Staying at Tropical Bay RIU......where to see fish if we snorkel?

[TAH]

The reefs in Jamaica are not awesome, but can be fun for scuba and snorkeling.

Snorkeling off the beach from Riu is not great, even though the beach is spectacular. The white sandy bottom doesn't draw a lot of fish. You best choices IMO would be to choose one of these:
1) Pay to take the snorkeling trip from Riu. It cost around $20 a person when we were there, but could be a little more now. They take you out toward where Bloody Bay (where Riu is) becomes Long Bay (the longest part of the 7 Mile Beach). Just past Booby Cay, the island you can see when you look out around the point, to some reefs there. It is the same place that most snorkeling trips from other resorts go.

2) Take your mask, fins, and snorkel and walk left down the beach past Couples Negril (note that there is a nude beach at the far end of Couples Negril if that sort of thing might bother you just don't look over there) and walk until you run out of beach (In front of the Royalton construction site - recently collapsed unfortunately for some of the workers who were injured). Just off shore is a rocky wall and along that wall there are lots of fish and nice things to see.

Well, there used to be lots of fish and nice things to see. I haven't snorkeled that spot since construction started, but I have read that they have been dumping debris off the cliff there and wrecked most of the reef area in front.

[Rob]

Well, there used to be lots of fish and nice things to see. I haven't snorkeled that spot since construction started, but I have read that they have been dumping debris off the cliff there and wrecked most of the reef area in front.

TAH,

Would you mind linking where you read this info so we all can know the source?

[brownsd54]

Well, there used to be lots of fish and nice things to see. I haven't snorkeled that spot since construction started, but I have read that they have been dumping debris off the cliff there and wrecked most of the reef area in front.

We are at the Point Village right now and snorkel that area almost every day. I can tell you that there is no debris dumped in the ocean opposite the Royalton construction and the reef has not been destroyed, so let's put that to rest right off the bat. I thought that the OP just wanted information about where to snorkel. Pretty sure they don't need to hear about untruths and half baked ideas.

Nancy Turner Brown, what I would do is walk the beach from RIU as far as the construction fence at the Royalton. Start snorkeling from there and head to towards The Point Village. Tons of angle fish, trumpet fish, and a few rays. Right at the point of land at The Point Village is a school of medium size fish numbering in the 10`s of thousands. They swim like a wave or a waterfall. Kind of neat to watch. As the wave of fish swims towards some coal sticking up from the bottom and the wave opens up, swims around and then closes on the other side. Also RIU has snorkel boat trips to the reef every day. Kinda lame though, snorkeling with a large group.