Champagne Reef from the WATER??

We have been to Dominica before and have snorkeled the Champagne Reef with entering from the rocky shoreline. We have actually done it twice - thinking that the first time was just a fluke with how difficult it was to enter and exit. It wasn't. We are looking at another stop there, and although we loved the reef, I am just not willing to deal with those rocks again! Does anyone know of an independent tour operator that does a trip to the reef on a boat?

Bumping this up with a follow up question - we are looking at the Celebrity Summit, and they have an excursion for snorkeling - has anyone done this? I'm not usually one for ship's tours, but if I can't seem to find anything that offers the champagne reef from the water

Email a dive shop and ask about a snorkel trip to champagne reef.

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Sorry you haven't got a response yet, but maybe you can help me while you wait.

Did you rent your equipment or bring your own? Do you know how much is it to rent from the outfitters at Champagne? Thanks. Hope you get an answer to your question.

We had our own equipment, but they did rent it there. I'm sorry I don't know the cost.

how bad is the walk in over the rocks? i am also looking at 2 excursions on the summit- the boat ride to Champagne snorkeling spot- or the drive to the spot then to the watefalls. any suggestions?are the waterfalls that great

We are booked in Jan 2013 for this tour. Water Adventure# 5 May want to check it out. :)

If you have flippers, so you are walking in with bare feet - I guess it just depends on how tough your feet are. Lots of people do it, it's just not comfortable. Getting in the water there are some mats down, but depending on the day, the waves can toss you around. This is not a pebbly beach, it is rocky - think more of an entrance to a river. My recommendation - if you are a strong enough swimmer - would be to forget the flippers and walk in with water shoes.

I was on the Summit in March and did the 1/2 day champagne reef 2 snorkel stop by boat. I had tried to find a private trip and was unsuccessful.

I did the morning tour and there were only about 20 people on our double decker catamaran. The afternoon trip was boarding as we left and had quite a few more people on it.

It was a nice trip down to champagne reef. Once in the water, the guide led us around the coral and then took us to the champagne bubbles. Then, we sailed further south to another location for snorkeling. I really recommend doing the trip from a boat as it was not crowded in the water by us. However, it was very crowded with the snorkelers coming from the beach.

On the sail back to the Summit we had strong rum punches. :)

Having been to Dominica before and explored the island, I would do this excursion again on my next trip.

Thanks travel girl tx for the info. I have booked the morning cat. excursion to Champagne off of the Summit- It sounds the best. Do you think we will have time to go to the falls in a taxi after? Did you see anyone doing that?

Thanks travel girl tx for the info. I have booked the morning cat. excursion to Champagne off of the Summit- It sounds the best. Do you think we will have time to go to the falls in a taxi after? Did you see anyone doing that?

Yes, you would have time to go to Trafalgar Falls by taxi after the tour. Just to give yourselves as much time as possible, I would catch a taxi right after you return instead of going back onto the ship and then going out.

I believe we were back by 12:15, 12:30 at the latest and back on board was at 4:45.

Here's a picture of the boat at the Champagne Reef snorkel area. The water looks very calm, but there was a noticeable current if you were on the left side of the boat towards the open sea. Notice under the boat you can see the Summit in the distance at the port in Roseau.

Travel girl-tx. Thanks for info. and picture- looks great. Do you think theTrafalgar Falls are worth going to? How much do you think it would cost to do the taxi up and back just two of us? Julie

Travel girl-tx. Thanks for info. and picture- looks great. Do you think theTrafalgar Falls are worth going to? How much do you think it would cost to do the taxi up and back just two of us? Julie

Julie,

Sorry for taking so long to reply as I haven't been on this board for awhile.

We did Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, and a few other scenic nature type stops on a previous visit. It was a nice half day trip that gave us a chance to see a bit around the island. I don't know if I would rush out to try and do the falls too after the snorkeling as you might want to save that for another trip. We did the above mentioned trip as a ship's tour so I'm not sure of the taxi cost. However, there are a lot of "taxi" drivers that would like to negotiate a fare to the falls.

On Dominica, I like to take a 1/2 day tour and then walk around the port area tourist market stalls and take pictures of all the colorful items for sale.

Theresa

:)

Yes, you would have time to go to Trafalgar Falls by taxi after the tour. Just to give yourselves as much time as possible, I would catch a taxi right after you return instead of going back onto the ship and then going out.

 

I believe we were back by 12:15, 12:30 at the latest and back on board was at 4:45.

 

Here's a picture of the boat at the Champagne Reef snorkel area. The water looks very calm, but there was a noticeable current if you were on the left side of the boat towards the open sea. Notice under the boat you can see the Summit in the distance at the port in Roseau.

 

First, AMAZING picture! I have a list of questions:

Are life vests part of the "equipment" provided?

Can 10/11 year old boys handle the water/current (decent swimmers?)

How long was the boat ride?

Were there any other drinks besides rum punch?

Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated!

:)

 

First, AMAZING picture! I have a list of questions:

 

Are life vests part of the "equipment" provided?

Can 10/11 year old boys handle the water/current (decent swimmers?)

How long was the boat ride?

Were there any other drinks besides rum punch?

 

Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Thanks! It was taken with just an underwater camera.

Yes, life vests are available.

The current is noticeable by the boat and especially when you're between the boat and open ocean, not as much between boat and land. If your boys are decent swimmers, then they should be fine. The crew will guide you around showing you different underwater sites/corals and then they take you to the champagne bubble area. I did not notice any current during the guided snorkel. The crew is there to help you if needed.

Ride down was about 20 - 30 minutes max. It was a nice, relaxing ride.

Rum punch was the only drink I saw. There might have been water too. This was not an end of snorkel "booze cruise" back to the pier. It was a nice drink on the relaxing sail back.

Can any of you who have been to Trafalgar falls tell me about the drive up to the falls? I have a "fear" of riding up very steep inclines in any type of transportation. Did you feel the transportation was reliable there? Well maintained? :) Thanks!

Thanks! It was taken with just an underwater camera.

 

Yes, life vests are available.

 

The current is noticeable by the boat and especially when you're between the boat and open ocean, not as much between boat and land. If your boys are decent swimmers, then they should be fine. The crew will guide you around showing you different underwater sites/corals and then they take you to the champagne bubble area. I did not notice any current during the guided snorkel. The crew is there to help you if needed.

 

Ride down was about 20 - 30 minutes max. It was a nice, relaxing ride.

 

Rum punch was the only drink I saw. There might have been water too. This was not an end of snorkel "booze cruise" back to the pier. It was a nice drink on the relaxing sail back.

Thanks so much for your reply! I think we are going to sign up for the ship's excursion. I've been to this island before and did the land activities. It's time for the sea. :)

Did the ship tour to champagne reef and doing it again in Feb. from the Summit. We went in the morning and it was a full boat. The guides are helpful and informative.

Is it possible to go to Champagne by taxi? Appart from snorkling, is the beach worth it?

There is no beach there, just rocks.

Travel Girl,

We are seriously looking at this excursion. I have a question. It says there is a weight limit, and some in our group are slightly over the limit. Was getting on that boat a problem? Our people are experienced snorkel ears, so that wouldn't be a problem. We cannot figure out why there is a weight limit.

Thanks.

Sheffie,

I see the weight limit on many of Celebrity's snorkel catamaran trips. On many of these same Celebrity snorkel trips I've seen people I would venture are over the weight limit and there was no problem. I think they list those maximum weights thinking someone more than that might struggle getting in and out of the water if they are snorkeling rookies and haven't pulled themselves up a ladder and out of the water. If you look at my picture of the boat last shown on November 21 in this thread you can see people on the last boat step. Right below under the water was a good ladder for getting up to that point.

Getting up the ladder is more of an upper body strength issue rather than a bit of extra weight as I have witnessed many thin women struggle to pull themselves up the ladder and into the boat.

Pondering more on this subject, I think it might be like the age maximums for some trips. I think it is Celebrity being overly cautious about a person's weight or older age. I understand a weight limit on a helicopter trip, but not this excursion if you're slightly over the maximum.

Enjoy!

Travel Girl TX

Texas girl, thanks for you comprehensive answer! We shall be booking this excursion!!!

Just a heads up... Sometimes the weight limit on snorkel and dive trips has to do with the wetsuit sizes they offer. So as long as your larger friends understand they might not fit into the wetsuits and are fit enough to get on and off the boat and are experienced snorkels, I think they will be fine.