---
title: "St. John Water Sports: Paddleboards, Kayaks, Snorkel Gear"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/water-sports
description: "St. John water sports: where to rent snorkel gear, paddleboards and kayaks, by the week in Cruz Bay or the hour at the beach, and the one jet ski tour."
updated: 2026-10-21
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/water-sports
---

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

# St. John water sports rentals, from paddleboards to snorkel gear

St. John water sports are the quiet kind: snorkel gear, paddleboards and kayaks, rented by the week in Cruz Bay or by the hour on the beach. Engines are the exception. Jet skis and e-foils are not allowed in Virgin Islands National Park waters, and the island's only jet ski is a guided hour from the Westin.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 2026

## Water sports on St. John, 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 | Rates | Phone | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Virgin Islands Ecotours](https://www.viecotours.com/st-john/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=9961809577227312098) | Snorkel backpack sets with a life jacket, weekly paddleboards and kayaks with a car-top rack, beach chairs and shade tents; picked up in Cruz Bay or delivered. | Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay; delivery to villas | Snorkel set $12 a day, $55 a week; paddleboard $200 a week; kayak $220 single, $250 double a week; chairs $10 a day | (340) 779-2155 | Oct 2026 |
| [Low Key Watersports](https://divelowkey.com/snorkel-gear-rental/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=1882060639088660110) | A Cruz Bay dive shop renting snorkel sets with prescription masks, paddleboards, beach tents, chairs and coolers by the day or week. | 1 Bay Street, Cruz Bay | Snorkel set $10 a day, $50 a week; prescription set $15 a day; paddleboard $60 a day, $300 a week | (340) 693-8999 | Oct 2026 |
| [Reef2Peak](https://reef2peak.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=3704906423803606876) | A rental stand on the sand at Maho Bay, 10 am to 4 pm daily: paddleboards, sit-on-top kayaks, snorkel gear and beach chairs. | Maho Bay, North Shore | Paddleboard or single kayak $35 an hour, $80 for 6 hours; board $250, kayak $200 a week; snorkel gear $20 a day | 617-378-5745 | Oct 2026 |
| [Maho Watersport Rentals](https://maho-watersport-rentals.myshopify.com/) | The rental counter at the Maho Crossroads beach bar: clear and ocean kayaks, inflatable paddleboards, snorkel gear, floats, shade tents and chairs. | Maho Crossroads, across North Shore Road from Maho Bay | Clear kayak from $40 an hour; paddleboard from $30 an hour; mask and fins $20 a day; Air Buddy $50 for 3 hours | — | Oct 2026 |
| [Cinnamon Bay Resort & Campground](https://www.cinnamonbayvi.com/thingstodo) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=10862670145121045687) | The park campground's watersports desk, 9 am to 4 pm, open to day visitors: kayaks, clear kayaks, paddleboards, snorkel gear and chairs; no season is posted, so call in September and October, when the campground is closed. | Cinnamon Bay, North Shore | Snorkel set $10 a day, $50 a week; kayak $30 an hour, $75 a day; paddleboard $35 an hour, $75 a day; SUP lesson $60 | 340-714-7144 | Oct 2026 |
| [Cruz Bay Watersports](https://cruzbaywatersports.com/tour/jet-ski-guided-tours/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=9725720407630038751) | A tour company, not a gear shop: the island's one jet ski outing, a guided hour across Pillsbury Sound, 18 and over to drive; also snorkel and sunset sails. | Westin St. John Resort Villas, Great Cruz Bay | Guided jet ski hour $149 a single rider (on sale against $169, October 2026) | (340) 244-1493 | Oct 2026 |

## Snorkel gear rental in Cruz Bay, day or week

The cheapest mask on the island is a weekly one collected in town. Virgin Islands Ecotours, at [Mongoose Junction](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/shopping), rents a backpack set with mask, snorkel, fins, a life jacket and a snorkel map at $12 a day or $55 a week. Low Key Watersports, on Bay Street, has a mask, fin and snorkel set at $10 a day or $50 a week, and a prescription set at $15 a day. Both prices are on their own pages as of October 2026.

Collect the gear on the way from the ferry and it rides in the car all week, ready for whichever bay is calm. At the beach the gear keeps beach hours, and the price depends on the stand: $20 a day at Maho Bay, while the Cinnamon Bay desk matches the town price at $10. Trunk Bay has a rental counter too, which the National Park Service lists among its facilities; it publishes no price.

## Paddleboards and kayaks: on the roof or at Maho

There are two ways to paddle. A weekly board or kayak from Cruz Bay goes on the roof of the rental car: Virgin Islands Ecotours lists a paddleboard at $200 a week and a single kayak at $220, with a soft rack, and delivers to the villa. Low Key's board is $60 a day or $300 a week.

Or rent by the hour where you launch. Maho Bay is the one beach with two stands: Reef2Peak, on the sand from 10 am to 4 pm, charges $35 an hour or $80 for six hours for a board or a kayak, and Maho Watersport Rentals across the road has clear kayaks from $40 an hour and an Air Buddy, a floating air supply it sells as the step between snorkeling and scuba, at $50 for three hours. Cinnamon Bay's desk runs 9 to 4, with kayaks at $30 an hour and boards at $35, but it posts no season, and the park's record has the campground closed in September and October, so call before you count on it then.

One rule to know before you paddle: the park allows no kayaks or paddleboards within 200 feet of the west side of Trunk Cay, where the snorkel trail runs.

## A jet ski on St. John means a guided tour

Nobody on St. John rents a jet ski to ride alone, and the park's rules are why. The National Park Service bars personal watercraft in Virgin Islands National Park and the Coral Reef National Monument; the park's 2026 compendium counts e-foils and motorized surfboards under the same rule and prohibits water skiing and towing any recreational device. Federal rules let only 21 named parks allow jet skis, and this is not one of them.

The exception is Cruz Bay Watersports' guided tour from the Westin at Great Cruz Bay: one hour behind a guide across Pillsbury Sound, $149 for a single rider as of October 2026, drivers 18 and over with a license and a card deposit. Its own page calls it a rental. It is a tour, and the guide sets the route.

## What Cruz Bay Watersports is, and what it is not

Despite the name, Cruz Bay Watersports is not a rental shop in Cruz Bay. It is a tour company working from the Westin St. John and from two resorts on St. Thomas, selling catamaran snorkel sails, sunset sails, BVI days and the jet ski hour. Its Westin beach rentals show no online dates as of October 2026, so for gear, the shops above are the ones to call.

Boats you drive yourself, the dinghies and Zodiacs that leave Cruz Bay, are on [the St. John boat charters page](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/boat-charters). For the week, a snorkel set from town and a car is most of what the water here asks for.

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 water sports on St. John

### Can you rent a jet ski on St. John?

Not to ride on your own. The National Park Service bars jet skis, e-foils and motorized boards in Virgin Islands National Park waters. Cruz Bay Watersports runs a guided one-hour tour from the Westin, $149 for a single rider, 18 and over to drive, as of October 2026.

### Where can I rent snorkel gear on St. John?

In Cruz Bay, Virgin Islands Ecotours at Mongoose Junction ($12 a day, $55 a week, with a life jacket) and Low Key Watersports on Bay Street ($10 a day, $50 a week), as of October 2026. Maho Bay, Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay rent gear at the beach.

### What is Cruz Bay Watersports?

A tour company at the Westin St. John and two St. Thomas resorts, not a gear shop in Cruz Bay. It sells snorkel sails, sunset sails, BVI days and a guided jet ski hour from the Westin.

### Can you paddleboard or kayak at Trunk Bay?

Not near the snorkel trail. The park's 2026 compendium allows no kayaks or paddleboards within 200 feet of the west side of Trunk Cay. Maho Bay, with a rental stand on the sand and another across the road, is the easier launch.

Sources: [National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/management/upload/2026-VIIS-SC_Clean_Final-signed-2.pdf) (checked Oct 21, 2026) · [eCFR, 36 CFR 3.9](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-36/chapter-I/part-3/section-3.9) (checked Oct 21, 2026)

- [Kayaking on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/kayaking)

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- · [Provisioning on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/services/provisioning)

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

- · [Boat charters on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/boat-charters)

- · [Snorkel tours on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/snorkel-tours)

- · [Fishing charters on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/fishing)

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- · [Private chefs and catering on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/experiences/private-chefs)

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- · [Things to do](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do)

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