One activity I always look forward to when visiting the islands is slipping into the warm Caribbean Sea to explore an underwater world we just can’t experience on land, or in most northern waters either for that matter. Well, our recent trip to Grenada was no different – I was looking forward to exploring their beach-accessible coral reefs as well as boating to the world’s first underwater sculpture park. In fact, with Marine Parks protecting several snorkeling hot spots around the island, Grenada may be one of the best Caribbean snorkeling destinations.
Once we arrived on the island and got settled, it wasn’t long before we were looking to enjoy some Grenada snorkeling experiences for ourselves. So, we headed out to visit a few hot spots along the southwest coast of Grenada – The Spice Island of the Caribbean did not disappoint. We discovered that Grenada’s reefs are home to amazing colourful tropical fish and thriving marine life! Here’s our ‘review’ of what we found at a few of Grenada’s most popular snorkeling spots.
Molinière / Beauséjour Marine Protected Area
A local tour operator boat picked us up right from the beach at our resort, and along with a handful of others, we motored north to explore the Molinière Bay – Beauséjour Marine Protected Area. First, we snorkeled over a nice healthy reef before experiencing the famous Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park. Although the day was overcast with limited visibility, we still managed to see a wide variety of corals and other sea life, including a range of fish such as angel fish, parrot fish, butterfly fish, sergeant majors, blue-headed wrasse, as well as a wide variety of striped and dark coloured fish.
Our snorkeling tour began with a 20-minute boat ride up Grenada’s southwest coast, slowing as we cruised into Flamingo Bay – Named after the Flamingo Tongue Snail, not the large pink bird found elsewhere in the Caribbean. The water was a bit choppy and the sky grey, so I lowered my expectations as I slipped into the cool water. Regardless of the cloudy water, this place is awesome – So much to explore and see. Our guide pointed us to a healthy coral reef that followed the shoreline along the south end of the Bay, so off I went to explore…
The rocky coral on the ocean floor of the bay is pretty much carpeted with life. The depth of the water varied from about 20 feet (6m) to just a few feet as I snorkelled closer to shore, which I did fairly often following small schools of fish. The amazing reef structure is covered with a colourful assortment of sea whips, a variety of hard corals along with plenty of whimsical sea fans. As I slowly floated over the reef, I came across a wide variety of fish of all shapes, sizes and colours. There were colourful blue fish as well as fast-moving schools of small, long, and skinny yellow/grey fish along with small groups of split-tail black-spotted grey fish – Likely tangs, chromis, as well as juvenile grunts, jacks and more. I especially enjoyed snorkelling over a nice wide gully between the shore and the main reef – The edges of which are just filled with marine life to examine and admire.
At one point our guide dove down to show us some Flamingo Snails on the back of a sea fan, then he gently borrowed a white sea urchin from its coral home, temporarily bringing it near the surface. While it was still in the water he placed the urchin on the palm of my hand – wow, the spikey little creature gently sucked my skin attempting to ground himself I assume. That was a first – and an enjoyable unique experience! Flamingo Bay is definitely a good snorkeling spot – If the warm and penetrating sun was out, I could have explored there for hours…
FYI – The next cove is another snorkelling hot spot called Dragon Bay. I understand that this bay is home to interesting volcanic rock formations and some of the best-conserved coral reefs in Grenada – I hear the area is brimming with marine life including colourful fish, octopus, eels, lobsters and even seahorses!
Anyway, after about half an hour or so of exploring the reef of Flamingo Bay, we climbed back aboard the boat and motored south for a few minutes before reaching the Sculpture Park.
Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park, completed in 2006, was designed by world-renowned British Sculptor Jason de Caires Taylor. The park’s displays rest on the ocean floor ranging in ocean depths between approximately 15 to 30 feet (5-9m) of water. Popular statues include the Vicissitudes (a ring of children holding hands) and the Lost Correspondent (a man sitting at a desk with a typewriter). When we arrived at the site, there was a much larger boat already there so there was over a dozen of us in the water at the same time, however, there are plenty of displays spread across a fairly large area of the sea floor, so it didn’t feel crowded at all.
With my fingers already shriveled from the previous swim, I re-entered the water and followed our guide who swam from one underwater display to another, taking time to describe what we were looking at below the surface. Before entering the water, he had told us that the displays are living art, which I understood better once I saw the cement statues in various stages of transformation – Slowly but surely being taken over by corals and algae. The statues are being claimed by nature, as it should be, as this is their home, and we are just visiting. To my amazement, the statues are located on the sandy ocean floor, in gaps between large coral structures. Unfortunately, the water was quite murky the day we were there so visibility (and photo quality) was poor. That said, I found one of the smaller rings of children very interesting, although I was really impressed with the ‘lost correspondent’, a lone figure slaving away at his typewriter – If you think you have busy days at work, this guy is seriously underwater… literally drowning in his work (bad dad joke, I know). Sorry for not providing a photo of it, however, it is in deep water and the visibility was poor. I also liked what Americans might see as the aqua-man version of ‘touchdown Jesus’, a statue of a large man with his arms outstretched open above his head. A unique experience for sure!
Although the visibility was low, I particularly appreciated the statues recreating the island’s Amerindian Petroglyphs – The haunting faces of long-gone indigenous peoples staring back at me from the depths. The photo below does not do them justice. While I was excited to see the sculptures that I had heard/read so much about, I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of large fish swimming around. Once in a while we swam through a few handfuls of golf-ball sized jellyfish that irritated some folks in our group, although I didn’t feel anything.
As we motored back to our resort, my eyes were continuously scanning the coastline of this beautiful Caribbean Island. There was one beach that stood out to me, as it appeared to have a large shallow reef not far from shore – One of our guides said it was Morne Rouge Beach, also called BBC Beach, and that indeed, it is another great place to snorkel.
While we enjoyed the day of snorkelling immensely, we found the water a bit chillier than some of our other Caribbean snorkelling experiences. I kept thinking how much more we would have enjoyed the excursion on a sunny day with less wind and calmer seas. I imagine that it would have been more comfortable with much better visibility with sunlight illuminating the statues. Oh well, this experience simply makes me want to come back for more 😉
Magazine Beach
We were fortunate enough to be staying at a resort right on Magazine Beach, which I had heard was another good spot for snorkeling on the southwest coast. I ventured into the waters a couple of times to explore the area for myself. While the beach is located on the Caribbean side of Grenada, it is pretty far south, so the Atlantic Ocean mixes with the Caribbean Sea a little, making it a bit rough – Nothing overly challenging, but I chose to wear a lifejacket to make my experience more relaxed and comfortable.
One day I snorkelled it was quite windy, so the water was a bit wavy with a slight undertow. Anyways, Magazine Beach is actually split into two beaches, separated by a small rocky cliff that juts out into the Caribbean Sea. I entered the water near the north end of the north beach and drift-snorkeled south – A fun and enjoyable experience. The first thing I noticed when I stuck my face in the water were the patches of green plant life everywhere, some portions precariously clinging to the sea floor and other clumps swaying back and forth in the sea as the waves rolled onto and out from the beach. Even as I swam into deeper waters further from shore, I noticed that fish of all sizes, along with marine vegetation, were also captive of the ocean current, gently going with the flow so-to-speak – It seemed to me that the sea fans were literally waving to me the entire time I was looking down there. About a hundred feet (30m) from shore I came across a large healthy coral reef system that ran parallel to the shore for hundreds of feet. This is where I floated around exploring the abundant marine life Grenada has to offer.
As I drifted along with the current, I encountered many large sea fans and a wide variety of coral, including some massive elkhorn coral that looked like 10-foot (3m) wide flowers. The reef contained a number of really interesting gullies, ranging in depth from about 5 to 15 feet (2-5m). These rocky channels were home to tons of different fish – Lots of small juvenile fish along with several large fish trying to hide, darting from under one ledge to another.
I swam over several incredible puffer fish (or perhaps cow fish?), the most I‘ve ever come across in one area. I saw some amazing Blue fish, perhaps tang or chromis swimming among a school of other fish. I also saw a half-purple and half-yellow fish and a fish that was black on top and white/silver underneath – I don’t recall seeing fish like this before. I was also happy to see plenty of my favourite fish – There were several decent-sized parrotfish of various types and colours, including the rainbow variety. Closer to shore, I snorkelled right over a line of squid floating with the current (photo below). WoW, that was incredible – Seeing squid like this just doesn’t get old! I was floating around out there for a fairly long time, although I could spend hours more exploring this reef system!
FYI – A little further south along this shoreline is the public accessible Aquarium Beach, which is essentially an extension of the same reef system as Magazine Beach. I understand there’s a restaurant with facilities on that beach.
While we’re on the subject, there are plenty of other good places to snorkel in Grenada as well. They include:
The popular Grand Anse Beach, which is also located on the south-west coast of the island. This snorkeling spot is nicely protected from the wind and the beautiful beach provides easy access to an artificial reef of ‘pyramids’ that are home to tropical fish and other marine life. A few minutes away is Morne Rouge Beach, also called BBC Beach. This beach-accessible snorkeling spot is less crowded than Grand Anse Beach and on a good day, features clear calm water – Excellent for snorkelling.
Levera Beach, situated within Levera National Park, is located at the northeast corner of Grenada. When the Atlantic Ocean is calm you can swim to coral reefs and seagrasses right from the beach – Places to explore that are alive with marine life. Bathway Beach is practically right next door to the park, and also offers a white sand beach with a coral reef close to shore. You can find public facilities at Bathway Beach.
La Sagesse Beach is located along the southeast coast of the island. This beautiful bay is home to a couple of small coral reefs and when the Atlantic Ocean is calm the water is clear, offering great snorkelling. Then there is nearby Hog Island – Apparently, it is possible for snorkelers to reach a multitude of shipwrecks in the Marine Protected Area there.
And let’s not forget about snorkeling Carriacou’s Marine Protected Areas including L’Esterre Bay, home to Paradise Beach and Sandy Island. Grenada’s sister island is also where you will find a couple of other remote and beautiful areas to snorkel – Anse La Roche Beach and Tyrell Bay Beach. Apparently, you can also drift snorkel the coral reefs around White Island and Saline Island in the sea between Carriacou and the main island of Grenada.
For more information on snorkeling in Grenada, including a list of tour operators who will get you into the water, check out our Grenada Snorkeling page
If you’re looking for other ‘active’ things to do while vacationing on the islands, click on our Grenada Adventures blog for some great ideas!
For an overview of the beautiful islands of Grenada, take a look at our Grenada Vacations page
For an overview of great Tourist Attractions on the islands, including tour operators who will take good care of you, check out our Things to Do in Grenada page
