BOCA CATALINA
Boca Catalina is situated along the beaches in the Malmok Beach area and right before you get to Arashi.
It's a very small beach, but each time we went there, it was never really very crowded. They do have palapas to sit under and a little bit of natural shade. I noticed some lounge chairs chained up, but never once seen anyone renting them.
Parking is free along the road area and there's trees in this area too. So, park under a tree and keep your car cooler. There are no facilities at this location.
They have a cute little box in the parking lot that looks like a birdhouse/house and they have books in them. You are welcome to take a book to read while on the beach and return. What a great idea!
The water is fairly sandy, as long as you stay within the smaller area that is roped off. But...go to the right (when facing the beach) and swim over and out and you'll find some pretty good snorkeling! This way is a lot easier than going over to Arashi and getting there. The water is fairly shallow on the swim there and you can stand up most of the way. You'll come to a very sandy area and then see a small "wall" where the rocks and coral go up and this entire area is the snorkeling area. You'll see all the boats and pirate ship tours bringing people there all day to snorkel. You can easily do it for free and go on your own. So easy.
I was pretty impressed with the snorkeling and coral. It's not a huge area, but it definitely kept me busy for awhile exploring. You definitely must try it if you love to snorkel. We told our new US friends visiting about it and they came a couple of times and really enjoyed the snorkeling and mentioned that although Baby Beach was always their favorite beach to come to when in Aruba, they believed this just might be their new favorite for snorkeling.
We came here a second time to meet up with some friends. They absolutely loved the snorkeling here as well. I had forgotten my snorkel equipment so we just hung out with them in the water until the sun started going down. The girls played and caught crabs.
It's an excellent view of the sunset.
I highly recommend this cute little beach and snorkeling area. It's definitely one that is worth going to if you like snorkeling. It's not a big beach, but also not very crowded. We liked this beach so much that we came back again and would have been back more if we had more time on the island.
I honestly think that it's easier to get to the snorkeling area from Boca Catalina than it is from Arashi. It is also easier because getting there from Boca Catalina it's fairly shallow, but you don't have to worry about getting caught in an area that you could get cut up by coral and can't get out. Super easy.
The only drawback is there are no facilities here such as a restroom or food/drinks.
