Snorkel Jamaica’s 7-mile beach reefs for starfish, rays and so much more…
While Negril may be best known for its great white sand beach, cliff jumping and amazing river and waterfall adventures nearby, we were happy to discover a number of snorkeling options along Jamaica’s gorgeous southwest coast. The area is blessed with clear water providing excellent visibility for snorkeling, while the numerous protected bays and coves provide calm shallow water, ideal for beginners and families with small children. While we accessed some great snorkelling spots right off the beach and by climbing short ladders along the cliffs, the easiest and most common way to snorkel in Negril is by joining a catamaran cruise or one of the ever-abundant glass-bottom boat tours. Let the local tour operators bring you right to the undersea hotspots. Here’s what we found and heard about on our recent visit to Negril (listed from north to south)…
Half Moon Beach
Located 5-10 miles (10-15 km) north of Negril’s 7-mile Beach, this gorgeous cove is home to a secluded beach and enjoyable offshore islands close to shore. Just over 300 feet (100m) from the beach, there’s a nice little patch of coral, perfect for a casual snorkel. Venture out a little further and you’ll discover a long stretch of coral reef you can explore for hours! Snorkellers will experience a wide variety of corals and sea fans, plus sea urchins and juvenile fish like wrasse, damselfish and blue tang.
The intrepid and inquisitive can swim or paddle less than a thousand feet (300m) from the beach to a small uninhabited island where you can snorkel, catch a breather, and/or just hang out. It doesn’t get much ‘chill’er than that! If you’re looking for a refreshing beverage or two after your snorkeling adventure, an even smaller island is just another 350 feet (115m) away. This little cay is home to a rustic bar called Calico Jack’s Pirate shack. Don’t worry, you won’t have to swim back to shore – Local boats shuttle folks back and forth throughout the day.
Oh, on the way out to the reefs and islands watch for plentiful starfish, as well as the occasional ray gliding along on the sandy ocean floor. Overall, this is one of Negril’s best spots for snorkelling!
Bloody Bay / Lovers Cave
About a mile (2 km) north of 7-mile Beach, Bloody Bay is a great protected area with a nice reef, although the area has been spoiled for snorkellers by the cavalcade of motorboats constantly parasailing back and forth along the shoreline. That said, it’s reasonably safe for snorkellers to explore the reefs at the ends, near the mouth of the bay. Due to the large amount of shallow water along the sandy shoreline, the sea in this little bay is the warmest I’ve ever experienced in the Caribbean.
At the north end of Bloody Bay between Little Bay Country Club and the RIU Negril Resort (not to be confused with the RIU Tropical Bay Resort, practically next door), you can easily reach the reef that’s less than 100 feet (50m) from shore. It’s a large reef that stretches out into the bay for close to 1000 feet (250m) – But keep your eye on those annoying motorboats which may be turning around in the vicinity. While the beaches aren’t secluded, the sea is uncrowded for snorkellers and full of marine life. You’ll practically have the place to yourself as you discover lots of starfish, sea cucumbers, as well as rays and crabs along the sandy bottom. You’ll also find a wide variety of juvenile fish over the reef.
Meanwhile, at the south end of the bay along the peninsula where the Grand Lido Negril Hotel is, the cliffs and nearby reefs offer another relatively safe area to snorkel. We ventured out there via a glass-bottom boat and really enjoyed swimming and snorkeling through “Lover’s Cave” – a small cave system with a sandy ocean floor, low hanging cave ceilings, and schools of bright coloured juvenile fish darting around in the shallow water. A pretty cool experience for sure. Just a few feet/meters from the cliffs scattered reefs are home to a wide variety of corals, sea fans and plenty of colourful little fish. We also saw a lobster hiding under some rocks on the ocean floor! Interestingly, at one point we swam for a few minutes through literally hundreds of tiny jellyfish, but don’t worry, they don’t sting (or at least we didn’t feel anything). Again, the area is uncrowded – We were the only ones there snorkelling 😊.
Booby Cay Island
About 700 feet (200m) from shore at the tip of the peninsula separating 7-mile Beach from Bloody Bay is Booby Cay, a small uninhabited island named for the sea birds that once frequented the place. The island is surrounded by fragments of a coral reef where you can find a wide variety of marine life worth exploring. Glass bottom boats from both Bloody Bay and 7-mile Beach will take you there, while a number of organized tours include fun barbeque lobster lunches on the little island, where you can enjoy your own (near) private oasis – Ya man!
Negril (7-mile beach) Reef
South of Booby Cay, just over half a mile (1km) from Negril’s famous 7-mile Beach, you’ll find a series of coral reefs that are generally considered the best place to snorkel in Negril. Although the reefs are fairly far from shore, the water is still very shallow, allowing you to view marine life in less than 10 feet of water. Although there can be a gentle current at times, it’s still a great place for beginners. These reefs are home to a large variety of corals, sea urchins, sea fans as well as tons of fish. Again, there are a few pockets of tiny harmless jellyfish in the area, but they’re nothing to worry about, or as the locals say “No problem man!”
We enjoyed the area so much that we took two trips out there, once as part of a Catamaran cruise and again via a glass-bottom boat for a more private tour. The first thing I saw there was a baby spotted ray swimming along the bottom of the sandy ocean floor – So cool, I could have followed it forever! Then I noticed the abundance of purple-ish sea fans and soft corals in the area. While slowly floating along the edge of the reefs, I saw a unique trumpetfish along with schools of juvenile yellow grunts, although they were almost hard to see as they blended with the fire coral in the background. Of course there were tons of friendly sergeant majors swimming closer to the surface, just out of reach. I also witnessed an amazing couple of blue sergeant majors who I assume were protecting recently laid eggs. I saw some of my favourite colourful fish, bluehead wrasse and parrotfish, as well as some dark angelfish or damselfish.
The highlight of my snorkelling adventure was seeing, for the first time, an abundance of orange and white squirrelfish with their big dark eyes (see above). That said, it was also very interesting to see a black snake slithering under rocks and my heart absolutely raced when a hawksbill turtle swam right in front of me! I think I might have also seen a rare indigo hamlet (unique bluefish) as well. OK, ok, there is lots to see!
For more underwater scenes from our 7-Mile Beach Reef Snorkeling adventure, check out our Negril Snorkelling video on Youtube.
A trip to Negril is incomplete without experiencing beneath the waves over these bountiful reefs, hence almost all of the catamaran cruises and glass-bottom boat tours in the area will take you here – Enjoy!
Negril’s West End – Pirates Cave (Joseph’s Cave?); Rockhouse; and The Caves
Just north of the Rockhouse Hotel, there’s an amazing little cove that can be accessed via boat or from small ladders along the cliffs. While there’s likely good snorkeling just offshore over the nearby reefs, the feature attraction for us was the large horseshoe-shaped swim-through cave. We visited by boat, and after being entertained by some local kids jumping and diving off the cliffs, we swam into the cave to check it out. As we explored the cave, we noticed dark coloured crabs scrambling along the cave walls whenever someone inadvertently got close to them. While we didn’t see any marine life in the water, it was a unique experience for sure.
A little further south, located just north of the Negril Lighthouse, there’s another small cove beneath the Caves Hotel that has more large caves along the cliffs. These caves are home to a variety of marine life including rays, and plenty of juvenile fish can be seen over the nearby coral reefs.
ACT Staff
For more information on snorkeling in Jamaica, including a list of tour operators who will get you to the hot spots, check out our Jamaica Snorkelling page
If you’re looking for other ‘active’ things to do while vacationing on the Land of Wood & Water, click on our Jamaica Adventures blog for some great ideas!
For an overview of the beautiful and unique island, take a look at our Jamaica Vacations page
For an overview of great Tourist Attractions on the Land of Wood & Water, including tour operators who will take good care of you, check out our Things to Do in Jamaica blog
