TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Best Snorkeling on Anegada?

We are staying on Anegada for a week and can't wait to explore. Where are the best snorkeling spots? I know Flash of Beauty and Loblolly.

Flash of Beauty is the best place. This is the closest accessible place to the outer reef. If there is a ground sea (large waves breaking on the reef) there is a strong rip tide there, so be cautious.

Big Bamboo is OK, but will require more swimming to reach the good part of the reef. You will have to swim out in the channels between the very shallow patches of reef near shore. Do not try to swim across them.

Cow Wreck is OK, but only if the sea is pretty flat. Otherwise, the water will be very cloudy. Go in a about 200 yards to the west of the Cow Wreck bar and swim out until you reach reef. It will be much smaller reef than Loblolly. The main reef is pretty far out.

Anegada, a place I dearly love, is far from the best snorkeling in the BVI. That said, taking a boat tour (such as Sherwin's) will provide access to much better snorkeling than off any of the beaches.

However, when it's fairly calm there is a pretty spot very near the reef directly North of Ann's Tipsy Beach Bar. Walker put a float out there to mark it. I wouldn't advise trying it if there is much surf breaking because it's very shallow and you could get scratched up on the coral.

For Flash walk down the beach from Monicas restaurant eastward several hundred yards and then enter the water and go with the current E to W

For Loblolly there is a semicircle and start on the east side and float as well E to W

If you can go out on the reef with Kelly (our choice) or Sherwin

I highly recommend colored noodles so you can see your crew

For Flash, I found it difficult to find a cut to get out to deeper water. Any advice on a good entry point? For those recommending more of a drift snorkel, how far out do you need to go typically?

Walk directly to the beach in front of Flash, then along the water slightly to the right (east). There is a channel there that goes out to deep water. It zigs and zags a little bit, but is easy to follow. It goes past some huge coral formations with lots of fish beneath them.