Coral Breeze snorkel and Caye Caulker

[RCmommy]

I had a difficult time settling on an excursion tor Belize for our cruise we just got off of today.   So I thought I’d leave a quick review.

 

Once off the tender boat it is a short walk to meet Coral Breeze Tours.  We were greeted and I had to pay since I had waited until last minute to book. We then hopped in a smaller boat for the ride to Caye Caulker. She is a bumpy ride.  Nobody got sea sick.

 

We were given some history and such on the way as well as how the day would play out.  It’s about 45m to Caye Caulker.  Those who are not snorkeling can get off now to explore the island. We ordered food to be ready when we returned.  The snorkelers set off.  Some had their own equipment others didn’t.  They gave us ours and explained how to use it.  Everyone is divided in to groups so you have a leader.  You signal to them in the water if you need help. Most sat on the side of the boat and sort of slid or jumped in.  It’s  about chest deep.  The current is strong.  I mean it.  I’m a good swimmer but it is not difficult to get swept away.  It was a bit crazy because we were trying to stick with our group and I struggled breathing properly. For some reason I decided to breathe like a maniac with the mask and snorkel on. I asked our guide to give me a hand and he did. He also pulled me along until I could see the sharks up close.  They go where the food is but there was lots of rays, fish and conch.  Back in the boat to move to the reef area.  It starts at 10ft and goes to about 30ft and the current is even stronger. Everybody was huffing puffing getting back onboard.  It’s a workout but it is totally with it.  Small kids would absolutely struggle. The two on our boat came back in pretty quickly

 

Ivar and his team are friendly guys and make it fun.  Rum punch and pineapple and water were served. Lunch on Caye Caulker was decent.  But the view from the location is incredible.

 

Very happy we booked with this group and we would do so again.

 

EDITED TO ADD that we got a 9:00 ship water shuttle for a 10:00 excursion and made it right at 10. I had emailed them right before getting off the Vista to say we’re on our way over. In other words “don’t leave us!”

 

We were back with enough time to shop and stroll over to the tenders back to the ship.

Edited January 28, 2023 by RCmommy

[elklemi]

I have taken this tour twice but did not snorkel and they left us on the island and picked us up after the snorkel was over.  Really enjoyed both visits and it is a little cheaper to not snorkel and they take good care of us and am really impressed with Coral Breeze.

[webcreatrix]

Thank you for sharing! I had been considering this tour. I'm a decent swimmer and experienced snorkler. My husband is much less experienced and apprehensive. Not sure he would tolerate the bumpy ride or strong currents. Sounds amazing to me, but maybe another day!

[RCmommy]

You do have a life jacket you use. They insist on it actually.  I even held on to the life preserver that was tied up off the back of the boat so that I could stay in one place and put my mask in the water to see everything. 

[Altonite]

From our ship we  had to Tender in 20 minutes to Belize City.  Then by a bumpy speedboat ride it was another 50 minutes (!!!!) to Caulker Caye.  Despite being told so, there are NO beaches on CC.  There are a few areas with sand and some broken down wooden adirondack chairs.  There are lots of bars and our guide told us we had to go way out from shore to see anything if snorkeling.

 

There  is very minimal emergency medical care available on the Caye.  A man drowned while we were there this week.  The island "EMT" did not even have an oxygen bottle and it took the local "Rapid Response (!!!)" team over 25 minutes to arrive in a modified golf cart with a stretcher.  During this time a valiant group of bystanders did CPR without luck.

 

Do NOT Go To Caulker Caye without understanding what you are getting into.!