Maho Bay Beach

Maho Bay Beach is a public, roughly 0.3-mile beach on St. John’s North Shore, about five miles east of Cruz Bay. People come to swim and snorkel over broad seagrass beds where green turtles graze. It’s an easy beach stop with food and rental services close by, and one of the island’s best places to look for turtles from shore. They’re wild, though, so a sighting is never a sure thing.

The bay has a shallow, gradual entry and is often described as calm, which makes it approachable for new snorkelers. Water clarity and surf still vary, and some visitors find the snorkeling less clear or the shore rockier than expected. Come for an enjoyable swim first; treat underwater visibility and wildlife as a bonus. Follow park guidance to give turtles space and never touch or chase them.

The seagrass meadows are the reason turtles spend time here: green turtles graze in the bay, with fish and rays also reported. The central grassy water is the main place to look, while rocky edges at either end have crevices and smaller marine life. This is more of a turtle-and-seagrass snorkel than a continuous coral reef. Reef-safe sunscreen or a rashguard helps protect the water you came to enjoy.

Two coconut palms that leaned toward each other became a familiar Maho Bay photo, nicknamed the “kissing palms.” They were uprooted in the 2017 hurricane season, along with many other shoreline trees, so that once-classic pair is no longer part of the beach view.

For a photo that shows where you are, include the shoreline and look across the bay toward Whistling Cay. When boats are moored offshore, they add a sense of scale; a frame filled only with water can lose the shape of the bay.