Bioluminescent Bay

Anyone tried one of these tours? If so, what company did you go with and would you recommend?

Anyone tried one of these tours? If so, what company did you go with and would you recommend?

We used kayaking Puerto rico and they were great. It is a great experience. If you want to see some of our experience... my Victory Christmas 2012 review in my signature has it kind of at the first. This next time we are there (in Jan 2015) we are going on one of the motorized skiffs instead of the Kayaks but the Kayaks are a very cool way to see it all.

We used kayakingpuertotico for our trip to the bio bay in 2008. The company is great and the whole experience was amazing. You will love it, just check the moon phase when you are there. The darker the better.

It's been about 5 years now, but we did the Bio Bay in Vieques. We rented a car and went to the Rain Forest on our way to Fajardo. Need to be in Fajardo around 4 or 5, so we had plenty of time to see the Rain Forest as it is on the way.

From Fajardo they boat you over to Vieques. Once there they took us all to a place for dinner (included I believe) and then we loaded onto a bus and drove to the bay.

Once there we got on an electric boat (like a big pontoon boat) and went into the bay. We were allowed to go into the bay and swim and it was awesome. I have never seen anything like it (before or after).

I believe the tours are on Fridays and Saturdays, so we went on Fri to make sure we weren't rushed on cruise day (Sunday). We also got lucky and there was either no moon or very close to no moon. A full moon limits the glow, as does industrial or city lights (which at that time were NOT in the area).

Driving is easy in Puerto Rico and had no problem renting and dropping off - even though we got back close to eleven PM.

I'm thinking of doing one of the electric boat tours in November. We don't want to rent a car. How else can we get there?

I'm thinking of doing one of the electric boat tours in November. We don't want to rent a car. How else can we get there?

I am also thinking of doing the electric boat because I have a 3 year old toddler that won't be able to kayak. I am wondering if there is a company that does both kayak and motor boat? Because there are 5 people more in our group that want to kayak.

I am planning to book bio bay in mid December but I've heard that there's plenty of rainy days. Have anyone visited SJ in December? Whats' the weather like?

For those that have used kayaking Puerto rico...did you use the transport? Did it get you back to the ship in plenty of time?

I am planning to book bio bay in mid December but I've heard that there's plenty of rainy days. Have anyone visited SJ in December? Whats' the weather like?

While Puerto Rico is a tropical island ... so can expect rain almost any time. December is in their dry season. We have been there 5 times and the only time it rained more than a half hour at a time (then sunny) was in November (the tail end of Hurricane season). In the winter months we have always had great weather.. a little sprinkle here and there but mostly sunshine. I actually think being on BioBay in a rain storm would be awesome.... seing all the rain drops hitting the water and the little glowing bits of light from each rain drop :eek::D.

In 2009, we visited the Bio Bay in Vieques.

We travelled by rental car and it was an easy 90 minute drive from San Juan to the Puerto Del Rey Marina in Fajardo. We booked with East Island Excursions, the only tour company offering the Vieques Bioluminescent Bay excursion from the main island of Puerto Rico.

We did check the “moon-phase” calendar prior to our trip and were happy to discover that there would be “good” conditions, during our post-cruise stay in Puerto Rico. If the moonlight is too bright, East Island Excursions will not run the tour because you cannot see the glowing dinoflagellates when you swim in the water.

From the Marina we boarded the "Island Flyer" catamaran and were immediately served unlimited rum punch, pina colada’s and soft drinks during the 45 minute trip over to the island of Vieques.

Once in Vieques, it was a short shuttle drive to the Island Adventures restaurant where we were served dinner--which was included in the rate.

After dinner and an orientation we boarded a rickety old school bus and made our way along the bumpy and narrow road to Mosquito Bay (this was an adventure all in itself)! 15 minutes later we arrived at the Bay and boarded an electric pontoon boat. As we moved along, it looked like lights were glowing from underneath the pontoon--but in reality, this was just the dinoflagellates....and when a fish swam by it left a glowing path. It was also amazing to see how the water would light up just by swishing around your hands and feet in the water. Our visit to the Bio Bay was an incredible and unique experience. We had 30 minutes in the water before it was time to head back.

We arrived back in San Juan at 12:30 am.

For those who are interested, here is our YouTube video of our Bio Bay experience. Unfortunately I do not have any footage of Mosquito Bay and the dinoflagellates as it was too dark for photo taking.

[YOUTUBE]1M59TwyRxWs[/YOUTUBE]

I'm thinking of doing one of the electric boat tours in November. We don't want to rent a car. How else can we get there?

We did the electric pontoon boat tour of Bio Bay with East Island Excursions. Although we rented a car to get to the marina, East Islands Excursions does offer transportation from San Juan at an additional cost.

While Puerto Rico is a tropical island ... so can expect rain almost any time. December is in their dry season. We have been there 5 times and the only time it rained more than a half hour at a time (then sunny) was in November (the tail end of Hurricane season). In the winter months we have always had great weather.. a little sprinkle here and there but mostly sunshine. I actually think being on BioBay in a rain storm would be awesome.... seing all the rain drops hitting the water and the little glowing bits of light from each rain drop :eek::D.

Thanks a ton for your reply. Booked this tour for 10 December 2014. Hope that the skies will be clear.

I have done both Vieques and Fajardo. Fajardo in kayak with Kayaking PR and electric boat in Vieques. Both tours were excellent, but in different ways.

My friend couldn't get on the electric boat in Vieques, so she did the kayak. She also did the kayak tour with me in Fajardo. She thought Fajardo was better, because you go through a tunnel of trees in Fajardo, and she thought the Fajardo guides were funnier.

When I was on the electric boat, I thought we saw more, because you're higher up si have a larger field of vision. BUT, YOU CAN NO LONGER SWIM IN ANY BIOBAY, because they were losing their glow a while back. You can put your arms and legs in the water. We saw a sting ray which was really cool! They also gave a stargazing lecture demo which I thought was a nice extra.

We spent the night in Vieques so didn't have to worry about transportation.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd pick Fajardo.

Since there has been a problem with the lumens in the bays, has anyone done the tour this year to either bay. I know East island was having a problem with something to do with the port authority earlier and they told me to call back this week for mid-December to book with my credit card. I want to know if the bay is back enough to make it worth the 100 plus dollar trip with them.

thanks for the moon phase tip - turns out we will be there during 3rd quarter, moon over horizon - will that be too light?

We have done this excursion by an electric boat on Bio Bay. Here's a link of trip info. Have fun!!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g612474-d1634272-r195695335-Bioluminescent_Bay-Fajardo_Puerto_Rico.html#REVIEWS

I am planning to book bio bay in mid December but I've heard that there's plenty of rainy days. Have anyone visited SJ in December? Whats' the weather like?

oops: I see you already went hope you had a good time.

We were in San Juan in December on the Freedom and it poured. The good news is it didn't last long.

We went back in January on the Breeze and it rained pretty hard for about 30 minutes and then cleared up.

The average probability that it is going to rain there in December is 68%. See link for weather.

http://weatherspark.com/averages/33728/12/San-Juan-Bayamon-Puerto-Rico

Hello! We went with Kayaking Puerto Rico in December. We did the all day "Rainforest and Biobay" combo. It was great, really loved it. I wrote about it in my review - link below.

The biobay kayak was one of the best parts of our trip. :)

Have fun!

Not interested in Kayaking as I have family with us that can not do that, so are there boat tours, I look and look and all I find are kayak type?

Not interested in Kayaking as I have family with us that can not do that, so are there boat tours, I look and look and all I find are kayak type?

BioIsland. Did their tour last February on an electric powered boat.

BioIsland. Did their tour last February on an electric powered boat.

How was it, how did you get to the bay? and THANKS!

How was it, how did you get to the bay? and THANKS!

It was great. We were on a land vacation with a rental car. Taking a taxi from the San Juan area would be sky-high expensive.

It was great. We were on a land vacation with a rental car. Taking a taxi from the San Juan area would be sky-high expensive.

Awesome, I got a car for super cheap, how long is the drive? Do you recall how much they charged?

Awesome, I got a car for super cheap, how long is the drive? Do you recall how much they charged?

It was over an hour from the hotel near the SJU airport (Isla Verde area). A lot of time following the directions from the town of Fajardo, including a road near the end of the trip in extremely bad shape - hopefully they've reconstructed it by the time you go. Seriously if you went over 5 mph on it you'd lose both your lunch and your muffler. Bio island cost us something like $60-70 per person IIRC.

It was over an hour from the hotel near the SJU airport (Isla Verde area). A lot of time following the directions from the town of Fajardo, including a road near the end of the trip in extremely bad shape - hopefully they've reconstructed it by the time you go. Seriously if you went over 5 mph on it you'd lose both your lunch and your muffler. Bio island cost us something like $60-70 per person IIRC.

wow, bummer to hear about the road, trying to get ahold of those guys!