’m not sure if/when they will open back up again. I would love to know your experience if you’ve tried it!

What makes the area around the Tiki Hut unique for snorkeling is the sunken airplane, helicopter, submarine, and canons.  There are buoys around the area designating where to snorkel.

The Tiki Hut also runs tours where you walk around a track on the bottom of the seafloor wearing a helmet that provides air. You can then observe the sunken vessels up close.

Entry is directly from the beach and is super easy.

We saw a few schools of sergeant majors, one eel, one turtle, and a sunken submarine, helicopter, and airplane.

I am not going to lie. Snorkeling around the sunken vessels was fun but a little creepy. 

Baie Rouge is a gorgeous beach on the French side.

There is plenty of parking. We parked and attempted to snorkel here, but the current was too rough. Visibility was poor due to the kicked-up sand.

Supposedly, there is great snorkeling if you enter the water on the far right side of the beach and snorkel around the rocky point and towards the arch and small secluded beach.

We’re going to try to snorkel again here on our next trip. Crossing our fingers for better sea conditions!

Creole Rock is best accessed by an organized boat tour from Grand Case. I have read the reef has supposedly seen better days, but the marine life is still beautiful.

Dawn Beach is also supposed to have great snorkeling when the current is calm.

Want to take the guess work out of finding the top spots?

Then an alternative is to join a highly-rated tour to show you the best snorkeling sites.

Bring your own gear!

If you love snorkeling, having properly fitted gear is so important. It’s the difference between a subpar experience and a spectacular one.

If you want to know what travel snorkeling gear I bring on all of our snorkeling vacations, check out my article below. 

You do not come to St. Martin for the snorkeling. However, there are still a few little gems that are worth checking out if you love to get in the water.

Pinel Island was our favorite site of the ones we snorkeled. We are looking forward to checking out a few more later this year and will update you soon.

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Have you visited any of the St. Martin or St. Maarten snorkeling sites? What were your favorites?

Let me know in the comments below!