How strenuous is snorkeling Champagne Reef?

[barbpretz]

We were thinking of taking the Royal Caribbean excursion "Champagne Snorkel Excursion" where you snorkel off of a catamaran. They have the excursion listed as "strenuous". My idea of snorkeling is to just float around leisurely with a snorkel vest on, looking at interesting fish and coral. Is there something about snorkeling at Champagne Reef that makes it more vigorous than a typical snorkeling trip?

[DENNICH]

We were thinking of taking the Royal Caribbean excursion "Champagne Snorkel Excursion" where you snorkel off of a catamaran. They have the excursion listed as "strenuous". My idea of snorkeling is to just float around leisurely with a snorkel vest on, looking at interesting fish and coral. Is there something about snorkeling at Champagne Reef that makes it more vigorous than a typical snorkeling trip?

 

I was snorkeling at Champagne Reef in December 2009 and it was awesome. To me there were no added conditions that made it more vigorous than anywhere else. When I was there the waters were calm, so I guess if the water was a bit choppy it could make a difference. I was sailing with Princess so I took their trip. The bubbles coming up really make it a unique experience. There were plenty of fish, and I even saw a sea snake. Not sure if it was poisonous, but the guides did not seem to be afraid of it. It was very colorful and striped. Hope this helps!

 

Denise

[Caribbean Beach Bum]

It all depends on how windy it is, and it often can be. I snorkeled there last year with my 14 and 12 yo daughters. It was windy and it was a bit of a challenge to get in and out of the ocean from the shore as there are rocks and a lot of waves, but we did it. They actually managed better than I did. We did bring our own life jackets so that helped. It was some of the best snorkeling I've ever experienced on a cruise.

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

What kind of life jackets did you bring? We are going snorkeling in a few weeks at Champagne Reef.

[Caribbean Beach Bum]

What kind of life jackets did you bring? We are going snorkeling in a few weeks at Champagne Reef.

As I'm not a strong swimmer, we always bring our own life jackets(plus snorkel gear) with us when we cruise. They are not just snorkel vests but true life jackets. You can buy them from www.westmarine.com . The main problem with this is the need to bring an extra bag on the trip to carry everything.

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

Thank you!

[cindep]

Was just there on Princess and snorkeled from the catamaran. The only problem I had was getting back on the boat as it seemed there were strong currents around where they had anchored the boat. Other than that, it was one of the BEST snorkeling excursions I have done and well worthwhile.

[CaribbeanAmphibian]

If your going from a catamaran, you shouldn't have to much of an issue unless there is strong currents that day. You will drift along the reef so be careful if your looking down for long periods of time as you might float further then you think.

 

If your going from shore, it's all rock so you need to be careful. One of the members of our group cut their foot on a rock trying to get out. The waves will push and pull you around even when you are being careful.

[daliflor]

Agreed with the responses posted above. May want to see the area below:

 

 

Photos: Bumpiing Tours of Dominica: snorkeling at the Champagne Reef (Tuesday 12.27.2011)

[sightseersalso]

Just got back from trip. We found that with so many island stops that we needed better water shoes. We found that Keens worked well for us. We could were them to walk on the excursion or into the water and snorkel. They are sturdy and gave support. We are so happy we got them. They helped with getting in and out at Champagne, which was a little choppy the day we were there. We were glad we didn't wear our fins, due to the somewhat difficult entry and exit.

[amsp]

i agree, the snorkeling is good there...the hard part is getting out of the water on the beach. since you are talking doing it by boat, unless the seas are high, there shouldn't be any problems. i've been there twice, and both times getting out i got some scapes, but the snorkel was great!

 

i like it down by the toe of the island even better.

[sightseersalso]

i agree, the snorkeling is good there...the hard part is getting out of the water on the beach. since you are talking doing it by boat, unless the seas are high, there shouldn't be any problems. i've been there twice, and both times getting out i got some scapes, but the snorkel was great!

 

i like it down by the toe of the island even better.

 

Where is the toe of the island? Is it down by Soufriere? Is it by the church and the hot springs?

[amsp]

the point at scotts head. it had a fort on it...cachacrou.

 

it is even further down from the church...maybe a couple miles more. you can actually drive right out to that big bump. it is what is left of a sunken cone of a volcano. the whole bay is. so, where the church is you are pretty much heading south, keep going and you start to go west. drive till the road is a patch of gravel between the caribbean and atlantic. we tried to drive up to the fort, but the gravel is too loose for most vehicles to make it. you can walk to it.

[kendon]

We snorkel often and have found Champagne Reef a real challenge to get in from the shore. Very rocky, and the day we were there the surf was quite rough. Not for everyone.

[Karysa]

Last Tuesday a women said to be in her mid sixties had what appeared to be a heart attack while snorkeling out towards the reef. She could not be resuscitated. It was very sad. Later that day, my daughter who is a lifeguard and her dad snorkeled out by the reef and they found it to be interesting but thought that me and our two other daughters would have been frightened by the drastic drop in the depth. I enjoyed snorkeling close to shore in the bubbles but I didn't see anything really interesting other than the bubbles so once is enough for me.

[amsp]

Last Tuesday a women said to be in her mid sixties had what appeared to be a heart attack while snorkeling out towards the reef. She could not be resuscitated. It was very sad. Later that day, my daughter who is a lifeguard and her dad snorkeled out by the reef and they found it to be interesting but thought that me and our two other daughters would have been frightened by the drastic drop in the depth. I enjoyed snorkeling close to shore in the bubbles but I didn't see anything really interesting other than the bubbles so once is enough for me.

 

this is very sad. this happened on one of the cruises i was on also. so, i guess it isn't terribly uncommon. i feel bad for her family. the first time you see the depth, it is literally breathtaking. for me, in a very good way. there is some great drop-offs further south near scotts head beach.

[sightseersalso]

the point at scotts head. it had a fort on it...cachacrou.

 

it is even further down from the church...maybe a couple miles more. you can actually drive right out to that big bump. it is what is left of a sunken cone of a volcano. the whole bay is. so, where the church is you are pretty much heading south, keep going and you start to go west. drive till the road is a patch of gravel between the caribbean and atlantic. we tried to drive up to the fort, but the gravel is too loose for most vehicles to make it. you can walk to it.

 

Thank you for the info. Can we take the bus there? If yes, how far is it from the road, if that is where the bus drops us off. (Don't think my husband will drive on Dominica.)

[amsp]

Thank you for the info. Can we take the bus there? If yes, how far is it from the road, if that is where the bus drops us off. (Don't think my husband will drive on Dominica.)

 

i don't know where the buses run, but from my understanding, the driver will often take you further for an extra buck or so...when we were there (over carnival) there were no buses running for 3 days and we stayed with friends who drove us around for the first week. from the main road it is probably about .5 miles to scotts head beach. look at google maps satellite view, that should give you a good idea. if you drag the little guy around the map, you will see pictures of the area.

[sightseersalso]

Thanks so much for the help. FYI, we don't know all the bus routes, however we did take a bus from Roseau to Soufriere and the bus continued on southward.

[war_eagle99]

The part with the bubbles is pretty shallow and close to the shore. You could do this area with no problems. To go further out and see the reef you should use a life vest unless you are a strong and confident swimmer.