Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay

From the car park below the Annaberg sugar ruins a flat track runs east along the shoreline for about twenty-five minutes to Leinster Bay, at the end of which sits Waterlemon Cay, a small rocky island a short swim offshore. The snorkelling around the cay is the best on St John: coral, sea fans, schooling fish, turtles, spotted eagle rays and a large population of starfish on the sandy bottom between the cay and the shore. The current runs around the cay and the standard advice is to swim round it clockwise, going out on the sheltered side. The walk in is hot, flat and shadeless.

What you actually see

• Waterlemon Cay - the best snorkelling on the island, circled clockwise.
• The starfish - large cushion stars on the sand between shore and cay.
• Turtles and eagle rays - regular in the bay.
• The shoreline walk - flat and easy, from the Annaberg ruins.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the water clearest. Mornings are calmest. Winter ground swells make the crossing to the cay rough and sometimes unwise. Carry water for the walk, which has no shade.

Honest expectations

The current around the cay is real and catches out weak swimmers; go clockwise, do not attempt it in swell, and use a float. There are no facilities at all and the walk in is exposed. Cushion stars must not be lifted out of the water, which kills them, and people still do it. The Annaberg car park is small.

Nearby

Annaberg sugar ruins are at the car park; Coral Bay is beyond over the ridge.