Coral Gardens Reef

What an awesome snorkeling spot!!! No need to pay for expensive snorkeling tours…just come here, it’s free. You have to snorkel OUTSIDE the roped-off area, but it is BEAUTIFUL! Especially at the back of the reef. So many different colorful fish, we saw a turtle over by the sea grass, and we saw an eel too. Some of the coral is unfortunately bleached, but there is still colorful coral down there. Gorgeous purples, golds, and orange colors. Loved seeing the sea fans too! Please wear your reef-safe sunscreen and don’t let your fins touch the rocks or corals. Park at the roundabout and walk down the sandy path to the beach. It’s really easy to find and quite obvious as to where to go. I’ve snorkeled in many places, and this is in my top 5 spots for sure. There was just so much life in such a small space. I would suggest coming early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. We noticed that once more people showed up, there were less fish...

Some of the best snorkeling during our trip was at Coral Gardens. It is very easy to get to and plenty of parking (set your Maps to Coral Gardens Resort). The beach itself is beautiful of course, being an extension of Grace Bay. But we were amazed at the snorkeling. You can't miss the reef since they have it marked and roped off. Just swim all around the outside of the ropes and be prepared to see some amazingly colorful fish. We didn't see any turtles or rays here (try Smith's Reef for that) but we loved how easy it was to get to and how close to shore the reef was. This would be a perfect place to bring children to snorkel. In our opinion, no trip to T&C would be complete without...

Coral Gardens was recommended as an easy spot to go to the beach and snorkel. We were on vacation with a 5 and 8 year old. They are both good swimmers and have started snorkeling. Coral Gardens was perfect for them. We saw tons of fish and a few squid. The kids had a blast. Stay away from the ropes and buoys. A lot of people were touching the ropes and were getting cut or stung? Not sure exactly what it was but be careful. We ate at Somewhere Cafe which was right on the beach. Good Amanda drinks...