snorkling in Grand Cayman?

[my3boysmom]

We have been looking at the "party barge" and snorkle excursion. Anyone ever done that one? Other snorkling recomendations?

 

We will be taking two 12 year old boys but my husband won't be snorkling. Just hanging with us.

[iguanaeddie]

About an 8 to 10 minute walk to the right from the tender pier is the Paradise restaurant. You can enter the water via their ladder (into about 3 feet of water). Last week we were greeted by a small school of Tarpon as we entered the water. Lots of reef fish there and also saw a small cuda. Snorkeling is free if you have your own gear. Otherwise I believe they rent the gear (as does Eden Rock which is about 100 feet from the Paradise). We snorkeled at several ports during our cruise and this was the best (and free). Be advised that the restaurant prices are in GC dollars (add about 25% to get U.S.dollar prices).

They rent chairs (no shade however) for $5 each.

If you have your own gear this might be a cost effective alternative to an excursion.

Ed

[JohninDC]

You should look at doing a tour to Stingray city - we've been with Moby Dick twice and loved it (plus much cheaper than the ship tour :cool:). They have a smaller, less crowded boat, great service, and kid sized gear. Usually a snorkel stop on the reef and then 30-40 minutes at the sand bar petting and feeding the stingrays. Bring your own waterproof camera -- your boys will love it! :D

[CayManTA]

We have been looking at the "party barge" and snorkle excursion. Anyone ever done that one? Other snorkling recomendations?

 

We will be taking two 12 year old boys but my husband won't be snorkling. Just hanging with us.

 

For other snorkeling recommendations:

 

If you're interested in snorkeling the stingray sandbar is pretty much a "must do" as it's so unique to Grand Cayman, and most of those tours also take you to a good snorkeling area. If the wind and waves in that area are too much on that particular day, they may not operate the tour in which case you can opt for something else - I've put in a few alternative suggestions below.

 

Depending on your cruise line there may be a stingray sandbar trip that includes a trip to the turtle farm too. The "turtle swim" at the turtle farm is also unique because you snorkel in a lagoon along with several turtles that are about a foot long or so. Read the details of the tours before you book though. Some of the tour packages only do the "front" part of the turtle farm where they have the turtle tanks; they don't include the swimming lagoons, shark lagoon and bird sanctuary. I know Carnival has an excursion called "Stingray Encounter and Turtle Swim" that includes the whole deal.

 

An alternative "walk-to" snorkeling site for cruisers is the Wreck of the Cali, where you snorkel over a real shipwreck. The boys may find that to be very cool! It's a short walk - maybe 3 minutes - from the main cruise terminal in George Town. If you Google [wreck of the Cali snorkeling] you will see various commentaries. The bow section of the ship is maybe 100 feet or so from shore, in about 20 feet of water. You can still see lots of old chain, mast, the engine, etc. The part of the wreck closest to shore doesn't have a whole lot of sea life, but around the engine and the stern section there's lots of coral and fish etc. Even on the rare days when the stingray sandbar is "closed" due to strong winds/waves from the east or north-east, this snorkeling site in George Town might be fine to do because it's on the west side of the island.

 

Another alternative: The snorkeling "turtle lagoon" at the turtle farm is completely enclosed and calm even when the seas are rough at snorkel spots elsewhere around the island (that's not a frequent occurrence but it does happen occasionally). It's included in the "full access" turtle farm tour (different cruise lines call that tour by different names). In addition to the turtles swimming around in there, they have many different types of reef fish, and an underwater window where you can see right into the shark lagoon - it looks kind of like you're swimming with them too. They have lifeguards that are very attentive and they loan you a flotation vest (as well as the mask and snorkel) so it's easy and safe even if you're not an experienced snorkeler. A bonus is that for your husband there are several things to see and do even if you don't go snorkeling with the turtles. Their bar/restaurant overlooks the snorkeling lagoon. You can Google [Cayman turtle farm] for more info.

[marshhawk]

Also check out Eden Rock, which is less than a 10 minute walk from the pier. It is just past Paradise. Check out their web site. I think DH and I will be heading there as the last time we were in Cayman we were with some non swimmers. We did the submarine and it was worth every penny! Eden rock is free so that will be worth evvery penny too!:D

[sharks48]

We just returned from a stop in Grand Cayman, and I must say, we were disappointed in the snorkeling at Eden Rock. Perhaps we just didn't go to the best area, but we didn't see many fish. It was still enjoyable, though. We decided not to go over to the Cali, as there were six ships in port and, at least on our ship, there were several excursions where you could rent a jet ski or whatever and go to that area. We were a bit hesitant to be snorkeling with a bunch of inexperienced people using motorcraft in the same area, especially after reading about incidents in Goff's Caye and Roatan with snorkelers getting injured by motorboats.

 

We had already been to Stingray City and Coral Gardens on previous stops.

[my3boysmom]

we did the shore excursion on the "party barge / tiki boat". The boys loved it. I didn't get to snorkle (long story) and my husband and I stayed on the boat. Expensive boat ride for us but we DID enjoy it even without snorkling! Will review it later.