5 Best Ways to Explore Hurricane Hole on St. John

One of my favorite adventures on St. John is snorkeling the mangroves of Hurricane Hole. These are the best ways to explore the beautiful bay in the US Virgin Islands.

With so many picturesque beaches, snorkeling is one of the favorite pastimes on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. Departing from shore, the white sand quickly tapers into beautiful coral reefs booming with life while green sea turtles graze in the sea grass beds nearby. What’s not to love about that?

Well, I’m here to tell you about my favorite snorkel site on St. John that’s NOT one of those white sand beaches. In fact, it’s not a beach at all. Rather a forest. A mangrove forest, to be exact!

The Best Snorkeling Spot on St. John

Hidden on the East End of St. John is Hurricane Hole – a series of small bays lined with mangroves. It’s the best snorkeling spot on the island and one of the coolest place to visit in the US Virgin Islands.

If snorkeling isn’t your thing, Hurricane Hole still provides an immense amount of beautiful scenery for boaters, kayakers, and paddleboarders. So even if you’re not snorkeling, I recommend visiting!

The rest of this article details five different ways to explore and enjoy Hurricane Hole on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. Enjoy!

VIDEO: Boating and Snorkeling in Hurricane Hole, St. John, USVI

What is Hurricane Hole in the US Virgin Islands?

Hurricane Hole on St. John is a collection of small, mangrove-lined bays and creeks on the East End of the island near Coral Bay.

As the name would suggest, it’s a popular anchorage for sailors as they “hole” up in the face of hurricanes. Between the surrounding mountains and strong root system of mangroves, the natural landscape provides the best fortification in the Virgin Islands for mariners come hurricane season.

Hurricane Hole’s collection of bays and creeks consist of:

• Popilleau Bay
• Borck Creek
• Whitesand Bay
• Princess Bay
• Otter Creek
• Water Creek
• Nathaniel Bay

What are mangroves?

Mangroves are a tree found in tropical, coastal environments throughout the world. They are some of the most vitally important species in terms of coastal ecosystems. A few reasons as to why they’re so important include:

• Serve as underwater habitat for marine species, particularly juvenile reef fish, sharks, rays, and other fauna.
• Sequester an immense amount of carbon from the atmosphere.
• Provide coastline protection from storm surge, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
• Trap sediment, pollutants, and silt so nearby coral reefs and seagrass beds can flourish.
• And many, many more!

In fact, Laura is specifically studying mangrove restoration at the University of Virgin Islands! They’re kind of a big deal!

5 Best Ways to Explore Hurricane Hole in Coral Bay, St. John

1. Snorkeling the Mangroves

Snorkeling in Hurricane Hole is a MUST do on any trip to St. John. In fact, Hurricane Hole has been my favorite snorkel spot in the US Virgin Islands since moving here!

Protected under Virgin Islands National Coral Reef Monument, the underwater landscape is well preserved and uniquely gorgeous combining vast ecosystems of mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs.

Where do you snorkel in Hurricane Hole?

You can snorkel anywhere in Hurricane Hole but the best spots are parallel to rocky points or mangrove-lined shoreline. The rocky points, like the west side of Mardenboro Point, provide a hard substrate for coral to attach and grow.

The mangrove roots beneath the surface provide a habitat for many reef species including juvenile reef fish like barracuda, trunkfish, and snapper, queen conch, southern stingrays, and starfish. The best mangroves for snorkeling are found in Princess Bay, Borck Creek, and Water Creek.

🤿 NOTE: Accessing Hurricane Hole from land is difficult. The easiest and best way to go is aboard one of the charters listed below.

2. Stand Up Paddleboard or a Kayak

For a peaceful and leisurely day on the water, consider renting kayaks or SUPs from Crabby’s Watersports in Coral Bay. After a short paddle from the dock, you’ll arrive to Hurricane Hole and oftentimes, have the entire place to yourself. Crabby’s also rents snorkeling gear if you don’t have your own.

🤿 Travel Snorkel Set: Owning a travel snorkel set opens up an endless amount of underwater exploration on your trip to the US Virgin Islands. We love this handy travel set from Cressi that easily packs away into your luggage.

3. Aboard a Sailing Catamaran

For a sailing catamaran to reach Hurricane Hole on St. John during a day trip, the vessel will have to leave either from Cruz Bay or Coral Bay on St. John. It simply would take too long for sailboats in St. Thomas to make the trek in a timely manner.

With that said, you can search for sailing excursions from Cruz Bay to find one that fits your bill. Otherwise, the Westin in Cruz Bay operates a day sail and snorkel over to Coral Bay. I’m not sure if they stop in Hurricane Hole but it’s worth a shot to call and ask.

4. Power Boat from St. Thomas

Many of the motor vessel charters in St. Thomas can easily make the trip to Coral Bay. I’ve personally taken a private charter aboard MV Aquarius where we selected our destinations – Hurricane Hole included.

5. Aboard Salt Deck in Coral Bay

As featured in our video above, our trip aboard Salt Deck was exclusively spent in Hurricane Hole and nearby Hansen Bay Beach. They’re the most convenient charter boat company to get into Hurricane Hole with direct access as they’re moored in Coral Bay.

So if you’re staying on St. John and have access to a vehicle, booking a trip aboard Salt Deck may be your best bet to go snorkeling in the mangroves of Hurricane Hole! Oh, and the water slide is pretty friggin’ cool.

🌮 Floating Taco Stand: All of the trips above (except kayaking) make a special lunch stop at Lime Out VI, a floating taco stand in the middle of Coral Harbour. It’s pricey, but insanely delicious and totally worth the experience!

BONUS EXPLORATION: Float in the water while sipping rum

If you looked at all of those options and thought, “all that adventure stuff just isn’t for me”. That’s okay too. Because Hurricane Hole is so unbelievably beautiful, you can “explore” it simply by floating in the water with a cold drink. Welcome to Paradise!