boatswain Beach/turtle farm

[ehrlichpuppy]

Has anyone done the Boatswain Beach/turtle farm ? DH found their website & it sounds interesting - lots of things to do. The website quotes the price at $45 pp with a 20% discount if we order online. We will be there on the 26th (I think) Also, if you have been there, would you recommend eating lunch at their restaurant, or should we wait & eat when we get back to the ship?

[Baneeny]

Bump

[wuzzled]

It's too late for the OP, but I'll throw in my thoughts. I actually came to the boards today to find out what state the turtle farm is in these days.

 

I went for the first time in the early-mid 90s. It was absolutely wonderful. The next time I went was just a few years ago (2007 maybe? 2006?), and it had been hit pretty hard by hurricane season. They were down to just a fraction of what they had on our first visit. It's still a great experience, and it's really cool to see the turtles. But I believe they've had some more bad storms, so I'm not sure what it's like these days.

[bookbabe]

It's a totally different experience than it was in the 90's, or even pre-Hurricane Ivan. It's a whole marine park now, not just the turtle tanks...

http://www.boatswainsbeach.ky/

[giginevelyn]

How busy is this place on days when cruise ships are in port? Can one expect to find lounge chairs at the lagoon/swimming facilities, seats in the restaurants, etc? Do they rent snorkel gear? Thinking of booking this with Carnival. Additionally, we will be there during a Spring Break week. Many thanks!

[bookbabe]

Cayman isn't really a Spring Break hot spot, so I don't think that will affect your trip.

 

As with everywhere else on the island, crowds at Boatswains Beach will be dependent on:

- number and size of ships in port

- day of the week (locals mainly visit on weekends, adding to the crowds those days)

- weather (nicer weather may mean more people out and about)

- special functions (maybe, if there's something out of the ordinary booked there, like a wedding or something)

[Name Of The Game]

How far/much is transportation to/from Boatswain?

[AllyGirl13]

I've just read some reviews on this and read that the lagoon & pools are really slimy and cloudy. Anyone been to this place this year?

[Name Of The Game]

I read the same thing. No longer interested. :(

[cruznluvr]

We were there last Oct. & the lagoon snorkel area was very slimy, so we spent most of the time at the pool area which was a lot cleaner. Can't say anything about the food, since we waited to eat when we got back to the ship.

[nybumpkin]

We did the Boatswain's beach tour last week and had a great time. I can't say too much about the lagoon (it looked nice and there were people snorkeling), but the pool was gorgeous. In addition to the turtles and the swimming area, they had a very good shark exhibit and an aviary. Here are a few photos:

 

Son with a friend

 

Pool area

 

Waterfall

 

Scarlet ibis in the aviary

[ikirumata]

I just got back from our cruise to Cayman and because of the weather conditions, Stingray City was closed and the shore was closed to snorkeling. We decided to check out the Turtle Farm.

 

Because of the weather, we had to tender in Spots Bay, so we jumped in a taxi to one of the resorts on 7-mile beach and then jumped on a bus to the Turtle Farm. It cost about $15US for us to get to the farm from Spots Bay.

 

The Turtle Farm was about $90US for the wife and me and that included access to the back of the park (with the snorkel lagoon) and snorkel gear (we brought our own though).

 

There were lots of green sea turtles, a small aviary with friendly birds, a swimming pool, shark tank, snorkeling lagoon, and restaurants. The best part of the park was the touch (and hold) tanks where we got to hold the turtles.

 

The snorkel lagoon did have algae floating and algae on the rocks. It did have the feel of a dirty fish tank... However, all things considered, there was no where else on the island to snorkel (plus our snorkeling at cozumel got canceled as well due to weather) it was still pretty neat. They had just released 5 turtles into the lagoon and we got to swim with them too. In fact, we saw more fish in that lagoon than we did when we did a Fury Catamaran excursion in Cozumel last year. The shark tank was cool to look into as well.

 

The Turtle Farm does have showers for use after snorkeling.

 

The whole feel of the park was like a second tier Disney Land. There are places that look run down and there was a feeling that the tourist aspect of it was second to their turtle business. Oh yeah, this is not an eco park by any means, the turtles there are raised to be sold for meat and leather (some get released into the wild, or so I was told).

 

Overall, the turtle farm was a neat place to visit. Holding the creatures was the highlight of our trip to Cayman, but next time in Cayman, I probably won't go there.

[dmd]

We booked the turtle farm on line, when I inquired about transportation they said there will be 3 representatives at the port and transportation is free. This was a nice surprise since I didn't see this on the website. Looking forward to going, I have 2 kids that will love the pool if nothing else.