Snorkeling tour advice

Want to do a snorkeling excursion but one that is not through carnival if possible. Any ideas or suggestions. Me and my two girls are nervous though about doing a non carnival excursion in Belize as we've heard issues with safety ?

My husband and I used Caveman Snorkelling Tours. The tour was amazing and a great price. You get a private boat and guide for almost the same price as it would cost to be in a group of 50 with Carnival. We had an amazing day. Saw a barracuda, sharks, stingrays, tarpons, seahorses, starfish, coral and of course many different kinds of fish (which the guide named and made sure we each saw). I can't recommend this company enough.

The only downside is that you have to get to Caye Caulker yourself. This means either taking the water taxi or flying over. We used the water taxi and had no problems at all. Just make sure to watch the time and I recommend taking the 1:30 water taxi back since there is a time difference and it takes 40 minutes to an hour to get there.

If you have any specific questions, I'm happy to answer them.

How about considering Goffs Caye? You can still use the ship excursion to get there and there's some pretty good snorkeling there and crystal clear water. It's a beautiful small island, very primitive, but beautiful.

Check out my review of it in my signature line...there's TONS of pictures and it will show you what you could see just from the shore alone. :)

We've used Coral Breeze tours 3 times now to snorkel Hol Chan marine reserve.

In fact we just got back from using them last week.

It's $75 for a 5 hour tour. It includes round trip boat ride to Caye Caulkera from the Belize City cruise pier. The snorkeling lasts about an hour and 30-45 minutes.

I'm an experienced snorkeler and diver and I can tell you it is one of the better snorkeling tours I've taken.

We enjoyed it so much we've taken the plane over to Ambergris Caye to do the same excursion. Just much faster to fly.

Michael.

We've used Coral Breeze tours 3 times now to snorkel Hol Chan marine reserve.

In fact we just got back from using them last week.

 

It's $75 for a 5 hour tour. It includes round trip boat ride to Caye Caulkera from the Belize City cruise pier. The snorkeling lasts about an hour and 30-45 minutes.

 

I'm an experienced snorkeler and diver and I can tell you it is one of the better snorkeling tours I've taken.

We enjoyed it so much we've taken the plane over to Ambergris Caye to do the same excursion. Just much faster to fly.

 

Michael.

Michael;

Will be in both Belize and Roatan this Feb via the Magic. Looking to snorkel. Can't decide between the East end of Roatan / Port Royal or Hol Chan in Belize. We have a group of 4 that is willing to book a private charter but only at 1 of the 2 ports. Any experience in Roatan? I hear both are great but would love another opinion.

Thanks!

Michael;

 

Will be in both Belize and Roatan this Feb via the Magic. Looking to snorkel. Can't decide between the East end of Roatan / Port Royal or Hol Chan in Belize. We have a group of 4 that is willing to book a private charter but only at 1 of the 2 ports. Any experience in Roatan? I hear both are great but would love another opinion.

 

Thanks!

Not in Roatan. We dove there. Pretty nice drift diving. Sorry not sure about the snorkeling.

In Roatan there is pretty good snorkeling off the beach most of the time at West Bay Beach. You can easily get someone to take you out in a boat from there too. On Carnival just book Tabyana Beach Break for $39 pp and you will be taken to a nice day use area at the south end of the beach and can go where you want from there. Great off the beach snorkeling right in front of Tabyana for that matter. You can snorkel on your own until your skin wrinkles like a prune if you want.

If you want a boat snorkel in Blue Channel just walk up the beach to the little water taxi dock and you will find people eager to take you out.

Belize takes a little more planning, and anything booked through the ship will disappoint. Goff's Caye is the easiest and probably least expensive option. It is guided snorkeling off the boat with a bunch of people though. It is a pretty little island and the waters over the reef are crystal clear.

BTW, at Goff's Caye during lobster season (which ends I think Feb 15th this year) they grill lobster tails for lunch. 2 tails with rice, beans, and corn for $12. Chicken kabobs are also on the grill for $8 and they are really good too.

Michael;

 

Will be in both Belize and Roatan this Feb via the Magic. Looking to snorkel. Can't decide between the East end of Roatan

 

Thanks!

In Roatan there is pretty good snorkeling off the beach most of the time at West Bay Beach. You can easily get someone to take you out in a boat from there too. On Carnival just book Tabyana Beach Break for $39 pp and you will be taken to a nice day use area at the south end of the beach and can go where you want from there. Great off the beach snorkeling right in front of Tabyana for that matter. You can snorkel on your own until your skin wrinkles like a prune if you want.

 

Click HERE for a "full blown" thread about the snorkeling at West Bay Beach. There's a path (they call the kidney) that you can take and it goes to the drop off. We started this thread back in 2011, but there's tons of information and we added tons of pictures and maps, so could be very helpful. Still pretty much an active thread too.

Click HERE for a "full blown" thread about the snorkeling at West Bay Beach. There's a path (they call the kidney) that you can take and it goes to the drop off. We started this thread back in 2011, but there's tons of information and we added tons of pictures and maps, so could be very helpful. Still pretty much an active thread too.

Thank you Mitsugirly!! I've read sooo many of your reviews. You post great stories and even better pictures! We lined up a charter with Radical Adventures out of Oakridge/Port Royal. I'm also still kicking around the idea of taking the water taxi to Caye Caulker in Belize and then taking a charter out to Hol Chan. I think the snorkeling may be better there but we found a great deal on a private charter out of Roatan... Wonderful problem to have!

Can't wait!...

I recommend Roatan Eco tour. They take you to 2 snorkel sites and then to a local beach for a small break. It was the first time I saw squid on this trip. http://roatanecotour.com/