Where to snorkle???

[Armedaneian]

Your experience seems different than the other reviews I've read, and directly contradicts the email response I received from Mark at Coral Breeze. I'll spare you the lengthy email I sent him, but I asked if they required the use of life vests for all snorkelers. Here is his response:

Hi Jeff,

 

I'm sorry, but we're constrained by the rules of the road. Snorkelers are required to wear flotation devices. (We rarely have certified divers participating in our snorkeling tours.) As an alternative, you may want to contact Ecological Tours & Services at

http://www.ecotoursbelize.com

or 011-501-223-4874. They may be able to cut you some slack.

 

Best,

Mark

I think it's odd they turned us away, but decided to cut you some slack themselves! :confused: If I may ask... what was it you liked about your excursion with them? Was it the ease of getting to the reef, the amount of time you spent in the water, or the beauty of the reef itself?

 

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite ports for snorkeling. I feel the reef is right up there with West Bay beach on Roatan, but then again, I just hop in the water next to the tender port rather than spend money on an excursion! Maybe I just like the freedom of taking my time and doing it on my own. :)

[skyfire53]

Your experience seems different than the other reviews I've read, and directly contradicts the email response I received from Mark at Coral Breeze. I'll spare you the lengthy email I sent him, but I asked if they required the use of life vests for all snorkelers. Here is his response:

Hi Jeff,

 

I'm sorry, but we're constrained by the rules of the road. Snorkelers are required to wear flotation devices. (We rarely have certified divers participating in our snorkeling tours.) As an alternative, you may want to contact Ecological Tours & Services at

http://www.ecotoursbelize.com

or 011-501-223-4874. They may be able to cut you some slack.

 

Best,

Mark

I think it's odd they turned us away, but decided to cut you some slack themselves! :confused: If I may ask... what was it you liked about your excursion with them? Was it the ease of getting to the reef, the amount of time you spent in the water, or the beauty of the reef itself?

 

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite ports for snorkeling. I feel the reef is right up there with West Bay beach on Roatan, but then again, I just hop in the water next to the tender port rather than spend money on an excursion! Maybe I just like the freedom of taking my time and doing it on my own. :)

 

The difference in response may be that you were asking Coral Breeze and the opperator is actually Hammerhead Water Sports...What I liked better was time at the reef and the sheer size of it....when I snorkled in Grand Cayman, I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, till I went to the reef off Caye Cauker....It litterly took my breath away when I got into the water. I think the guides kinda size people up before you go in and if you seem to know what you are doing, dont make you wear or take a vest...I personally liked having one to hold for when I wanted to rest because Im getting older, and cant swim as long against the current as I used to be able to, but they had a couple of guides with us and one took the people like my DD and they saw it all up close and personal...the other took those of us that just kinda wanted to float along and see all the sights....but, its up to you if you dont think its for you, then by all means, dont do it...maybe scuba would be a better option for you, but from what Ive read, the reef off Caye Cauker is about the best there is around Belieze. ;)

[skyfire53]

Armedaneian, in Roatan, we snorkeled off West End Beach and yes, it was beautiful, but I did so love the reef off Caye Caulker..:)

[Carmelita]

The Coral Breeze excursion we went on rivals some of our worst snorkeling excursions ever. We were just in Belize in early March 2012. We WERE required to wear full on life jackets. There were 48 people in the boat and all of us had to follow the guide, nose to butt. As a result time at the sites were very limited. For me, those factors alone make for a crappy day on the water. On the good side, the sites were great but not enough to offset the total "herd" mentality of the excursion. We had good experiences with Subway Watersports in Roatan and Eagle Ray divers in Cozumel.

[skyfire53]

The Coral Breeze excursion we went on rivals some of our worst snorkeling excursions ever. We were just in Belize in early March 2012. We WERE required to wear full on life jackets. There were 48 people in the boat and all of us had to follow the guide, nose to butt. As a result time at the sites were very limited. For me, those factors alone make for a crappy day on the water. On the good side, the sites were great but not enough to offset the total "herd" mentality of the excursion. We had good experiences with Subway Watersports in Roatan and Eagle Ray divers in Cozumel.

 

I can see that. We had a small group maybe 10 at the most. I can really see with as many as you had, that they would make you wear the life jackets....I feel bad that you didnt get to have the experiance that we did, our guide really got us involved with every thing because it was a small group. I just hope that we end up in a small group again this year, because it sounds like it wasnt much fun for you....:(...Ill have to check out the others you mentioned, cause I hadnt decided who we were going to go with in Roatan yet.

[Armedaneian]

I hadnt decided who we were going to go with in Roatan yet.

 

Why don't you take a cab to West Bay Beach? Its right where the barrier reef hits the island and the snorkeling is top notch! :) We go to Bananarama, which is next to the public beach access. There are boats if you want to go out to Blue Channel, but with the reef right there :eek: we never have. They almost got me last time though, when the price went from $25 to $15! If you haven't already, check this thread out: Quizzing Experienced Snorkelers. Enjoy Roatan, it's my favorite place to snorkel... and the beach is nice too! :cool:

[skyfire53]

Why don't you take a cab to West Bay Beach? Its right where the barrier reef hits the island and the snorkeling is top notch! :) We go to Bananarama, which is next to the public beach access. There are boats if you want to go out to Blue Channel, but with the reef right there :eek: we never have. They almost got me last time though, when the price went from $25 to $15! If you haven't already, check this thread out: Quizzing Experienced Snorkelers. Enjoy Roatan, it's my favorite place to snorkel... and the beach is nice too! :cool:

 

In Dec we went to West Bay and snorkeled off the beach, but thought maybe this time we may try by boat....not sure yet, just a thought...Too many decisions....lol....:D

[T_Bone2012]

The Coral Breeze excursion we went on rivals some of our worst snorkeling excursions ever. We were just in Belize in early March 2012. We WERE required to wear full on life jackets. There were 48 people in the boat and all of us had to follow the guide, nose to butt. As a result time at the sites were very limited. For me, those factors alone make for a crappy day on the water. On the good side, the sites were great but not enough to offset the total "herd" mentality of the excursion. We had good experiences with Subway Watersports in Roatan and Eagle Ray divers in Cozumel.

 

Two tourists drowned this week after being swept out to sea in Belize. They did not have life vests on.

 

http://www.sanpedrosun.com/accidents-and-disasters/2012/04/03/2-drown-in-snorkeling-accident/

[skyfire53]

Wow....that is too sad...I know the current is pretty strong, add waves and I can see were it would be a hard go...thats prob why they want you to wear life jackets...Im sure after this, all tour guides will require them...:(

[Armedaneian]

Two tourists drowned this week after being swept out to sea in Belize. They did not have life vests on.

 

http://www.sanpedrosun.com/accidents-and-disasters/2012/04/03/2-drown-in-snorkeling-accident/

 

After reading that article, and the one from the following day, I don't think "swept out to sea" is an accurate description at all. The article says the victims were found inside the reef, not out to sea. They were swept into the surf and tumbled across the coral. Either way, this is a terrible accident.

 

As a surfer, I would never want to be caught in that situation while wearing a floatation device! Unless you can swim under the wave's force, it will push you into the reef and you will tumble through the surf... making it impossible to breathe. The way to escape a wave pushing you into the reef is to "duck dive", or swim under the wave. This life saving tactic would be impossible while wearing a floatation device! The fact of the matter is they should never have been in that situation, even if they were strong, experienced swimmers... and, as tourists, it's very likely they were not.

 

This accident has nothing to do with life-jackets and everything to do with greed. The tour operator should have cancelled the tour due to hazardous conditions. They didn't, because they were hungry for profit and didn't want to lose the deposits! If this accident teaches us anything, it should be to cancel dives whenever the conditions are dangerous. I for one, never make reservations, because I don't know what the conditions will be. Instead, play it by ear... there will always be someone ready to take you out, if the conditions are favorable.

[Armedaneian]

Wow....that is too sad...I know the current is pretty strong, add waves and I can see were it would be a hard go...thats prob why they want you to wear life jackets...Im sure after this, all tour guides will require them...:(

 

Unfortunately, you are probably right. :( It's easier to make more regulations than turn down profits.

 

Ironically, if all the people on that tour wore flotation devices, it's possible there would have been more victims. Making headway through a strong current, let alone rough seas, is difficult enough without the added drag of a cumbersome life-vest. Wearing them could have made it impossible for even the strongest swimmer to stay out of the danger zone. Quite frankly, if you need a floatation device to go snorkeling, you have no business getting in the water offshore... even in ideal conditions, but telling tourists this is bad for business.

[skyfire53]

thats why I like to just lay over one, that way if I have to, I can just let it go.....I dont use it unless I just want to rest and float a bit...the rest of the time it just kinda tags along...I never used one when snorkeling in the lakes up north, but up there there is little current and I didnt go out if the waves were too high....I grew up on the lakes snorkeling and swimming almost every day in the summer :)

[cruising7]

Just got back from western Caribbean...we were a mixed age group with some who wanted to snorkel and some who didn't and we went to Tabyana Beach (through ship) rented snorkel gear from a local guy for $10 waded into snorkel just down the beach from where most people were. It was the best snorkeling I personally have ever done. Better than Molokini crater in Hawaii - better than the Florida Keys. Maybe we were just lucky- I didn't do a lot of research - I was blown away by the size- the variety- the colors and the number of fish and sea critters we saw. I have heard the snorkeling is great all among the beach there in Roatan. No life jackets used - water was as calm as a bathtub. Gorgeous beach too.

[Armedaneian]

Just got back from western Caribbean...we were a mixed age group with some who wanted to snorkel and some who didn't and we went to Tabyana Beach (through ship) rented snorkel gear from a local guy for $10 waded into snorkel just down the beach from where most people were. It was the best snorkeling I personally have ever done. Better than Molokini crater in Hawaii - better than the Florida Keys. Maybe we were just lucky- I didn't do a lot of research - I was blown away by the size- the variety- the colors and the number of fish and sea critters we saw. I have heard the snorkeling is great all among the beach there in Roatan. No life jackets used - water was as calm as a bathtub. Gorgeous beach too.

 

Um... this thread is for Belize, not Roatan ;) I do agree with you though!

[cruising7]

Yea I know....at the beginning of the original post though they mentioned the whole trip including roatan...but you are right this was on the Belize page...

[Armedaneian]

Now that you mention it... :o If you had to choose just one port to snorkel at, Roatan would be the one! Cozumel would be my second choice, but everything good requires a boat. The only reason Belize doesn't make the cut is logistical... the good stuff is so far away from the ship!

[Captain Carnival]

So, are these the only options:

Coral Breeze

Island Marketing

Carnival Sponsored

?

Thanks!

[Armedaneian]

If you take one of the water taxis to Caye Caulker, there are others... try Star Tours. :)