Waterlemon Cay Reviews

Virgin Islands Daily News


Find Hotels in the U.S. Virgin Islands: St John, St Thomas, and St Croix Hotels.com


Island Swimsuits


Click here for the latest Cruise Tour deals and Departures

“Awesome Snorkeling!”

This place is beautiful. You take a little trail to a beach, and then swim out to the little island (waterlemon cay).

There are plentiful bright fish, coral, sea urchins, and huge starfish as well as sea turtles, barracudas and the occasional shark.

It really is amazing and I highly recommend going there.

St. John is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and one of the few places where nature is still intact.

Just make sure not to step on the coral to ensure this will be here for years to come. Enjoy!

“Starfish galore”

Our family snorkeled Waterlemon today. Great day!

Saw 2-3 sea turtles in sea grass only 10-20 yards offshore.

Also a ray. On the bay side of the Cay, there were hundreds of Caribbean starfish on the sandy bottom and on the slope going up to the Cay.

Spotted Barracuda, longest of which was probably 2.5 feet.

Highlight of the swim was probably the gorgeous coral (esp fans and elk horn) on the western (far) side of the Cay.

Surf was up and current running from east to west, so coral was swaying beautifully -- even so the visibility was very good.

Would recommend that anyone should go. However, beach is mostly stones with very small sandy part, so I would only visit if snorkeling is the goal.

“Absolutely worth the effort to get there”

We visited most of the North Shore beaches during our trip to St. John in early May.

Leinster Bay with its offshore Waterlemon Cay was our favorite.

It takes a little bit of effort to get there but we found it to be well worth it.

From Cruz Bay take the North Shore Rd (Rt. 20) towards Annaberg. Hike the level, partially shaded Leinster Bay Trail which follows the rocky shoreline to the beach.

The trail head sign indicates it is 0.8 mile long. It took us 15-20 minutes to reach the sandy part of the beach carrying our snorkel gear, picnic lunch and plenty of water.

As you walk along the beach watch for signs to the Johnny Horn Trail. This is a nice little side excursion to take before getting into the water.

A fairly steep, somewhat rocky climb for 10 minutes (we advise sneakers, not flip-flops for this hike) to an overlook and some stone ruins, then another climb and sharp left turn (unmarked) takes you to some more ruins that overlook the bay and Waterlemon Cay.

The views are lovely and there is a picnic table if you want to eat lunch here.

When you return to the beach you can enter the water and snorkel all along the right side of the bay and then swim over to Waterlemon Cay.

This, however, is a fairly long swim. Alternatively, you can continue the walk along the beach path until you are closer to the Cay.

Be careful not to step on the coral when you enter the water from the path.

We did not enter this way but saw others doing it so we don't know how difficult it is to find a sandy spot to enter. Either way, to reach the Cay you will be swimming for a short stretch where the water is deep and the bottom is not visible.

Once you reach Waterlemon you can snorkel around the entire Cay and there is a shallow sandy area on the bay side where you can rest if you so desire before swimming back to shore.

Close to the sandy shore of Leinster Bay are areas of sea grass, a likely spot to find sea turtles grazing.

Wild donkeys forage through the brush near the shore. We were advised to keep a distance from them as you would any other wild animal.

We saw quite a variety of sea life at Leinster Bay.

Lots of parrot fish and other colorful reef fish, hundreds of silver sides, large yellow sea stars, barracuda, squid, octopus, a nurse shark, sea turtles and rays.

You will see various types of coral but we were saddened to see so much damaged coral throughout the Virgin Islands. Still, the underwater vistas are beautiful and not to be missed.

“Highlight of our Trip”

We spent a week on St. Thomas, making 2 day trips to St. John. The snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay was the highlight of our trip.

To get there you must take the North road to the end. At the end of the paved road, there is a large parking lot. If you have a jeep, you can proceed down the road about another half mile, but would be an idiot to attempt this road in a standard vehicle.

At the end of the road it is a good mile walk (mile and a half if you park at the end of the paved road). The trail is flat and well marked.

The last half mile the trail is actually behind the trees 10 to 20 feet. One person commented on how it was too far to swim.

I suspect this person tried to make it from the beach. I wouldn't recommend this. Instead, follow the trail all the way around to the closest point of the Cay.

The trail will eventually end and you will come to a large rock, which is perfect for changing and leaving your backpacks, water bottles, etc. behind.

From there, you only have a 200 yard relaxed swim to the site.

Between the island and the Cay the water never gets more than 20 feet deep, and easy to see the bottom while snorkeling the entire way.

Previous posts suggested swimming around the Cay in a counter-clockwise fashion. Not sure why, but it worked for us.

During the snorkel around the Cay we say an octopus, stingray, a large sea turtle, and a small shark (maybe 2 feet long at best).

This was in addition to the thousands of fish and tons of coral.

This snorkeling was better than the 4 scuba dives I did that week.

“You don't have to be an expert snorkeler to enjoy this paradise!”

We hiked for a good 20 minutes in the rain, because we passed the sandy beach and went all the way to the point opposite the island.

Then the swim was short and I immediately saw a 12" silver barracuda and got great underwater footage of it.

This is a little more difficult to get in and out of because of the small rocks, no sand down at the point-but I am not a great swimmer so this was certainly the route for me and others like me.

We set our backpacks on the big slippery black rocks, sat down on a flat rock to put on fins and mask and basically laid on my stomach in a foot of water and started the gorgeous tour.

I went to this spot because of the reviews on this website and enjoyed the best snorkeling i've ever done including: grand cayman, hawaii, cozumel due to clarity, variety of fish and and untouched coral life.

In 1/2 hr. going counter clockwise around the island I saw:-4 barracuda 1-2 ft long-1stingray bottom feeding half way between island and point-2 turtles feeding in corals and grasses on this side of island-several schools of colorful fish feeding-multiple individual bigger tripical fish mulit-colors-5-6 tarpon (just beyond the point along mainland side)-1 nurse shark down in the sand (same place as tarpon)-1eel (same place as shark and tarpon)

I can't believe weaker swimmers on this site would even consider taking that long swim out to the island when you can walk 3/4 of the way on land.

Totally worth the hike, on the rocks, amazing!

“Top-notch Snorkeling!”

During our week-long visit to Saint John the swells were up on the north cost most of the time, so we had to wait until the day before departure to finally hit the much recommended Waterlemon Cay.

Getting there was half the fun, as we first stopped by the Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins, which was interesting and offered wonderful views.

The trail to the sandy beach near the Cay is nice in itself, level and right along the beautiful coastline.

The donkeys were around while we were there, and we have to dispute reports of their nastiness... don't tease them and they're just fine!

Once we reached the beach we set up towards the right (facing the water and the Cay).

There were probably only ten or so other folks at the beach, some sunning, some swimming, and most snorkeling.

The wave action was still up a little bit, which made our swim-snorkel out to Waterlemon Cay a little tough, but neither of us are strong swimmers and we made it without getting entirely pooped!

In terms of fish, it was pretty good overall. However, the most impressive thing about the Cay is the coral formations, and particularly the soft corals including MASSIVE sea fans!

Most of these are on the opposite side of the cay, most distance from the beach, so swim around (we read that it's usually best to do so counter-clockwise).

One of the fish highlights was watching a trumpet fish at work at the edge of the cay.

The swim/snorkel back to the beach seemed fairly long, and took more effort than the shore-hugging route we took out to the cay.

However, it became well worth it when we came upon a sea turtle grazing away in about 10'-15' of water not far from where the boat moorings are situated.

It paid us little heed, and we were able to observe it as it contentedly munched on the sea grasses, then surfaced for a breather. Wonderful!

Also closer to shore we saw lots of star fish on the sea-bottom, and further in among the sea grass beds we spotted around a half-dozen young barracudas... they are not aggressive, and actually swim away when you get close.

Our time passed quickly at Waterlemon Cay, and we truly had a blast. If you love to snorkel, this is the place to go!!! Dont miss it!

“Awesome Snorkeling!”

This place is beautiful. You take a little trail to a beach, and then swim out to the little island (waterlemon cay).

There are plentiful bright fish, coral, sea urchins, and huge starfish as well as sea turtles, barracudas and the occasional shark.

It really is amazing and I highly recommend going there. St. John is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and one of the few places where nature is still intact.

Just make sure not to step on the coral to ensure this will be here for years to come. Enjoy!

“Best snorkeling in St. John”

Whether you are a novice or highly experienced snorkeler, you will be astounded by Waterlemon Cay area.

In two days of snorkeling there, here's what we saw:

1. At least 8 seaturtle sightings (below the water. A fun thing to do is to sit on the beach, or stand in shallow water, and see how many turtles you can catch bobbing up their 3- 4 times to catch take breaths at the surface. Then they are underwater for about 10 minutes or more before bobbing up again. Soooo cute! I had at least 10 above-water head sightings)2. 6 - 8 ray sightings (including a spotted ray that was at least 6 feet long including the tail)3. blue-spotted flatfish called a peacock flounder, playing possum on the top of a coral4. nice-sized octopus5. moray eel6. dozens of schools of baby fish numbering in the thousands (not an exaggeration - imagine swimming for five minutes nonstop surrounded by tiny fish)7. many baby barracuda in training guarding their turfs8. gorgeous, huge starfish (these come and go for some mysterious reason. Day 1, we saw maybe a dozen. Day 2, zero)9. awesomely beautiful coral gardens (if I didn't have a snorkel in my mouth, my jaw would have been dropped open the entire time).10. just about every type of Caribbean tropical fish ever described.11. Another fun thing to do is find corals where a variety of babies are feeding together. It reminded me of that scene in "Finding Nemo" where the fish are going to school together. Baby blue tangs, trunk fish, angelfish, parrotfish, etc - adorable!

Visibility, particularly in the a.m., is fantastic. Absolutely clear, down a good 30 feet.

Around the right side of the cay, you could probably touch the fish, but please dont! I haven't gotten my underwater shots developed yet but I'm willing to bet they will be superb.

The reason this spot is so fab is the fish seem to be completely unaffected by human activity (unlike Trunk Bay --- although even those are amazingly "normal" considering the onslaught of legs when the ships come in).

They just go about their business and it's all good! The bigger the fish, the more shy they are. The tiny grunts chase away gigantic parrot fish 20x their size!

I'll add some underwater shots later!

Don't be scared off by the swim to the cay described by many guidebooks as only for experienced snorkelers.

My boyfriend, truly a novice, made the trip all the way around the cay without any problems.

If you are afraid of "not making it", just get on shore as close to the island as possible, around to the right, and only go on the right side of the island.

That is where most of the beauty is. You won't miss much not going completely around.

Current on the left side of the cay, coming back is where it's more challenging.

To see turtles, rays and baby barracudas, launch off the nice sandy beach you will come to about 2/3rds of the way to the point where you launch for the cay.

Go as early in the morning as you can. Stay in the area bounded by the boat buoys.

You don't have to go deep. Be patient. Stay around where the sea grass is. I saw one surface as close as maybe 15 feet from shore!

“Its called WaterLEMON -”

Wonderful for snorkeling - lots of turtles but the mongoose (or is it mongeese) will steal your food.

“Best Snorkeling On The Island”

Take the Leinster Bay Trail (nicely shaded easy walk along Leinster and Waterlemon Bay) to Waterlemon Bay, plop your stuff down, put your snorkeling gear on and get ready for some amazing sights!

My cousin and I went here and had the best snorkeling experience of our trip (having also gone to Maho Bay, Whistling Cay, Francis Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Salt Pond Bay and Blue Cobblestone Beach).

There's a LOT of starfish in the sand in the bay. Also feeding on the grasses in the bay we saw a sea turtle!!

Hanging out with this turtle was definately the highlight of my trip, it had two fish that stayed with it and it just kept eating the entire time we watched it.

Take the short swim out and around Waterlemon Cay to see some great deeper water coral and plants.

It was rather wavy so we didn't see too many big fish but there were plenty of little ones around in the protection of the bay. Great trip!!

“Beautiful Snorkeling”

We were able to gain access via a dinghey that we rented in Cruz Bay.

I would highly recommend making a day out of the dinghey. My wife and I rented one for 4 hours during the week we were there, and it was by far the most fun of the week.

By renting a boat, you will not have to walk or drive to the beaches, and will have fun driving in the ocean to boot!

“Great Snorkeling”

We were at Waterlemon Cay in June, 2005. It was the best snorkeling.

Saw lots of rays, large turtles, fish. You need to be in shape to fight the current, but it is well worth it.

Be sure and snorkel all the way around the island even on a cloudy day. Don't go all the way around to the short route to the island or you will miss some great sights.

“The best road-access snorkeling on St John”

Waterlemon Cay is a must-visit site for snorkelers. Since it's at the end of Lienster bay and requires a 150+ meter swim many don't take the time to see it.

This is one of the best sites on St John that doesn't require a boat to get to.

Drive as far as you can down the dirt road along Leinster bay. Walk the remaining way around to the rocky point opposite Waterlemon Cay.

On your swim across keep an eye out for a turtle and two rays.

Don't get discouraged by the swim, you can always take a break on the shell laden beach when you get there.

I like to swim around the entire cay but use caution if you're not a strong swimmer as the water can be choppy.

If you don't swim all the way around be sure you do check out both sides.

“Great Snorkeling here; bit of a walk, bit of a swim”

You've got to do a bit of walking to get to the best access point to Waterlemon Cay (the northeastern side of Leinster Bay), but the work is worth it.

Getting to the cay requires about 200 yards of swimming through calm bay waters.

Getting to the best snorkeling area, on the western side of the cay, requires more work.

Once you get there, though, you'll find an interesting variety of coral and fish life. Very nice snorkel spot, perhaps my second favorite.

“Best Snorkeling”

Waterlemon Cay is the island associated with Leinster Bay. I found it to be the best snorkeling due to variety and size.

Very impressive/majestic underwater formations. 1/2 area sandy, 1/2 rocky. Saw 3 sea turtles 3'+ who were friendly; one had 3 remoras attached. More turtles and rays and flounder here than elsewhere.

Also ubiquitous St. John plethora of coral/sponges/fish. Shallow areas for the novice.

Small sandy beach. Swim counterclockwise around the island to go with the current.

Was concerned from reviews, but no problems there.

Drive down the beach road as far as possible. There you'll be where the pelicans fish and the schools are 50 fish per cubic foot.

Don't walk further than 2' into the water without looking under; there are urchins to step on there!

It's slightly faster and cooler to swim directly to Waterlemon from there than it is to walk all the way down the beach then swim the 400' channel.

But, it's dull deep water after 50' and you should be comfortable out there before trying.

Gravel path if you walk the beach, so bring shoes. Beach itself is ubiquitous St John beautiful sand.

“Located at Leinster Bay and the Annaberg Plantation--plan on 1/2 to a full day there!”

I have seen this cay referred to as Watermelon Cay, as well as Waterlemon Cay in brochures and pamphlets, and I am still not sure of the correct name, however it is a wonderful place to visit.

One must park and walk down an ocean-side pathway in order to get to (let's call it Waterlemon Cay)!

It is approximately a 12-15 minute walk which leads to a very nice beach--good for sunbathing, but the snorkeling is absolutely superb.

The cay is located approximately 200 yds from the shoreline at Leinster Bay.

While swimming out to the small cay, which has many beautiful shells, one can see beautiful starfish, sea turtles, sometimes a harmless shark, and the many beautiful tropical fish which are so plentiful at St. Johns.

While swimming to the cay, the water gets rather deep--approximately 15 to 20 feet, but it is not difficult to get there.

Absolutely GORGEOUS sea shells are abundant on the rather tiny Waterlemon Cay.

Large starfish are abundant around the cay, as well as many beautiful tropical fish.

Be careful if you decide to swim around the cay, because the currents can be extremely difficult at times on the far side of the cay---only one of the times that I truly felt that my girlfriend who could not swim but was wearing a mid-riff safety belt and I were in a difficult situation.

Swimming to the cay seems to provide no danger, but swimming around the cay can become rather difficult unless you are a strong swimmer.

Probably some of the best snorkeling on St Johns. Waterlemon is very tiny, but is a great place to sunbathe, or to pick up seashells.

It is probably the best place on St. Johns to see all of the different forms of sea life including a few sharks, some barracuda, some moray eels, who lie mostly underneath the coral, plus the very colorful tropical fish.

I would not even think of going to St Johns without visiting this place. The water there is so beautiful that at times it seems that you can see 4 or 5 different shades of colors---absolutely gorgeous!

The Annaberg Plantation is also located within a few hundred yards of Leinster and Waterlemon, so it makes for a good 1/2 to a full day's trip.

Share your own beach photo's or stories with us!

Now you can share photos and stories from your own vacations from beaches that you have traveled in the Virgin Islands, and around the world!