Boca Catalina Snorkeling

Boca Catalina snorkeling, in short

Boca Catalina snorkeling is the most reliable shore turtle site in Aruba. Green and hawksbill turtles graze the seagrass here. They stay down for twenty to thirty minutes at a time. So you get to watch one, instead of glimpsing it.

Nothing is guaranteed with wild animals, of course. Still, the morning odds here are genuinely good.

What else is down there

The reef runs one and a half to two metres deep. You will find boulder star coral, brain coral and sea fans. French angelfish work the coral heads. Yellowtail snapper and hogfish sit over the reef on the right.

Further out, southern stingrays and eagle rays cruise the edge at four to six metres. Visibility runs 10 to 20 metres on a normal day.

Getting in

There is a sandy entry in the middle of the cove. Alternatively, use the rocky shelf on the right if you want to be over structure sooner. Parking is on the roadside, and there is not much of it. Snorkeling from the beach costs nothing.

Why the time of day decides everything

Catamaran tours start arriving after ten. Before then the cove is quiet, and the turtles behave normally. Afterwards there are forty people in the water, and the animals move off.

Therefore you want to be in by seven, and out by ten. This works year-round.

Boca Catalina snorkeling and the turtle law

Aruban law requires you to stay two metres from a turtle. Do not touch one. Do not chase one. Above all, never put yourself between a turtle and the surface, because it has to breathe.

Blocking that route turns a calm animal into a panicked one. In fact, watching from a distance is also the version where the turtle stays put and you get longer with it.

Nearby

For eagle rays and a shipwreck, go to Malmok Beach. For sponges, try Arashi Beach further north. Boat trips are listed under snorkeling tours.