Shark/Ray Tour

[Adventurous]

Does anyone have information on the Shark/Ray Snorkeling tour? Where to book, prices, and how dangerous is it?

 

 

Thank you,

[boatbunny]

You book this through Coral Breezes.

Here is the website:

 

http://www.coralbreezelimited.com/current_category.15/Product.2/tours_add.html?t_product=2

 

You will have a great time. The tour starts at the pier in Belize. You will travel by boat to Caye Caulker, about a 40 min boat ride. The boat is covered, so you are not out in the sun during this trip. You will make a quick stop at Caye Caulker to drop off some passengers who are spending the day at the beach, and to pick up the bait for the shark/ray feeding. You will then head to the Coral Gardens for some snorkeling (maybe a 10 min boat ride). The water is not very deep (maybe 12 feet) and the snorkeling is good. There is one part of the swim where there is a bit of a current, you don't have to be an exceptional swimmer, but if you are a weak swimmer, let me know so they will keep in you the beginner area. Just to give you an idea, I swam it with my 8 year old daughter, the guide did give her some assistance by holding her hand through this area, but really it was only for a few minutes.

 

Once you leave Coral Gardens, you will take about a 5 min ride to the shark/ray area. The guides will start tossing the bait overboard (you are not in the water yet) and attract the sharks. They are nurse sharks and they are harmless, according to the guides, they have little to no teeth. The sharks will come right up along side the boat and the guides will give you the opportunity to feed the sharks. The sharks will not hang out too long, once fed, they take off, so only about a 10 min show with them. The rays will also be attracted to the area, so once the sharks scoot out, you will get into the water to swim with the rays. But, don't misunderstand, the only reason you aren't swimming with the sharks is because they will leave the area if anyone is in the water with them, rather than it being a safety issue.

 

Swimming with the rays is awesome, the water is maybe 5-7 feet deep and you can snorkel and watch them. They come right up along side your leg without actually touching you. One of the guides will pick up a ray for you to touch.

 

After about a half hour (which is plenty of time) you will head back to Caye Caulker for lunch. I found the lunch to be good, not great, consists of rice and beans, chicken, cole slaw, fried fish pieces (think if popcorn shrimp size) and a non alcoholic punch. You will get about an hour on the Caye which is plenty of time to eat lunch and take a walk around the beach and "main street" area. We were a little disappointed because the day we were there all of the stores were closed (all 2 of them!). But the Caye is absolutely beautiful and this is a very nice walk.

 

Then you are back on the boat for the trip back to the pier to meet your tender.

 

There are tons of posts regarding Coral Breezes. Some of the issues in the past have been arriving late back to the pier. I can tell you that the crew was very conscious of time, but we did not feel rushed in anyway. I had absolutely no concerns about getting back in time. The crew was funny, informative, helpful and truly concerned that everyone was having a great time. They only take small groups, we had no more than 20 people on our boat, a far cry compared to the very large groups you encounter on ship tours. We were back to the pier over an hour before the last tender was due to depart, plenty of time to shop and catch a tender.

 

I do recommend making advance reservations because they had no availability at the pier on the day of arrival.

 

Our family (me, DH, 5 and 8 year old DD's) had a great day with Coral Breeze and I will not hesitate to use them when we return to Belize some day. I also have a family member who was in Belize for a week long vacation (huge scuba diver!) 2 weeks before we were there on the cruise, and after reviewing our vacations the other night on the phone, he also used CB and had a great experience too.

 

Have a great trip! Let me know if you would like some pictures, I'd be happy to email them to you.

[Adventurous]

I really appreciate all this detailed info. And to know that you and your DD’s had a wonderful time.

 

 

I do would like to see some pictures if you don’t mind?

 

 

One question would it be safe for two woman to go? (me and D)

[boatbunny]

I really appreciate all this detailed info. And to know that you and your DD’s had a wonderful time.

 

 

I do would like to see some pictures if you don’t mind?

 

 

One question would it be safe for two woman to go? (me and D)

 

Absolutely safe for both of you!

 

Feel free to email me at smdbelskis@prodigy.net and I will be happy to forward you some pics of the snorkeling and Caye Caulker.

[def0715]

We were at shark/ray alley Thursday. We booked through Paradise by Air, which according to the business card is at www.belizeshoretours.com. We saw the sign when we got to Belize and decided to do the tour. It was $55 each. It included snorkeling at the coral gardens (which was beautiful), shark/ray alley and time on Caye Caulker. When we were at shark/ray alley there were about five nurse sharks. They stayed under the boat, but we were in the water about 10 feet away. At one point one swam about three feet behind my husband. It was pretty cool. And there were several dozen stingrays. We were pleased with the tour and the price. The crew members were very nice.