Champagne Beach/Reef

[Cruising Quilter]

We are taking a tour next week that will stop at the Champagne Beach/Reef. I have read several comments about getting into the water there. Some people indicate it is challenging while others seem to say it is no big deal. Can anyone report on a recent experience? Are shoes in order? If so what do you do with them once you are in the water? Thanks for any advice.

[lucigo]

We went by boat. The excursion was one of the least expensive I have seen. I would highly recommend going this way, I heard it was very rocky from shore.

 

I just uploaded a video, excuse my amateur photography!

[Windsailer]

Two weeks ago we did a tour of the reef that we arranged directly with Champagne Reef Dive and Snorkel.

 

www.champagnereef.com

underwater@champagnereef.com

Price was less than 1/2 what the ship charged and we had a private tour just for the two us us with Andrew. It was awesome. Tour included to/from, snorkel equipment, tour guide and a free drink.

 

There is a rubber mat at the end of the boardwalk and pebble walk so you can slide to get in. I'm a klutz and Andrew helped me so I didn't have any problems.

 

Clem and Lucy Johnson are the owners and are as nice as can be.

 

I'd ditch the ship tour and book directly with them.

[dsw39]

We are taking a tour next week that will stop at the Champagne Beach/Reef. I have read several comments about getting into the water there. Some people indicate it is challenging while others seem to say it is no big deal. Can anyone report on a recent experience? Are shoes in order? If so what do you do with them once you are in the water? Thanks for any advice.

 

Just returned the other day. I wore water shoes for the tour! The entrance to the water involves walking over about 20' of river rock without your shoes as you will be carrying your fins to the water. I am older and found that the entrance took some balance. Younger people were able to navigate without any problem. My feet are softer than they used to be. All in all it is a wonderful snorkel

Dave

[OCruisers]

We went by boat. The excursion was one of the least expensive I have seen. I would highly recommend going this way, I heard it was very rocky from shore.

 

It is VERY rocky from the shore!

We were so glad we went by boat!

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Fit S600]

We are just back from our Caribbean cruise. We booked the Champagne Reef Ships tour because there was no time to organize an independent tour so I cannot speak on cost. I am a olderly female who tries to keep fit with very limited swimming ability. Better at panicking in water than staying calm so I was very glad for the life vest which I put in too much air. There is no beach just a board walk then a rocky path to a heavy rubber mat into the sea. Us less nimble put on the flippers while sitting on the mat then slid into the water. Pleasantly warm. They had two groups --- the swimmers and the non swimmers. I can't speak for the swimming group which went out much further and I wandered away from the non swimmers because I discovered I remembered how to float and dog paddle. It was the best time of the whole cruise. The rock formations and the bubbles were very interesting. I did not see many fish but that was probably because I was so fascinated by the rocks and corals. My only complaint was it was not long enough and the guides said complain to the cruise ship. There are change booths but they are rather holey,,,, made from bamboo. And only one very modern woman's bathroom. Can't speak for the men's. If I ever get back to Dominica I will go there again.

[Ron_L]

We were at Champagne Reef last Tuesday with Levi Baron of Bumpiing Tours. If you go by land, parking is on the road and you walk down a concrete ramp for about 40 feet to the boardwalk. The boardwalk is 400-500 ft. long (estimate) and then you walk another 50 feet or so on packed dirt with some rocks. Shoes are needed foe this part. At this point everyone took off their shoes, shorts, etc. and left them on the side of the path. I wouldn't leave any valuables there but the shoes,etc. are fine.

 

The rest of the way is over small to medium sized rocks (I think of pebbles as pea sized, there were baseball sized and bigger) for a few feet to the rubber mat and then along the mat into the water. I sat on a large rock and put on my fins and then backed the last few feet down the mat and into the water with Levi's help.

 

Once in the water we swam to an area where the bubbles were coming up and then Levi led a group to the outer reef. It's not a long swim and I recommend it since there were many more fish and a larger variety. Levi would swim down from time to time to show us things like tube works, a flounder and a moray eel. The reef was beautiful.

 

Getting out of the water was a bit more of a challenge for me (I'm a big guy). I took my fins off and walked up to the mat but my feet kept sinking into the rocks and the waves kept moving the mat. Levi was right there to help and I made it out with his help.

 

I have a lot of pictures of the reef and I'll post some of them once I have time to go through them.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Ron_L

[Hlitner]

We have done it once by boat, and 3 times on our own from shore. While walking to the entrance point is a bit of a hassle (on shore) we have found it no big deal (and we are in our 60s). We are avid snorkelers, have our own equipment, and prefer not to be constrained by boat tours. The land-based operation does also rent equipment.

 

Hank

[mtmomof3]

lucigo,

Thanks for the video! We are taking this excursion next week -- can't wait!

[girlscruise2011]

We went by boat. The excursion was one of the least expensive I have seen. I would highly recommend going this way, I heard it was very rocky from shore.

 

I just uploaded a video, excuse my amateur photography!

 

lucigo, nice video. Thank you. I'm looking into Champagne Beach for my cruise in November 2014. Who did you use for the excursion and how much did you pay?