Stingray City Tour Options with Young Children / Non-swimmers

We want to do a Stingray City tour with our children, but 3 of the 4 are not really swimmers. My kids are 11, 8, 5, and 2. Most tours include snorkeling as well. The 2 middles are okay with flotation vests, but I think they would be scared in the ocean and would not put their heads in to snorkel. I do not want to do an island tour, though the Turtle Farm would be okay. Starfish Point sounds neat. Does anyone have a recommendation for a tour company that might offer something for us? Acquarius is booked up, and I have not heard back from Native Way. Also, we do not care for the photo sales pitches many tour companies do. ;)

I don't have any suggestions but wanted to let you know that I've seen a lot of kids that don't swim doing these excursions. The cool thing at Stingray City is that the water is so clear you can see the rays from the boat if that's what they want to do. It's also very shallow, so the older ones should have no problem standing. You can play it by ear as to whether or not they get in the water. You don't have to, you can watch from the boat. Same with the snorkeling. Your kids can get in the water and just swim around if they want (with life vests). They don't HAVE to snorkel. The water is warm and clear and like a swimming pool, so it's a lot of fun.

Thanks for the response! The last time we went, we only had 2 children and we booked via the ship. The boat did not have any children's vests that held air, and the water was rough that day. The bathroom did not work, either! We plan to bring 2 vests, but 3 of the kids need them. I was looking into Dexter's Fantasea Tours today, but I am also a little unsure of the catamaran with the kids. It is hard for me to want to pay for kids that won't even do the activities. At least most companies won't charge for the 2 year old.

You might check out Stingray Sailing. We used them a few weeks ago and, after numerous trips to stingray city, I can honestly say this is the best company we have ever used. It is a catamaran, however, Chip, the captain, has I believe three children of his own, so he will be very aware of how to make sure your children are safe and have a good time.

We had great personalized service and they will go out even if the boat is not full. So our trip had four people on it while all the other boats around us at stingray city were overloaded with 50+ people per boat.

There is not a lot of information about this company here on Cruise Critic, however there are a ton of excellent reviews on trip advisor.

You may want to look up Aquarius Tours. We just booked with them for first part of December and though we have never used them before, they get glowing reviews on trip advisor and the cc boards. It was $50 per person for time at stingray city, a snorkeling spot and then Starfish Point. We are 2 adults, decent swimmers but not overly active and we booked with them for several reasons:

the $50 price tag seems very reasonable

Nice large boat with clean restroom

Snorkeling gear included

Pictures (pics you can download) included

Smaller group than what you'd get on a cruise's excursion

The staff has also received great reviews for catering to children and non-swimmers so that everyone gets a chance to get in the water and feel comfortable doing so. Our kids are 4 and 7 (7 yr old is an okay swimmer) and I think I'd feel comfortable taking them on this tour.

You may want to look up Aquarius Tours. We just booked with them for first part of December and though we have never used them before, they get glowing reviews on trip advisor and the cc boards. It was $50 per person for time at stingray city, a snorkeling spot and then Starfish Point. We are 2 adults, decent swimmers but not overly active and we booked with them for several reasons:

the $50 price tag seems very reasonable

Nice large boat with clean restroom

Snorkeling gear included

Pictures (pics you can download) included

Smaller group than what you'd get on a cruise's excursion

 

The staff has also received great reviews for catering to children and non-swimmers so that everyone gets a chance to get in the water and feel comfortable doing so. Our kids are 4 and 7 (7 yr old is an okay swimmer) and I think I'd feel comfortable taking them on this tour.

Thanks, but as I said in the first post, Acquarius is booked up for us. We booked with Nativeway. They got back to us a few days later and responded to emails well the same day. We are also going to Starfish point. It was $40 per adult and $30 per child.

Thanks, but as I said in the first post, Acquarius is booked up for us. We booked with Nativeway. They got back to us a few days later and responded to emails well the same day. We are also going to Starfish point. It was $40 per adult and $30 per child.

We used Native Way back in January 2011. The water is not that deep where you interact with the stingrays. My wife stayed on the boat and took pictures. The crew brought up a large starfish for the non-swimmers to see/touch. We had a fantastic time and the crew was great. Enjoy your trip!

We also used Native Way 2 yrs ago when we spent a week there. They were fabulous, my kids were so afraid of the rays but our cat was fantastic and made them calm and didn't force anything on the kids. They had good gear and as you can see in the pic for snorkeling they had rope my kids held onto and noodles to float with. My kids had never snorkeled prior to this and I had to buy them their own snorkel gear after this!!

Stingray Sailing is GREAT! Just sailing on the catamaran is sooo nice. You can easily stand on the boat and watch the stingrays. The nice part about their tour is they don't take a massive number of people. The reef they visit after the stingray stop is very shallow. If your kids will wear goggles, they could stand on the step and put their face in and see fish. For non-swimmers, this location is really great. It is sooo shallow. You can wear a life jacket or put a noodle under your arms and float right over a gorgeous reef. I highly recommend Stingray Sailing!

You will enjoy your time with Nativeway. We had a wonderful time with them and they provided excellent service. It was a more personal tour and had limited people on there. They definitely watch out for the little ones and make sure they enjoy themselves...even if they can't swim or snorkel. They will have life vest on and you (as a parent) can stand up in the water where the rays are at. If for some reason the kids decide not to get in, they will bring the rays up to them while they sit on the edge of the boat. They WILL make sure everyone has a great time. :) I have a full review in my signature line if you are interested in reading it. Our daughter was 4 when she first did it and again at 5 years old. There's tons of pictures. Enjoy your time there.

here is an example of what Mitsu was saying about Natively bringing the ray to you on the boat...my girl was too afraid to get in with them.

Thanks all! We are really looking forward to the tour!