Need Help with Tours in Cabo and Ensenada

We're going on the Elation in Oct. out of San Dieg. In Cabo we were looking at a snorkeling tour with Cabo San Lucas Tours (by Johann & Sandra). Has anyone used them? They claim to have the tour with the most actual snorkeling time. And we're wanting as much time snorkeling as possible, with as few people as possible. They take you to two locations (Chileno and Santa Maria). Then if we had time left, we wanted to take one of the glass bottom boats out to the Arch and back, just for sightseeing. We're not too excited about Ensenada. We wanted to do a Mini Jeep Tour that Carnival was offering, with the Winery Tour as our second choice. But neither tour is now being offered on the web site, we called and they couldn't really tell us anything (sold out?, dropped?). If we can't get either of the ships tours that we want, we may just take the shuttle to the blow hole. I had read that it was $15 round trip, I was just a little concerned about being able to get the shuttle back. I didn't want to pay and they take off without us. I read that happens with the water taxis in Cabo sometimes. Any advice??:)

Most snorkeling trips out of Cabo will include a stop out at the Arch so you probably won't have to worry about taking a separate water taxi out there.

Since Johann & Sandra is primarily just a booking agency, do you know what company they are sending you with for your snorkeling trip.

Which Elation sailing are you on. We are seriously looking at the 18 Oct sailing for a quick getaway before our November Med Cruise.

Ha sanyone tried "Ocean Riders" in Cabo San Lucas? http://www.oceanriders.com.mx/ocean-riders.html

We are thinking of doing this tour on our October cruise, and would love to hear from anyone who has done it.

We used OceanRiders a few years ago for a whale watching trip. We had a good time. Be aware that it is a high speed, bouncy, wet ride. You will be sitting in a saddle similar to sitting on a horse. Since you are looking at October, that will be a snorkeling trip with a few extras thrown in.

Since our experience with OceanRiders, we have also done a whale watching trip on the catamaran Pez Gato (Feb of this year). That was an outstanding trip. In the future, if we were going to book a snorkel trip in Cabo, we would book Pez Gato in a heartbeat.

OceanRiders is fun, but our preference would be a catamaran. There are some good pictures in the gallery page of the website you referenced. Take a look at them so you understand what the seating arrangement will be. It's at least 30 min. or more at high speed up to the snorkeling site. I'd rather relax with a cold one (included) in the lounging net of a catamaran even though it will take longer to get there.

SDPadreFan Wrote:

"Since Johann & Sandra is primarily just a booking agency, do you know what company they are sending you with for your snorkeling trip."

I'm not sure what you meant by the statement above. The web site looks like a tour agency. Why would Cabo San Lucas Tours be considered a booking agency? :confused: I'm really confused. They say you can get 2 1/2 hours of actual snorkeling time on their CHILENO & SANTA MARIA 4 hour tour. I checked several other companies, including the ones you mentioned and I couldn't find one that gave that much snorkeling time in a tour length that I would feel comfortable with, being on the cruise ship. And snorkeling is our main goal...:D I didn't want a tour on a sail boat because of the time issue, the faster we get to the snorkel site, the better....

We'll be on the Oct. 18th cruise.

The reason that I call them a booking agency is that in most (if not all cases), they subcontract the actual excursion to another party. I do not know this for a fact, it is just my belief. I'm not aware of them actually owning a boat but I could be wrong. They may have vehicles and drivers to get you to your tour.

As an example; in Puerto Vallarta, I don't think they actually own a zip line facility but they do sell tours that include zip line adventures.

This is not a bad thing. They are merely consolidators for small companies that don't necessarily do their own advertising. An advantage is that they offer a "no port, no pay" guarantee.

They do watch these boards so they may chime in on this thread. They do generally have a good reputation. I'm sure you will have a good time. My guess is that they will put you on a zodiac boat to get you to the snorkeling areas quickly.

We may actually see you on the 18th then if we can make it work and go on that sailing. We love Cabo. We also own a timeshare there and spend at least a week in Cabo every year.

Thanks SD Padre Fan. I will check out Pez Gato. I did see the Ocean Riders looks like a rough ride, but i don't mind; I can relax on the beach after. Thanks again.

I fell better, thanks for the clarification, SD Padre Fan. We've already booked the cruise, just working on the excursions. We'll have to contact Cabo San Lucas Tours first cause we'll need to know what type boat we're going on. We're two middle-age, pleasantly plump (fat) women and I don't think we'd make it back into a zodiac boat at the snorkel site. It would be a great photo opp. if we tried....:eek:

We're from Texas and it'll be our first time on the West Coast. My son is graduating from Marine boot camp on the 24th, so we wanted to add something extra to our trip. This was the only cruise that worked with our schedule. We've done the Caribbean a few times. In fact we've been on the Ecstasy, which from the pictures looks the same as the Elation.

Less than a month to go, I better start packing.....:D

Have a great trip. Thank your son for his service to his country. If you want some more great information about San Diego go to this site on TripAdvisor (it's CruiseCritics parent company).

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g60750-i41-San_Diego_California.html

If you get a chance to have a conversation with "Riffsmom" on that board you will definitely benefit. She is a fantastic source of information on all things San Diego.

I'll let you know in a few days if we are able to make that sailing with you.

Ecstasy and Elation are the same class ship so you should have no problem. We were on her last October. Elation has not gotten her "Evolutions Of Fun" upgrade yet. I think it is scheduled for Feb/Mar 2009.

Thanks again, SD PadreFan. I didn't know tripadvisor.com was CruiseCritic's parent company.... I'll check it out, I've never been on the forum part of their site.

I want to add my applause as well for pez gato. If i'm in cabo again, i'd go again with them.