If you prefer finding a stretch of sand where the only footprints on it are your own, rent a car or a bike at Riding Rock Inn Resort & Marina or call a taxi. Empty beaches are everywhere. Just remember to take plenty of water and, of course, sunblock. You won't find much shade. Along the way, you can look for the island's various monuments to Christopher Columbus.
On the northeast coast, East Beach stretches for some 10km (6 miles). Crushed coral and shells turned the shore a rosy pink. The deep turquoise patches in the clear waters are coral heads, but the beach isn't good for snorkeling because people have spotted sharks here. Tall sea wheat or sea grass sprouts up from the sand. Off mile marker number 24 on the main road, you can pick your way to the Chicago Herald Columbus Monument .
Scuba divers flock to this remote island -- a major dive destination with some 40 dive sites that lie no more than 45 minutes by boat from either of the two resorts. A major attraction here is wall diving -- diving where the sloping shoreline suddenly drops off and plummets to the ocean depths.
Associated with the Riding Rock Inn , Guanahani Dive Ltd. (tel. 242/331-2631) offers dive packages, as well as snorkeling, fishing, and boating trips. Divers can book a getaway package year-round for 5 days and 4 nights that costs from $875 to $925 (£464-£490) per diver, including meals, transportation, diving, and rental gear. Prices are based on double occupancy.
Club Med-Columbus Isle, just north of Cockburn Town, should really be called an almost-all-inclusive resort because scuba diving is not covered by its rates. Resort courses run around $180 (£95), and certification courses are $445 (£236). A one-tank dive costs $50 (£27) and a two-tank $90 (£48).
With so many unspoiled and unpopulated kilometers of beaches, this area is ideal for swimming, shelling, and, of course, snorkeling. If you stay here a week, you've only begun to explore the possibilities. Places such as Bamboo Point, Fernandez Bay, and Long Bay all lie within a few miles of the main settlement of Cockburn Town on the more tranquil western side of the island. At the southern tip of San Salvador are some of our favorite places for snorkeling: Sandy Point and nearby Grotto Bay, with fine elkhorn coral reefs. Another wonderful spot for snorkeling is the wreck of the SS Frascate, which ran aground on January 1, 1902. Filled with such marine life as moray eels and grouper, it ranks, we think, as the best shallow wreck for snorkeling in the area. It lies on the west coast, directly north of the previously recommended Riding Rock Inn.
Club Med-Columbus Isle offers 10 tennis courts (3 lit for night play); courts are open for nonguests who buy a day pass. Riding Rock Inn Resort & Marina has one (often empty) court. Fishermen test their skill against blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, and wahoo on fishing trips, which you can arrange through Riding Rock Inn Resort & Marina (tel. 242/331-2631). The trips run around $400 (£212) for a half-day and $600 (£318) for a full day. Bone fishermen enjoy Pigeon Creek, and some record catches have been chalked up here. Rent a boat from a local or get your hotel to help set you up.
