Snorkling at Gibbs Cay

[WARANEEB]

I am trying to decide between two shore excursions: 1) Snorkling at Gibbs Cay with Stingray Adventure or 2) Reef Snorkle and Stingray Safari. I did the Reef Snorkle and Stingray Safari two years ago and loved it, so I am wondering if the snorkling at Gibbs Cay is also good. I understand there is a coral reef 50 yards from the beach. Thanks.

[InSouthPark]

I am trying to decide between two shore excursions: 1) Snorkling at Gibbs Cay with Stingray Adventure or 2) Reef Snorkle and Stingray Safari. I did the Reef Snorkle and Stingray Safari two years ago and loved it, so I am wondering if the snorkling at Gibbs Cay is also good. I understand there is a coral reef 50 yards from the beach. Thanks.

 

I just did the "reef and rays" excursion last week. I can't say I saw any reefs just off of Gibbs Cay but that doesn't mean there isn't one there. The reef they took us to was off of Gibbs Cay but not really snorkling distance away. The reef was beautiful but I was underwhelmed by the number/variety of fish. That said, my last snorkling was in Hawaii where the fish were unbelievable. We did have Jack the 4' barracuda hanging out near the boat though and that was awesome.

 

I really enjoyed the stingrays but I wouldn't have wanted to do all 2 hours a Gibbs Cay. Everyone got to hold/kiss/pet the stingrays (we saw about 3 BIG ones and 5-6 smaller and medium sized ones). They came right up to you in the water. Very very cool.

[VioletHorse]

My DH and I did the Gibbs Cay excursion last November - we stood in the shallow waters next to the island, and the rays came up to us and ate the chopped fish that was provided right from our hands.

 

One of the tour leaders then guided the group to a reef about 150-200 feet from shore. However, I was having a problem with my mask, so I went ashore to adjust it. The weather was changing quickly (you could see rain in the distance), and by the time I got back into the water, the currents were so strong that it was impossible to make any headway toward the reef, even with fins. And there was group of people behind me who didn't make it more than 50 feet from shore due the currents. Since we entered the water from the beach and not in deep water, it made snorkeling under those circumstances difficult.

 

When the weather is changes so quickly, water clarity plummets, so the folks who did make it to the reef didn't see too much either.

 

I'm not a very experienced snorkeler, but from speaking with others who have snorkeled in Hawaii and the South Seas, I've come to learn that the Caribbean snorkel experience is indeed very different, and you cannot expect to see the same phenomenal sea life in the Caribbean as you would in the Pacific.

 

That being said, the interaction with the stingrays was great (although there was no way I was going to kiss one of them), and had the weather been more favorable, it probably would have been an better overall experience.