how uncomfortable is the boat ride to amb cay

[grams98]

we love to snorkel and are considering the 7 hour excursion on NCL spirit from belize city port to ambergis caye; we stop first to snorkel with rays and sharks and then go to am. caye. i get sea sick very easily, so i was thinkking i would double up on my dramamine, and that should take care of that part, but are there a lot of bumps and uncomfortable moments? i read it is an hour long? or would the 4 hour reef snorkel be better? any info would realy help;thanks, grams98

[BeadBabe]

It's about an hour and 10 minutes from the pier to Ambergis. The boat is decent size and of fiberglass. There are cushions on the benches and it's a covered boat with windows open for ventilation.

 

The ride isn't luxurious but it's not bad either. Lovely views of the assorted other cays along the way.

 

The "bumpy" factor has everything to do with the sea and not the boat. Generally it's a decen ride, with the bumps being around the reef but smoothing out quickly. Of course if it's a rough sea day, then you are gonna have some bumps the whole way.

 

I've done the trip many times, and often heard passengers saying they were squeamish passengers, but never saw anyone sick.

 

Enjoy!

[thescot123]

Have done this excursion 3 times before. It is a well worth trip despite being bumpy. you are not always guaranteed a covered boat. Last year, we had the type that had a cover upfront, only big enough for about 2/3rd of the passengers. This meant that about 10 people in the back got totally soaked when we hit rain showers. About two years ago, we were placed on a completely open boat, the type that the somali pirates used. This was not much fun as the road was very bumpy. I would not recommend this trip if you have any back issues.

 

I will back in the area in Oct, and debating whether to do the trip again. It is worth the $109 especially the Ho Chan reef and San Pedro portion. Last year, was the first time we actually saw the nurse sharks. That was a treat since we never saw them on my first two trips.

 

Last year someone told me that this reef is in the book "1,000 place to see before you die".

 

Enjoy

 

Enjoy

[evandbob]

if I'm going to snorkel, then getting wet from waves splashing doesn't bother me. But if the OP is worried about getting sea sick, then using the patch would be much better than 2x dramamine. It's an hour long boat trip, you may get lucky and see dolphins (I did) or manatees (I didn't) along the way. Another option, more costly, is to take the puddle jumper from the local Belize airport and fly 10 mins there.

[thescot123]

I have uploaded some pictures from my 2009 & 2010 trips from the NCL Shark Ray Alley Excursion. In 2009, the boat was open top, in 2010 it was partially enclosed. Last year some people got wet so bring a change of clothing that you keep watertight.

 

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb355/thescot1234/IMG_2006.jpg

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb355/thescot1234/IMG_1991.jpg

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb355/thescot1234/IMG_1321.jpg

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb355/thescot1234/IMG_1322.jpg

 

Enjoy