Boca Cataavlina
Boca Cataavlina
4.5
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  • ChristineA48158
    Merrick, New York7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great snorkeling for beginners
    Don’t miss this spot to snorkel. We rented snorkel gear at our hotel and took a cab to this spot . We saw fish in low water and turtles a little further out. The beach here was beautiful! We waved down a local Aruba bus that brought us back to our hotel.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written March 19, 2024
  • Ludster
    16 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Easy access and amazing snorkeling!!
    Love this beach!!! Enough sand, and amazing amount of snorkeling. Could spend all day in the water! Easily clear water to see fish while snorkeling and plenty of fish to see. Bring shade as cabanas fills up early. Glad it was only a 2-3 minute walk from our VRBO rental. Not busy beach otherwise. Can’t wait to go back tomorrow!! One of my favorite beaches on this area of Aruba.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written March 31, 2024
  • NickCafe
    Boulder, Colorado186 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Easy access snorkeling
    Excellent snorkeling within 100 Meters of shore. Lots of varieties of fish & I was lucky to see a tortuga. We came back on a snorkeling cruise 2 days later & while the many fish were in full force, no tortugas in sight.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written June 14, 2024
  • PSoTD
    175 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Favorite Beach We Visited in Aruba
    We went to several beaches and snorkeled at almost all of them, including Tres Trappe down the shore, but this was our favorite place to snorkel. Clearest water, plenty of fish by the rocks and old coral. Smallish beach but you can find shade. Definitely worth a stop while in Aruba. Bonus: only 30 yards or so from our place for the week.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written June 19, 2024
  • Patron17
    Denver, Colorado297 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Clear snorkeling
    Beautiful snorkeling area. Water shoes are a must with a rocky entrance. Lots of sea life activity. Boat tours stay out of roped swim zone. No services and minimal shade.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written June 25, 2024
  • Moose_the_explorer
    London, Canada175 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great snorkelling from shore
    We loved coming here to snorkel. Try to get there earlier before any tours or crowds as it's a very small little area. However, we saw a great variety of fish even right from shore. If you swim out more, you can see turtles. This is the perfect entry snorkelling location for young kids who are maybe not super comfortable swimming from a boat.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written September 13, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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TangoNY
Great Neck, NY1,612 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2021 • Family
We came to explore this beach while vacationing in Aruba. It is an easy find along the road going to the California Lighthouse.
We found parking easily.
The beach is a small opening of sand in the otherwise lava rock formation.
Once in the water there are multiple of rocks on the bottom so we would recommend wearing water shoes.
Definitely is worth visiting at least once while in Aruba.
This beach is frequently used by catamaran companies who bring people here to snorkel a bit away from the shore as it is an area of a coral reef and lots of tropical fish.
If you love snorkeling, it’s your spot!
Written January 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lola3302
Houston, TX31 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Best location to snorkel in crystal clear water. Easy access by car, taxi or Arubus.
Early in the morning best time to see turtles eating the grass near shore!
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mike C
New York City, NY21 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Boca Catalina is a a small beach but popular for snorkeling. You can just go right in and only need to swim out about 50 feet or so before you start seeing fish. It is also popular with boats and there were four snorkeling groups out deeper when I was there (mid morning). I am not sure if it is like that all the time but that was my experience. The beach itself had a few palapas, particularly at the entrance that was at the northern part of the beach.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Valerie J
New York City, NY15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
We brought our snorkel masks from home, rented snorkel fins from our hotel (Bucuti & Tara Resort), and parked our rental car just to the side of the beach. The snorkeling at Boca Catalina was beautiful. Many colorful fish, rocks/reef and sea urchins. We were joined at the scene by snorkelers on one of the day-trip boats, but there was enough underwater scenery to go around!!!
Written June 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lisa V
1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Business
Took local bus from Marriott along coast to Catalina. Rented snorkeling gear (20$ ) from Steve’s right next to Arashi Beach Shack, which is a little bar and lite fare place. We walked back a block to the perfect snorkeling spot. Amazing coral reef and beautiful fish. Water is calm and clear. Many boat tours strop along this stretch for snorkeling but by no way crowded. The beach area does lack someplace to rinse off or change. Could use more trash containers to prevent littering. It will be an amazing experience.
Written March 4, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SWF111111
Baltimore, MD1,438 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Couples
Spent 12 days at Boca Catalina and had one of our best vacations ever. The snorkeling was fantastic- 9 out of 12 days the water was clear and calm. Two days were murky and one was just ok. So many fish!! Saw turtles every day, more towards the Malmok area. It’s pretty quiet during the week, and more busy on weekends. My husband loves to swim and swam over a mile up and back down the coast every day.
Written March 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GemmaR2012
Bristol, UK114 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
We loved the shore snorkelling here. Lots to see, no need to go too far. Our 7 year old really enjoyed it. We even fed fish from the shore. We went on a weekend and arrived around 830 and got the last palapa. People were coming and going so some did become available after, but the beach is quite small and only a few shady areas. There's no facilities here so take food and water but a beautiful little spot with great marine life. We loved it.
Written June 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fdough1
Bel Air, MD81 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021 • Couples
Went snorkeling in the morning there. The water was reasonably calm and we got to see aa variety of fish very near the shore.

Go early after about a half hour a lot of people showed up and the tour boats too.
Written November 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

butterfly4771
Manchester, NH105 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021 • Couples
Totally LOVED it here. It's a small, white sand beach with a narrow entryway into the beautiful hues of blue. Snorkeling here was great! And I suggest getting there early , especially if you snorkel, to get a little piece of the beach. Its not crowed, but it can get busy because tourist groups stop in and out for like a hour or so. Another cool thing was the lizards and birds we saw around the cactus. We stayed for 3 hours.
Written September 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

clontzka
Bratislava, Slovakia11 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
I first visited Boca Catalina on a snorkeling cruise, but a few days later I had to see it again. I took my snorkel, paid for a cab (15 USD from Hilton) and went out on my own, at my own pace. It was so peaceful. The best snorkeling sites are just a short swim from the beach, perfect for beginners, too. The coral is not much to look at, mostly rock-like, so don't expect a colorful Finding Nemo wonderland. But the fish were plentiful, beautiful and curious. Many swam right up to me and eyeballed me fearlessly. It was glorious.
Written August 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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