Smith Cove and Bright Reef

As soon as I arrived at Grace Bay beach, I could see why this beach was voted number one in the world! About a half a mile in the distance, you can see the water break at a reef, which is what keeps the ocean perfectly calm on this beach. The water is crystal clear and warm. The sand is really soft and powdery, but it does get pretty hot during midday. And because of the red colored coral is in the water, as it grinds up in the sand, the sand appears sort of pink in color during dusk and dawn, which is very pretty. There is excellent snorkeling at Bright Reef which is directly in front of Coral Gardens hotel. (I stayed at the Sands of Grace Bay, which was about a 1.5 mile walk to Coral Gardens according to my pedometer.) You can walk directly on the beach and enter the crystal clear water from the sand. I went at about 8am and snorkeled with huge turtles, stingrays and loads of fish such as parrot fish and tangs. The gorgeous coral is protected by big buoys in the water that alert boats not to drive near it. Snorkelers should stay OUTSIDE the buoyed area anyway because there is fire coral in there. There are also signs in the water explaining what kind of coral and fish you're seeing, which are nice. I snorkeled at the reef at all times of the day and found early morning to be the best. Water is clear and depth goes from 6-20 feet. It's amazing. I also snorkeled in an area slightly down the beach (with no hotel in front of it) from Bight Reef and found the snorkeling just as good. I saw a huge stingray (6 foot wingspan) with white spots on it just gliding along past me, along with a 4 foot barracuda and more turtles. This area is not marked off or anything, but once you get in the water there\\'s lots of fish and coral.