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Recently done Shark/Ray Alley?

AlwayzCruising

By AlwayzCruising,
in Belize

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AlwayzCruising

AlwayzCruising

Posted
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Has anyone recently done the Shark/Ray Alley?? If we wanted to go out with a private company would you all recommend?? We leave on the Legend on the 19th of this month, so it's coming up quick!! Is the snorkeling in Belize good this time of year?? Almost sounds like there is hardly ever a "bad" time to snorkel there though!! Thanks for any advice in advance...

:)

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AshleyJones1978

AshleyJones1978

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We did the Coral Breeze excursion in December 2004 (not too recent), and it was really fun. The guides were great. I didn't like the long ride to Caye Caulker, and the lunch they served was just okay. And, when it was time to snorkel with the sharks & rays, the guides forgot the bait, so that was a disappointment. We only saw a couple of rays and one shark. And, on the way back to the pier, the boat broke down, but just for a short time. We made it back with time to spare. They were a good company, and I've heard great things about them, but our experience wasn't fantastic... still I'm sure it was better (and cheaper!) than what we would have done had we booked it on the ship!

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Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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We were just in Belize on December 7th and did the snorkeling/shark ray alley tour with coral breeze as well and it was fantastic. There were tons of rays and sharks. The snorkeling was great. I just posted a new thread as a review of this excursion. I would highly recommend coral breeze. They were great to work with and treated us very well.

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gailli

gailli

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Just did the Coral Breeze tour of Shark/Ray Dec6th (was on the Explorer of the Sea) and it was fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone. There were so many sharks and rays and the guides were fantastic, anyone going to Belize needs to do this tour. The island of Caye Calker was beautiful and the boat ride great.

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  • 1 month later...
bevo

bevo

Posted
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We did the stingray city trip to Grand Cayman with our 2 girls. They were about 8 and 10 at the time and did fine. Is the stingray trip comprable in Belize or will the waters be deeper and more effort required? In GC, I could hold them while I stood up in the water...just wondering what its like in Belize.

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2112

2112

Posted
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We did the stingray city trip to Grand Cayman with our 2 girls. They were about 8 and 10 at the time and did fine. Is the stingray trip comprable in Belize or will the waters be deeper and more effort required? In GC, I could hold them while I stood up in the water...just wondering what its like in Belize.

 

Shark Ray Alley in Belize is much deeper than Stingray City in Grand Cayman. You can't stand up in Belize as you can in Grand Cayman. The one advantage about Belize is the nurse sharks in Belize, but they scare away easy so you might not even see them.

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Chalker Guy

Chalker Guy

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There are 2 Shark Ray Allies in Belize: One by Caye Caulker, and one by Ambergris Caye. The one by Caye Caulker is about 5' deep, and we have seen lots of rays and several sharks both times we have been there (last January and again last week). The one by Ambergris Caye is apparantly deeper, but I have not been there. I believe the ship excursions go to Ambergris (San Pedro). We booked private excursions to the Caye Caulker one through Ecological Tours (Marvin Deras) on the spot (no reservations) last year, and with advance reservations through Star Tours this year. Both were wonderful.

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Chalker Guy

Chalker Guy

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FlatWaterFlirt,

Tough choice. Ecological Tours used a partially covered boat from Belize City, dedicated to the tour. We snorkeled Coral Gardens, then went to Shark Ray. Guide was very good. Had a group of about 15. We had about an hour after the snorkeling on Caye Caulker, then a bit of time at Belize City after we got back before the 4:30 last tender.

 

For Star Tours, we had to find our own way to the water taxi (not a problem), then were met at the dock and transported to The Tropics hotel (Star Tours headquarters) by golf cart. Water taxi is an open boat, with no cover or shade, so you need to prepare for the 45 minute boat ride each way. Since we caught the 8:00 water taxi, we had from 9:00 to 10:30 to explore Caye Caulker before the snorkel tour, then about another half hour or so after the tour to make the 1:30 water taxi. We snorkeled 2 sites plus Shark Ray Alley, and had a smaller group and more personalized tour. The guide was also very good, and the second snorkel site was much better than Coral Gardens.

 

If you want a more structured tour, pick Ecological Tours. If you want a more personal tour, pick Star Tours. Be sure the tour operator knows your ship schedule, and be sure you are on Belize time (central standard). We found both to be reputable, honest, friendly, and safety conscious.

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FlaWaterFlirt

FlaWaterFlirt

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ChalkerGuy,

Thanks so much for the great info. Today I did receive a response back from Coral Breeze advising that they were not out of business and bascially it was business as usual. Some other boards have people using them over the next two weeks. I will wait to hear about their trip before making a final decision. But based upon the info you provided, our next choice will be Star Tours. I have already checked out their website.

 

Again, thanks for the response and info. :)

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sarahcruise

sarahcruise

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We recently, Jan. 31, done the shark ray alley tour thru coral breeze. We were told to find Tropical Dreams Resort when we got to Belize and not to ask for coral breeze directly. We were booked for the manatee reserve/beach break but were told it was cancelled and we could take this tour, including a trip to caye caulker where we at lunch. We had a good day all in all, the boat ride was a little long. There were 13 of us and we had 3 tour guides, they were all really cool. The kids, ages 2-15 had a good time. The sting rays and sharks were amazing, all around us, a sur-real experience. The reef was beautiful.

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