Swimming with Stingrays - Eli's Eco tour

[hi2you]

Hi all,

Just trying to ease some uneasiness. How safe is being in the water with the many stingrays? I notice there is an opportunity to be in the water with them on Eli's Eco tour-I must say I am a little fearful of the things-yet I constantly see pictures of many people in the water with them.

[erniesband]

Hi all,

Just trying to ease some uneasiness. How safe is being in the water with the many stingrays? I notice there is an opportunity to be in the water with them on Eli's Eco tour-I must say I am a little fearful of the things-yet I constantly see pictures of many people in the water with them.

 

These aren't the type of rays that Steve Irwin was swimming with. You can do this safely and enjoyably. We've been to both Grand Caymen's Sting Ray City, and Antigua's (on Eli's Xtreme Circumnav), and had a great time. The Eco Tour, by the way, doesn't go to the rays - only the Xtreme.

 

Jodi

[suzski]

We went swimming with the rays in Grand Cayman last summer and absolutely loved it...and I will say, I had to practically drag my mother-in-law to the site (and no MIL joke here, I love my MIL!). Our group of 12, from the 10 year old to my MIL, all LOVED this excursion and found the rays to be amazing! We'll be on Eli's Xtreme Circumnav this summer and are looking forward to our time with the rays.

 

Don't stress it, it's a great time...and as erniesband pointed out, the stingray that killed Steve Irwin (bull ray) was not one native to Caribbean waters (Southern or Caribbean Stingray).

[JWestShuh]

My husband and I just returned from our Southern Caribbean cruise yesterday:(, but I wanted to write a bit to tell you about the great experience we had in Antigua. First let me say that the people of Antigua are by far and away that nicest of any we have met. When they would ask you questions like - do you want a taxi, would you like your hair braided, etc., if you said no they replied with "Thank you, have a nice day" We have never experienced that before, so that was great.

 

We did the Eli's Eco tour through http://adventureantigua.com/tour.html. This was our favorite excursion of the entire cruise. We had a great mix of things to do on this tour. Hiking, snorkeling (fantastic snorkeling), sightseeing...it was fantastic. There is more information about it on their website, but I just can't recommend them enough. Great trip.

[roseoftx]

We also did Eli's tour - below is a segment from my Carnival Liberty review

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=39158

 

We are considering a southern Caribbean and Antigua is a preferred stop for next time as well.

 

Antigua - This was our favorite excursion. We did Eli's Eco tour and it was a lot of fun. They met us right at the dock promptly and we were on our way. We saw Dolphins, Turtles, various sea life and a number of different birds. The stops were beautiful, the water clear and colorful. Before Lunch we stopped at Bird Island on the boundary of the Atlantic and Caribbean that was wonderful. We took a pretty easy walk to the top and the views were incredible while some elected to stay by the boat and sunbath and/or snorkel. When one of our party decided to make the trek up while everyone else was headed down, our guide Chris repeated the entire explanation for just them. Lunch was provided and the barbecued chicken was very tasty. We then went to the Hell's Gate, a natural bridge which you can choose to climb. There were some tight spots and the rocks were sharp, but quite a few managed it. The final stop was at a reef for some snorkeling. The only negative this day was that the wind was pretty strong and the snorkeling took some effort to keep from getting blown back to the boat. We were back at the dock by 4:00. This rated a perfect 10 on our scale

 

Pictures at

[hi2you]

Thanks for all the messages. I can rest easy about the stingrays (even more so I guess since the eco tour doesn't involve that). I can't wait to get on the water.

[hi2you]

We also did Eli's tour - below is a segment from my Carnival Liberty review

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=39158

 

We are considering a southern Caribbean and Antigua is a preferred stop for next time as well.

 

Antigua - This was our favorite excursion. We did Eli's Eco tour and it was a lot of fun. They met us right at the dock promptly and we were on our way. We saw Dolphins, Turtles, various sea life and a number of different birds. The stops were beautiful, the water clear and colorful. Before Lunch we stopped at Bird Island on the boundary of the Atlantic and Caribbean that was wonderful. We took a pretty easy walk to the top and the views were incredible while some elected to stay by the boat and sunbath and/or snorkel. When one of our party decided to make the trek up while everyone else was headed down, our guide Chris repeated the entire explanation for just them. Lunch was provided and the barbecued chicken was very tasty. We then went to the Hell's Gate, a natural bridge which you can choose to climb. There were some tight spots and the rocks were sharp, but quite a few managed it. The final stop was at a reef for some snorkeling. The only negative this day was that the wind was pretty strong and the snorkeling took some effort to keep from getting blown back to the boat. We were back at the dock by 4:00. This rated a perfect 10 on our scale

 

Pictures at

love your pictures. you mentioned seeing dolphins-i hope i get the same experience.