Some pictures from our day at Payne's Bay!

[donovan52]

Hi Everyone! Our cruise was a year ago, but I am only just getting around to posting some pictures! For our day in Barbados we decided to take a cab to Paynes Bay beach to snorkel with the turtles. We are both strong swimmers (I am a lifeguard) and we were planning on swimming out, but when we arrived we were approached by a man offering to take us out to where the turtles were as well as to another snorkeling site with a shipwreck. I believe it was $20 each, so we decided to go for it. We had a fantastic time!

 

It was a bit overcast (even a bit of drizzle), which ended up being perfect - we got a bit of a burn on our shoulders, but it would have been much worse if the sun was out!

 

More of the beach!

 

The boat we would be taking out

 

Heading out to get on. I love the colours of the boat - I might paint a picture of it

 

 

[donovan52]

 

 

 

 

 

[donovan52]

 

Next time we would probably swim out - the shipwreck site had lots of fish, but the turtles were the best part.

 

It did get a bit nicer out!

 

I love this photo!

 

We didn't stay long at the beach after snorkeling. We went back downtown to explore a bit and then walked back to the ship. It poured on the way back - and the boardwalk got very slippery! Despite the rain it was a great day - the highlight of the trip!

 

PS - Sorry the the pictures are a bit big! If they are too big and you have any suggestions, let me know!

[jcool]

I like your pictures I hate small pictures. How much was the cab to the beach?

[OCruisers]

WOW! Great pictures! Thanks so much for posting them! :)

[donovan52]

I like your pictures I hate small pictures. How much was the cab to the beach?

 

I am wanting to say it was around 20$ (and I am thinking that must have been each way). For our next trip I will keep better track of things like that! I know that we didn't pay until we were back downtown and that the price was reasonable for two people! We ended up saving quite a bit compared to the catamaran trips, and this was a bit more our style.

 

WOW! Great pictures! Thanks so much for posting them! :)

 

Thank you!

[debshomespun]

Great pictures! We have been thinking of doing one of the catamaran tours, but I don't want to pay all that $$$$. When we were in Barbados in Jan, we just walked down to the beach, and got a spot at Lobster Alive. We almost went out on a boat there for $20. each to swim with the turtles. One of these times, we will do it! How far away is Paynes beach from the port?

[donovan52]

Great pictures! We have been thinking of doing one of the catamaran tours, but I don't want to pay all that $$$$. When we were in Barbados in Jan, we just walked down to the beach, and got a spot at Lobster Alive. We almost went out on a boat there for $20. each to swim with the turtles. One of these times, we will do it! How far away is Paynes beach from the port?

 

I think it was around 20 minutes?

We were in the same boat - the other tours were so much more, and didn't give us the freedom we were looking for. How did you like the beach in January? We are going next December and thinking about just going to Carlisle Bay.

[chirpy12345]

I really like the last turtle picture. It looks like there's a tatoo on his head. :)

[sgcass123]

Love the pictures! My family and I are going in July this summer. How long was the excursion? Had you done local excursions before (meaning not through the cruise line)? We plan on swimming with the sea turtles, but I'm leary of doing any excursions not through the cruise line.

[donovan52]

I really like the last turtle picture. It looks like there's a tatoo on his head. :)

 

Thanks! I hadn't even noticed that before - it really does look like a tattoo!

 

 

Love the pictures! My family and I are going in July this summer. How long was the excursion? Had you done local excursions before (meaning not through the cruise line)? We plan on swimming with the sea turtles, but I'm leary of doing any excursions not through the cruise line.

 

The actual snorkeling trip was probably around an hour (including time spent on the boat and the second snorkeling site with the ship was a short boat ride away - the turtles are just off the beach). We got off the ship shortly after we docked, and I think we left the beach by lunchtime. So it was not a long excursion by any means! We had plenty of time to walk around downtown and walk back to the ship with plenty of time to spare! We probably would have stayed longer downtown, but it was getting pretty rainy so we were good to go back!

 

We had done excursions on our own before, and have had great experiences. We had done a few through private tour operators (like Bernard's Tour in St. Maarten, which we will be doing for the third time in December) and a few where we just took a taxi to whichever beach we wanted to go to. I think that if you decide to go on your own, but are still a bit leary about it - make sure you are off the ship nice and early to do it in the morning. Our cab driver did not want payment until the return trip - that always makes me feel confident that they will come back on time! I'm also not sure if they had life vests available on the boat we went on - not sure if that is a concern with your group or not!

[Snorkel Dawg]

Were they feeding the turtles? Wondering if you just went off the beach on your own if the turtles are easily found or do they only approcah the tour boat because of being fed by them?

[Snorkel Dawg]

BTW great pics!

[donovan52]

Were they feeding the turtles? Wondering if you just went off the beach on your own if the turtles are easily found or do they only approcah the tour boat because of being fed by them?

 

The guide was feeding them, but they stuck around for a bit after the catamaran left - I'm thinking they know that their next meal won't be far behind!

[Deckhandoug]

Great Pictures, we've gone there and done that twice.

 

The bus is only a dollar, and easy to walk to the terminal from the ship.

 

Swim on out, the turtles are always there, waiting on the catamarans...

[Deckhandoug]

Forgot to say donovan, your pictures brought back many memories, I wish mine had turned out so nice.

 

Many I'll get some better ones this fall

[hcat]

Thanks for posting those great photos--water pics look so clear--what camera/lense did you use?

 

The boat however looks a bit unstable/ dangerous--esp if they load the top deck!

[donovan52]

Thanks for posting those great photos--water pics look so clear--what camera/lense did you use?

 

The boat however looks a bit unstable/ dangerous--esp if they load the top deck!

 

Thanks! It was just one of the Olympus underwater ones! They take nice pictures but sadly it must have leaked halfway through. Now it doesn't work at all :(

 

The boat felt perfectly safe, but I didn't see anyone go up top! That would have been interesting I think!

[BonVoyage2010]

Amazing pics! Thanks for posting them. We were looking into doing the swim with turtles catamaran tour but this will fit into our day much better.

Can you swim to the shipwreck from the beach or turtle area or do you have to take a boat?

 

Thanks!

Karen

[donovan52]

Amazing pics! Thanks for posting them. We were looking into doing the swim with turtles catamaran tour but this will fit into our day much better.

Can you swim to the shipwreck from the beach or turtle area or do you have to take a boat?

 

Thanks!

Karen

 

The shipwreck was but of a boat ride away, not even visible from the beach, so definitely not swim able. There seemed to be more of a current by the wreck too, and it was further from shore. It wasn't bad, just enough that you had to pay attention not to go too far from the boat! Next time I'd be happy with the turtles and skip the wreck.

[Keith1010]

Excellent Photos.

 

Keith

[aberthelot]

 

Next time we would probably swim out - the shipwreck site had lots of fish, but the turtles were the best part.

 

It did get a bit nicer out!

 

I love this photo!

 

We didn't stay long at the beach after snorkeling. We went back downtown to explore a bit and then walked back to the ship. It poured on the way back - and the boardwalk got very slippery! Despite the rain it was a great day - the highlight of the trip!

 

PS - Sorry the the pictures are a bit big! If they are too big and you have any suggestions, let me know!

I love your pictures. We booked with Silver Moon in January 2013. Can't wait to see the turtles!

[BonVoyage2010]

The shipwreck was but of a boat ride away, not even visible from the beach, so definitely not swim able. There seemed to be more of a current by the wreck too, and it was further from shore. It wasn't bad, just enough that you had to pay attention not to go too far from the boat! Next time I'd be happy with the turtles and skip the wreck.

 

Since we are on a very port intensive cruise (8 ports) I think we will just do the turtles from Payne's Bay Beach and save the $$$ we were planning on spending to do the Silver Moon Catamaran Tour.

 

Thanks so much for all the info and pics that were posted here! They helped us make a great plan for our day in Barbados :)

[MartinsCruise]

Thanks for the great pictures. A couple of years ago, we got off the ship first thing and took a cab to Payne's with another couple. We were all in our 50's and were able to swim out to the turtles without a problem. It was some distance from shore so we decided to rent life jackets from the boat operator since we all had our own snorkel gear. Because we didn't have anyone feeding the turtles we didn't see as many as in the pictures but it was so exciting every time we spotted one. When a catamaran stopped nearby we did see more because they know where to look for food. We'll be back in November and are planning on doing this again.

[KrAzYGaL]

how far of a swim is it out to the turtles?? I have been looking at the catamaran too, but i dont know if we want to spend the whole day doing that.