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Best snorkeling excursion for west Caribbean?


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Looking at the current excursions, I don't see the one I didn't like listed, which is a good thing.

 

So, what to look for to avoid.

 

1. A large group. As an experienced snorkeler, I like to spend as much time in the water as possible. With a large group, you are pretty much at the mercy of the weaker people. And they tend to get out of the water within 30 minutes. So, you are lucky to get 45-50 minutes in the water.

 

2. Snorkel and Beach where they have to go to the "beach". Most people are looking to do this and sun on the beach. I want to snorkel, I am not a lay on the beach and sun. So, again, you will spend more time at the beach then snorkeling.

 

3. Open area snorkel. One of the trips I did they boated us out to the reef and we snorkeled from the ship. Not a bad thing but I think the better reefs are around the "cays". Plus, these tend to be large groups with inexperienced snorkelers. You can easily pick them out because they fully inflate their vests :)

 

Steve

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So, doing a "bit" of research, I think Goffs Cay seems to be my current #1 choice. Rendevous Cay is probably #2 but I read a review that had 100 people on the small isle. I think I did Rendevous Cay on my first trip and the reef was incredible. But with 100 people, most are not experienced and it makes it difficult to have a good snorkel experience.

 

One thing to look at for the Cay excursions is to be able to go out on your own after the "guided tour".

 

I was able to go out "on my own" at Maya Key in Roatan and was the first out onto the reef. Was a nice time until more people got in the water. But I did snorkel for 2.5 hours.

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I am a scuba diver who has been to Belize three times (two one week trips and one cruise). On the cruise, my friends were not divers so we snorkeled. The ship's excursion was TERRIBLE. Everyone told me Caye Caulker is the place to go. It is just south of Ambergris and you will have to find a private company to do it or take the ferry from Belize City. When I go there for scuba diving, I go two hours south of Belize City to Hopkins.

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Hi Podie... North Central Florida? Where is that? I grew up near Casselberry and went to High School in Longwood.

 

For this thread, are you saying Caulker Caye is a place we should go, or shouldn't? And with the time allotted for a cruise-day, I am not sure I would venture off on a 2-hour each-way private excursion.

 

But I do agree that the cruise snorkel excursions for Belize leave a lot to be desired.

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I decided to just go ahead & purchase a zip lining excursion instead of snorkeling. We are doing the "Canopy Tour & Tabyana Beach" in.. Roatan, I think. We're still on the fence about a snorkeling excursion though so I'm sure we'll just end up purchasing one after we're already on the ship. I really only wanted to choose a snorkeling excursion because we just bought a GoPro & wanted to get some good underwater footage. According to the reviews on that excursion, you can still rent snorkeling equip. at the beach & do it on your own, so that was a plus for me. We are setting sail August 10th so I will be sure to leave a review on here of the excursions we go on. Thank you all so much for your helpful input!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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I decided to just go ahead & purchase a zip lining excursion instead of snorkeling. We are doing the "Canopy Tour & Tabyana Beach"

 

You chose well, Roatan is probably my favorite. Tabyana beach is part of the West Bay beach and there is excellent snorkeling a very short distance from shore (the farther to the left you go, the closer to shore it is). We bring our gear with but I can confirm that there were people using locally rented equipment there as well (don't recall which resort(s) were renting it).

 

There are some areas where the coral is very shallow and could not be safely (for you or the reef) crossed if there is any significant wave action. However there are several decent sized channels which you can follow out through the reef to view the taller side of the coral and a very impressive drop off.

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Snorkeling on Maya Key is not that great. Most of the reef is brown and dead. But the island itself was pretty neat.

 

This was not my experience last December. The area right at the end of of the pier seemed to be pretty dead (not much of a surprise in such shallow water with such heavy tourist use) , but heading out a short distance (less than 100 yards) there was a very vibrant reef. This did require navigating some shallow areas with deeper channels (pic below). There was a main route with the coke bottles you could follow but that was congested at times. That said there were several other routes available too if you do some poking around. In the attached pics there is an example of these channels and looking back to the pier to show approximate distance to the wide open/drop-off side of the reef.

 

@snc_cam The portions of the reefs that I saw were similar with perhaps a bit more soft corals by Maya key, but more conchs, starfish, and such on the sandy bottom interspersed between the coral in West Bay. Maya key is near the airport (very close to Coxen Hole, and pretty close to Mahogany Bay). West Bay is at the very Southwest tip of the island, maybe 5 miles as the crow flies (eyeballing on google maps) from Coxen Hole (further by road).

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John,

 

Thanks... that is what I remember too about Maya Key. Did it about 3 years ago and liked the huge expanse once you cleared the initial channel. I was actually the first one out there and had the reef pretty much to myself for the first hour or so. Ended up snorkeling around 2.5 hours that day. Glad to hear it is still flourishing.

 

I will look into West Bay but may go back to Maya Key. Thanks for the info.

 

Steve

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While Maya Key is much better the further out, the water gets rougher and you still have to make it through the narrow trail to get back to the pier. We had 3 ships in port and it was packed. Definitely would not recommend if more than 1 ship in port. Also, if do go, get in the water as fast as you can.

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Yes, along the "rim" at Maya Key, the water is rougher. My wife had some problems with it so I took her in and then went back out on my own.

 

In regards to # of people, I would assume the same can be said of West Bay? With more ships in port, West Bay would be crowded too?

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This is West Bay Beach. Tabyana is the cruise line "resort" closest to the rock wall at the end. Once they bus their people in, that end gets a little crowded... but, nothing like a Florida beach during Spring Break! ;)

 

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This was not my experience last December. The area right at the end of of the pier seemed to be pretty dead (not much of a surprise in such shallow water with such heavy tourist use) , but heading out a short distance (less than 100 yards) there was a very vibrant reef. This did require navigating some shallow areas with deeper channels (pic below). There was a main route with the coke bottles you could follow but that was congested at times. That said there were several other routes available too if you do some poking around. In the attached pics there is an example of these channels and looking back to the pier to show approximate distance to the wide open/drop-off side of the reef.

 

@snc_cam The portions of the reefs that I saw were similar with perhaps a bit more soft corals by Maya key, but more conchs, starfish, and such on the sandy bottom interspersed between the coral in West Bay. Maya key is near the airport (very close to Coxen Hole, and pretty close to Mahogany Bay). West Bay is at the very Southwest tip of the island, maybe 5 miles as the crow flies (eyeballing on google maps) from Coxen Hole (further by road).

 

Your 4th pic is basically all I saw. I did go to the drop off but just followed the bottles. Didn't venture off to other areas. I'm the type of person that does what the guides tell me too. So I didn't think I was allowed to go too far off the trail. It makes sense that the trail is more heavily traveled so less life there/more damage.

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That's interesting. When I asked the guides how far I could snorkel and they pointed out the two far points. And that I just needed to be careful. Had a very nice snorkel there. And I actually pretty much went between the far points.

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Thanks for the pic... looks like a very large reef. What is the easiest way to get to West Bay and is there a spot where we can just do a free snorkel or are they all tied to excursions?

 

You can take a number of tours which end up there, arrange transportation through a resort, or just take a cab. From Coxen Hole, I'd just grab one of the cabs waiting there... but not the first one I come to. I'd go to the end of the line, where the drivers are ready to negotiate price... and negotiate they will! ;)

 

The last few times we've ported at Mahogany Bay, where transportation is more expensive. There, we use Bananarama. They'll have a cab waiting outside the cruise terminal for you, give you a lounge chair once you arrive, and provide snorkeling gear (or a free drink if you have your own). :)

 

Once you're on the beach, you can do whatever you want. The only real complain I've heard is about vendors walking the beach selling their wares. That's pretty typical for most cruise destinations and doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I've negotiated a snorkeling trip to Blue Channel for $15. While I didn't think it was much better than the reef at West Bay Beach, it was nice to escape the crowd once they arrived later in the day. :cool:

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Thanks for the info. Will check out the opportunities on Roatan. Is it easy to get a cab back from West Bay back to the cruise port?

 

Yes... the cab rides are round trip. Usually, the drivers sit together and wait to bring their fares back.

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the cabbie will sit there for 3 hours+ waiting??? that is odd, at least for what we are used to here in the states.

 

I agree, but that's what they do. When they get you to your destination, they ask what time you want to return. Maybe they leave sometimes, but I've always see them waiting around with the other drivers. You don't pay them until you get back to port, and they want to get paid, so they make sure to be there when you're ready to leave. :cool:

Edited by Armedaneian
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