Malmok Beach

Once you make your way down the sandy entry, you'll find that it stays rather shallow. You can also tell the site is popular with the commercial snorkel boats who make their runs in the mornings and afternoons. Parking on the sandy patch right off the main road. This site is not for those wishing to make the first deep dive of the day!

Of the three spots (Catalina Cove, Boca Catalina and Malmok) this was my least favorite. Not because the snorkeling was necessarily poor, it was not, but the tour boats tend to stop right next to the coral cliffs to do their Tarzan swinging. Fortunately the entry cove does not have a mooring anchorage. The coral wall is interesting to explore and there is a cave chute that you can swim though (underwater) just south of the entry cove.

I have been to quite a few islands and love to snorkel. This beach is a MUST for anyone who loves snorkeling. I saw SO many different types of fish and coral. There were so many large schools of fish. I saw French Angelfish, squid, parrot fish, juvenile angelfish, trumpetfish, millions of little silver fish that swam in large schools, an anemone, tube worms, brain coral and more. I went two different days and the visibility was really good after you got away from the shore. There was extremely easy shore access. The first day there was a catamaran anchored with several snorkelers in the afternoon. The second day I went in the morning and only saw a few other people there the whole time. I will make the trip to Aruba again - just to snorkel this spot!

I have snorkeled at Malmok in 2006 and 2009 and am planning on a return this coming April. I am PADI certified but over the last few years gravitated to snorkeling as I find it far more relaxing than diving. This is a perfect drift snorkel and can be very relaxing. To me when I snorkel Malmok I am meditating. Over the course of 8 outings here I have seen a moray eel, spotted eel, octopus, baby squid, and last year a 5 foot Barracuda (quite large for Aruba) who was chilling out very close to the shore. I like Malmok over Baby Beach as there is no long drive and the water is barely ever rough. The area is least crowded between 10:00AM and 1:00PM at least based on my experience.

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The entry is very easy here. This site can be entered from various locations that are all close to each other. There is hardly any surf or current at this site and visibility is usually great. The bottom is made up of beautiful white sand and farther out it is covered with algae. Snorkeling here is easy and comes down to swimming along the rocky coastline and staying close to it. Going far out into deeper water does not pay off: there you'll see many Cushion Sea Stars, a (very) few Yellow Tube Sponges and some (dead) Loggerhead Sponges, but that is about it. There is hardly any fish in the deeper part. Close to the coast line however, you'll see lots of fish. Most notably you'll see thousands of Silversides, large schools of Shortfin Sweepers, French Grunts, Squirrelfish, Bluehead Wrasses and the occasional Palometa Jack. There are also many Pelicans here! There is almost no coral at this site. This site is really good for inexperienced snorkelers. This is not a dive site, so don't come here with your scuba gear.

My wife and I are beginner snorkelers and had a great timer at Malmok. We stayed close to shore and saw incredible numbers and diversity of fish. I would rank this site higher than Baby Beach but definitely lower than Boca Catalina and Catalina Cove. Be very cautious with your belongings here and elsewhere on the island. Don't leave anything in your car or any valuables on the beach/rocks. When we checked out the Malmok entry site, we left an inexpensive digital camera in the rental car for 10 minutes. When we returned the window was smashed and the camera gone. Don't get lazy and let your guard down like I did.

I'm nuts for telling you about this beach, but it's the best! All you have to do is put your face in the water, and there are tons of fish. Need more be said?! Going back This September…

I snorkeled this site 5 times in 7 days. Lots of fish around rocks, abundant starfish, saw a Moray Eel, lobster, puffer fish early morning. The reefs were sand covered due to Hurricane Ivan last fall. Malmok and Depalm slope best on the island. Beware of theft @ Malmok as my rental car was stolen 4-30-2005 while I snorkeled. They took key out of bag hidden in rocks. Very common per Police.

A very pleasant snorkeling area, about the best on the west end of the island. Along the cliffs, there are some nice creatures to see. There is also a derelict fishing boat to the south 1/2 mile in 5' of water that is surrounded by many fish. That area has many lobster, eels, turtles, squid. But watch out for the boat traffic.

We loved snorkeling off of Malmok and Arashi Beaches. We saw a magnificent Blue Coronet fish that had to be over 4 ft. long who liked to swim with us. Entry is rocky. We saw beautiful large orange star fish, Queen Angels and what appeared to be a juvenile Jew fish, beautiful fire worms and brittle stars as well as White Spotted Filefish. Can't wait to go back in a couple of weeks.

Good snorkel site. Lots of rocks and coral to the north of the entry. Lots of fish. Turtles in the early morning up along the cliff. Aruba has very little crime. Unlike the earlier comment, we snorkeled every day for 2 weeks from beaches using a rental car. Had no theft problems and heard of none. Along with DePalm and Catalina, the best snorkel spots in Aruba.

I agree with the previous post. One word of warning. DO NOT LEAVE ANY VALUABLES ON THE BEACH OR IN YOUR CAR.. they WILL be stolen..

I'm a snorkler (versus a diver) so Malmok meets my needs. It's close to the high rises and can be reached by taxi, bus (it's the end of the line) or even a walk (which is how we discovered it in the first place. Nice huts now for shade but go early before the snorkle trips arive. The tide is ok by 9:30 or 10 am to go out for beginners. We saw a bed of starfish one year - it was like a treasure hunt following their path. Have fun mi dushi's.