St Lucia is a tropical dream, almost like a Caribbean version of Hawaii, with some great snorkeling options. While the island may be famous for the gorgeous mountainous jungle landscape and the Pitons, there are plenty of great spots to snorkel in St Lucia from both the shore and boats.
Due to the ever-present trade winds from the north east, the western side of St Lucia offers the best snorkeling opportunities. The top areas are located in the Soufriere area near the Pitons with a few others up north near the capital of Castries.
If you want to experience the best snorkeling in St Lucia, we favor Anse Chastanet and just down the beach at Anse Mamin for the pretty coral, prevalence of turtles, and gorgeous views.
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We love St Lucia snorkeling and this guide is here to help you find the best place to snorkel in St Lucia, for you. Both boat trips and beaches are covered, so you can decide just where to explore and how you’re going to get there.
If you want to go snorkeling on St Lucia, continue reading so you can plan your underwater adventure!
ST LUCIA SNORKELING TOURS
St Lucia snorkel trips by boat are the easiest way to explore the underwater life and take in the incredible views- not to mention, the roads are notorious for causing car sickness. As with nearly all snorkel boat trips, you’re unlikely to know for sure where you’ll be going until you set off because the captain will take you to the best available spot on the day according to the weather and water conditions.
Coral Gardens, St Lucia
At the base of Gros Piton is a great spot for snorkeling in St Lucia. If you hike Gros Piton, as we did, you can actually see the corals from the trail. The snorkeling spot is just off shore, but can only be accessed by boat. Located near Sugar Beach and the snorkeling around Petit Piton, you can often combine the locations if you take a private boat tour.
Snorkeling the Pitons, St Lucia
The Piton Wall at the base of Petit Piton is several hundred feet deep and rich in marine life. It’s a unique and interesting spot as you can see the steep piton continuing underwater here as a sheer drop.
A boat trip is the way to access the Piton Wall area. The boat will deliver you into the water one end of the wall. You can then allow the current to carry you along while exploring, before being picked up at the far end.
Island Routes snorkel experience
Our favorite Saint Lucia snorkeling tour was the Island Routes snorkel experience which includes visits to three spots, including Anse Chastanet and Anse Cochon.
If you’re looking for one of the top snorkeling experiences on St Lucia, this is it.
It hits up three of the best spots on the island in one trip. This is an especially great option for those staying at Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia as Island Routes partners with them and the resorts are located further from the popular snorkeling spots. When we visited, though, the trip was only offered on Thursdays. So you will need to plan in advance.
Israel King private water taxi tours
If you know where you want to go, we’d recommend hiring a private tour for the day to ensure you spend your valuable time just as you choose. This will ensure you see the top spots that can only be reached by boat.
For this, we loved Israel King’s private water taxi tour. They have fast speed boats and luxury powerboats, and your itinerary can be agreed to suit you. On-shore sites such as Sulphur Springs or the Drive-In Volcano can also be included in your tour if you like.
SNORKELING ST LUCIA BEACHES
One of our favorite things about snorkeling in St Lucia is that some of the very best spots can be reached from shore. In fact we found that all the local dive and water sports shops recommend Anse Chastanet above all other locations.
Another of the best snorkeling beaches in St Lucia is Sugar Beach, and there are breathtaking views from the Marine Reserve. You might spot bigger species in the ocean here too.
Three other top spots to snorkel in St Lucia are found at Anse Cochon, Marigot Bay and Pigeon Island.
Snorkeling Anse Chastanet and Anse Mamin
Don’t miss out on an Anse Chastanet snorkeling. It’s by far the most recommended place to snorkel, and from what we’ve seen, it is indeed the best spot on the island.
Anse Chastanet lies within a sheltered marine reserve flanked by emerald green slopes. Before you even enter the water, the views from above the surface are breathtaking. It’s best to get here by boat, via a half or full day trip from Soufriere or Castries.
This area is ideal for beginners and there are lots of tropical fish to see. Sergeant Majors, Trumpetfish, Parrotfish and many more frequent these waters. There are also some colorful hard and soft corals and sea sponges.
Though you can snorkel here directly from the beach, getting to the beach itself can be a bit of a challenge. The road leading here from Soufriere is in very poor shape and it takes approximately 20 minutes to complete the drive. This is because you have to travel at less than 10 miles per hour for most of the time while navigating the pot holes!
For this reason, taking a water taxi from the pier in front of the Soufriere police station is a better option. This journey takes just 10 minutes each way, and there are locals with boats running back and forth all the time. You can ask around at the pier entrance or the beach at Anse Chastanet to find a ride.
Anse Chastanet is also a popular spot for snorkeling tours to visit due to the fact that it’s one of the very best places on the island. With a private trip you can ask for it to be included, or pick out a tour that will include a visit here – weather permitting, of course.
If you are staying at or eating at the resort here you can use all the facilities at Anse Chastanet. If not, you are technically not permitted past the high water line on the beach. As long as you don’t actually sit in any chairs, though, you can probably walk around the beach a bit without being approached.
If you can, we do recommend staying here. It’s not only close to the best snorkeling on St Lucia, it’s also convenient for reaching almost all of the most fun things to do on the island.
There are two places to snorkel at Anse Chastanet. These comprise a small roped-off area on the left side of the beach, and a long strip of coral heads and sea grass which stretches from the right side of the beach all the way to Anse Mamin. These two spots are also connected via a waterfront path and palm-lined beach, but it’s only about a 10 minute walk to get down to Anse Mamin from Anse Chastanet.
To snorkel the area to the left of the beach, enter the Marine Park’s roped off area via the ladder on the dock. The boats come and go from this area, so swimming over is unsafe. This area has larger coral heads and several schools of fish, though the coral isn’t the healthiest we’ve seen.
To the right of the beach is a long stretch of coral heads, soft corals, and coral-clad rocks which runs along the coastline. This can all be found within the buoyed area and it is pretty shallow and well protected. You can snorkel the corals here beyond the dock towards Anse Mamin. Once you reach this second beach, it becomes sandy again.
Make sure you head out past the coral area, towards the sea grass fringe. You’re likely to see Hawksbill Turtles here, and we were lucky enough to spot one when we visited. These turtles actually nest on the beach here between July and October.
Anse Mamin is well worth visiting while you’re in the area. It’s more peaceful than Anse Chastanet and there are fewer boats in the water. You can also see colorful fish, corals and of course the turtles here. As the coral stretches between the two and they’re close together, it’s easy to include both areas in one hit.
Sugar Beach, St Lucia Snorkeling
Sugar Beach comes a close second to Anse Chastanet in terms of where’s best to snorkel on the island. This spot is situated in the bay between the two pitons, and there are incredible views from here.
The beach in Pitons Bay is often referred to as Jalousie Plantation Beach or Anse des Pitons, and can be found in the island’s southwest. It’s within the Anse Piton Marine Preserve and there are restrooms, food and drink outlets and water sports facilities here.
While the bay is compact in size, it offers a variety of habitats within the Marine Reserve. Among the seagrass in particular you might spot eagle rays, snappers, parrot fish, moray eels, trumpet fish, groupers, scorpion fish and sea sponges as well as the corals.
Snorkeling Pigeon Island, St Lucia
Pigeon Island snorkeling in St Lucia is well worth including on your itinerary if you wan to visit the national park in the north of the island. There’s a good spot about 100 yards off the beach, following the shoreline.
At the Pigeon Island snorkeling spot you can see several coral heads. These are about 100 yards out from the beach. They follow the shoreline and are just past the dock, and the best spot is around the large rock you can see just off the shore.
We encountered a group of local spear fishermen here. There are also a couple of underwater structures near the boat mooring buoys to explore, including a sunken car. Several starfish and tons of sea urchins were also lurking among the sea grass when we visited. Other species to look out for here include lobster, eagle rays, anemones, moray eels, starfish and giant barracuda.
Marigot Bay Snorkeling
Another of the best beaches in St Lucia for snorkeling is Marigot Bay. It’s popular with the companies who run boat trips, so it can get busy. If you make your own way here, you can rent equipment if not bringing your own. It’s a good place for amenities in general, as you can buy snacks and drinks at Marigot Bay.
Once you enter the water you can encounter large corals, seahorses and lots of colorful marine life. The northern side of the bay is best, and as this ares is something of a breeding ground you may spy shoals of younger tropical fish.
Anse Cochon Snorkeling
We visited Anse Cochon as part of our boat trip while on St Lucia. This secluded cove is among the most popular spots for day trips from the northern and central parts of the island. When we arrived there was a large tour group already there, and another arrived shortly before we left.
Another resort we spoke to also mentioned that they visit Anse Cochon on their tours, so don’t expect to have this spot to yourself. Unless you go very early or late in the day. The spot is located off the left side of the beach by the Ti Kaye Resort and Spa, and this has a restaurant.
We stopped at Anse Cochon while taking the SeaSpray ferry from Soufriere up to Rodney Bay. It was so much fun riding the catamaran along the beautiful west coast and we absolutely recommend doing that!
The snorkeling, however, was just okay. If you haven’t snorkeled much, you might enjoy seeing some decent bits of coral and small fish though. You can find underwater life all along the shore from the beach out to the point at the left of the bay. Look out for shrimp, lionfish, trumpetfish and even stingrays here.
Where will you go snorkeling in St Lucia?
There are some really lovely snorkeling spots in St Lucia, and our recent visit only made us want to return so we can explore further. If you want to enjoy the rich marine life this Caribbean destination has to offer, do plan in advance of your visit.
As well as booking boat tours, it’s worth thinking about where to stay. Anse Chastanet, for example, makes the perfect base because you can snorkel at the best spot on the island right by the resort. It’s also easy to access other St Lucia attractions from here.
Wherever you go, don’t forget your underwater camera. Like us, we’re sure you’ll soon want to return to discover even more of St Lucia’s incredible underwater scene!
