---
title: "St. John Snorkeling Tours, USVI · 5 operators"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/snorkel-tours
description: "St. John snorkeling tours from $75 before fees to $159 an adult, on the operators' pages in October 2026: where each leaves from, and the free beach snorkels."
updated: 2022-06-06
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/snorkel-tours
---

[St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) · Experiences

# St. John snorkeling tours, and the beaches that need none

St. John snorkeling tours cost $75 before fees to $159 an adult on a shared trip, on the operators' own pages as of October 2026, and a private boat for up to six starts at $850 for four hours, before fuel and tip. Book on the operator's own site. The real choice is whether you need a boat at all: Trunk Bay, Maho Bay and Waterlemon Cay are snorkeled from shore.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 2026

## The operators, side by side

*Rates and phone numbers from each operator's own pages, or a recent local source where it prints none, on the day in the last column; a group size marked "about" is our read. Every listing is free; an operator can ask to be added or corrected through our contact page.*

| Name | What | Departs from | Group size | Rates | Phone | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Virgin Islands Ecotours](https://www.viecotours.com/st-john/) | Guided snorkels from the beach and by kayak in the national park, gear and life jacket included; a self-guided Hurricane Hole kayak rental too. | Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay; Maho Bay for the turtle snorkel | about 12 to 20 | From $99 adult, from $59 child (Maho Bay snorkel, 3 hours; taxi from Cruz Bay $40 more); from $119 kayak and snorkel; from $159 full day with picnic | (340) 779-2155 | Oct 2026 |
| [Cruz Bay Watersports](https://cruzbaywatersports.com/st-john-excursions/) | Catamaran snorkel sails with lunch at a floating taco bar or the Pizza Pi boat, and BVI days to the Baths and Jost Van Dyke. | Westin St. John Resort Villas, Great Cruz Bay | about 60 a sailing, shared | From $129 (Turtles & Tacos); from $129 on sale against $189 (Pizza Pi and Lime Out sails, October 2026); BVI snorkel days from $179 | (340) 244-1493 | Oct 2026 |
| [Ocean Surfari](https://oceansurfari.com/tours/national-park-snorkeling-excursion/) | Power catamaran trips to two snorkel stops in the national park; the afternoon trip ends with pizza at Christmas Cove. | Red Hook, St. Thomas, with a Cruz Bay pickup | up to 12 on the private trip | $75 adults 11+, $55 ages 3 to 10, plus $5 fuel and $4 park fee (morning park snorkel); $99 and $79 plus $5 fuel (Do It All); $1,295 private for up to 12 | (340) 227-5448 | Oct 2026 |
| [Sunshine Daydream Boat Charters](https://sunshinedaydreamvi.com/full-day-usvi-charter/) | Private captained snorkel days around St. John and the USVI on 32-foot World Cat powerboats, four hours or a full day; snorkel gear, water and ice included. | National Park Visitor Center, Cruz Bay; the Westin for its guests; Sapphire Beach Marina, St. Thomas ($150 marina fee) | up to 12 | $850 for 4 hours, $1,095 for a full day, for up to 6, $50 each guest over 6; fuel $150 to $350 and tip extra | (340) 776-0928 | Oct 2026 |
| [Reef2Peak](https://www.reef2peak.com/) | An outfitter based at Maho Bay: guided East End snorkels from Haulover Bay and Princess Bay, booked by phone, and snorkel gear rented at Maho Bay. | Haulover Bay or Princess Bay, East End | up to 10 (kayak and snorkel) | Snorkel gear $20 a day, $100 a week, at Maho Bay; guided snorkels priced by phone | 617-378-5745 | Oct 2026 |

## How to choose a snorkel trip on St. John

Decide first what carries you to the reef. Virgin Islands Ecotours works from the shore and by kayak: its Maho Bay turtle snorkel meets at the beach, with gear and instruction. The boats go where a swimmer cannot: Cruz Bay Watersports sails from the Westin at Great Cruz Bay to an offshore cay, with lunch on a floating bar.

The tradeoff: a boat from St. Thomas is a boat that started somewhere else. Ocean Surfari's afternoon trip leaves Red Hook at 2 pm and picks up in Cruz Bay at 2:30, per its own page. For turtles, the National Park Service names Maho Bay and says they show more at the start and end of the day; ask what time a trip reaches the water.

## Free snorkeling from St. John beaches

Most of what the tours sell is also a drive and a swim. Our measured drives from Cruz Bay:

| Beach | From Cruz Bay | Entry |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hawksnest | 8 minutes by car | Free |
| Trunk Bay | 13 minutes by car | $5, 16 and over |
| Maho Bay | 18 minutes by car | Free |
| Waterlemon Cay | 27 minutes to the Annaberg lot, then the trail | Free |

Trunk Bay's fee, card or phone only, is the island's only one, per the National Park Service as of October 2026; it and Maho Bay rent gear. Waterlemon is the long one: the park counts 20 minutes on foot from Annaberg, and the current runs around the cay.

## What the National Park Service runs, and asks

The park's snorkeling page, last updated June 6, 2022 and read October 2026, names no guided snorkel. It sends beginners to the Underwater Snorkel Trail at Trunk Bay, a loop of roughly 300 feet out along the cay and back, with plaques on the marine life.

Sunscreen should be reef-safe by its ingredient list, the park says, not by what the label claims. At Hawksnest it asks you not to swim directly over the elkhorn coral, a federally protected species; at Leinster Bay, to stand only on sand.

## What a snorkel day costs beyond the ticket

Ocean Surfari adds a $5 fuel surcharge and a $4 park fee a person to its $75 morning trip, and a 20 percent gratuity for six or more. Virgin Islands Ecotours adds $40 for the taxi from Cruz Bay to Maho Bay. Cruz Bay Watersports' Pizza Pi and Lime Out sails are $129 on sale against $189, as of October 2026. A private boat adds fuel, $150 to $350 a day on Sunshine Daydream's page, and a suggested $250 to $350 for the captain.

With a car and a mask of your own, the first snorkel of the trip costs nothing: Maho Bay, early.

## Featured villas on St. John

[All villas on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/vacation-rentals)

Listed by their owners. See rates and dates, then write to the owner.

[Indo House Great Cruz Bay, St. John · 4 bedrooms From $4,000 / night](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/villas/indo-house) Featured

## Questions about snorkel tours on St. John

**Is there a Trunk Bay snorkeling tour?**

The trail is the tour. The National Park Service's Underwater Snorkel Trail loops roughly 300 feet out along Trunk Bay Cay, with plaques, self-guided, for the $5 entry at 16 and over as of October 2026. Gear rents at the beach.

**How much are snorkeling trips on St. John?**

$75 before fees to $159 an adult on a shared trip, on the operators' own pages as of October 2026; $99 for Virgin Islands Ecotours' Maho Bay turtle snorkel. A private boat for six is from $850 for four hours, before fuel and tip.

**What does a snorkel tour add over a beach?**

A guide, the gear and a boat to the cays no beach reaches. Hawksnest, Maho Bay and Waterlemon Cay are free national park beaches snorkeled from shore, and Trunk Bay is $5.

**Does the National Park Service run snorkel trips on St. John?**

Its snorkeling page names none, as of October 2026; it points beginners to the self-guided trail at Trunk Bay.

Sources: [National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/snorkeling.htm) (checked Oct 9, 2026)

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