Bio Bay rentals and accommodation

[laura6769]

Hi,

 

Found the recommendation for Bio Bay on here and instantly fell in love. Husband and I are avid kayakers and will be in San Juan Feb 10th one night only and just so happens to be a new moon!! (apparently best time to go).

 

Can anyone suggest a good kayak rental place? Do you HAVE to go on a tour?

 

We will be disembarking in San Juan 8am Feb 10th and flying out at Mon Feb 11th at noon. We will have a rental car for the 24 hours so getting there ourselves there and back is no problem but I'd love to kayak at night too and possibly stay over somewhere close.

 

Any suggestions?

[Nole0202]

You will not have a problem, the tours start at around 6pm and are over with plenty of time to drive back to a hotel near the airport (Isla verde).

[OttoCal]

Yes, as far as I know you have to go on a guided tour as part of an organized tour group, for environmental and safety reasons. They no longer allow swimming in the lagoons, and there is a risk to kayakers if they were alone and lost in the dark in the mangroves.

 

We like Kayaking Puerto Rico.

[laura6769]

Thank you for your replies.

I'm actually having a hard time find a tour company that operates on a Sunday - which is our only night in San Juan. We fly out Monday at noon.

 

Kayaking San Juan only operates Monday to Saturday.

[sailandcruise]

Unfortunately, the biobay in Fajardo is closed to tours on Sunday nights to let it rest. I was there earlier this week and it is a fantastic experience, so it is unfortunate you will be unable to go there. However, you may be able to visit the even better biobay on Vieques on this tour: http://www.eastwindcats.com/excursions/exc-vieques.htm

[Nole0202]

Unfortunately, the biobay in Fajardo is closed to tours on Sunday nights to let it rest. I was there earlier this week and it is a fantastic experience, so it is unfortunate you will be unable to go there. However, you may be able to visit the even better biobay on Vieques on this tour: http://www.eastwindcats.com/excursions/exc-vieques.htm

 

Do not lose hope, there is a tour company in Fajardo who runs a trip from there to Vieques and back each evening. The Vieques bio bay is much better.

[laura6769]

I found this information if my intense internet seaching.

 

Company Name Contact Email

Eco Action Tours, Inc. Pedro Zervigin ecoactiontours@yahoo.com

Bio Island Carlos Robles Davila bioisland1@hotmail.com

Enchanted Island Eco Tours Michael Grasso enchantedislandecotours@libertypr.net

Fajardo Tours, Inc. Emilia Martinez/Antonio Morales ARM614411@yahoo.com

Akuadventures Kayaking, Inc. Daisa or Robert Pfister akuadventures@gmail.com

Island Kayaking Adventure Corp. Nestor Martinez Perez info@ikatours.com

Las Tortugas Adventures, Inc. Gary and Evelyn Horne info@kayak-pr.com

Kayaking Puerto Rico Percy Dier/ Dalberto Arce info@kayakingpuertorico.com

Baby Bay Cruisers Lagoon Miguel A. Suarez Hernandez N/A

Yokahu Kayaks Trips, Inc. Luis Mendez Robles oceanicpacifica@gmail.com

The Kayak Rental Eco-Tours, Inc. Ismael Ortega Villanueva thekayakrental@yahoo.com

Pure Adventure Corp. Carlos Castro info@pureadventurepr.com

These are all the tour operators out of Fajardo. Apparently 10 of these companies have permits to run tours Monday-Saturday. 2 have Sunday contracts. I'm waiting to hear which ones those are.

[Kik35]

For those of you who have done the BioBay kayaking, do you have to have any kayaking experience or can you just pick it up enough?? Also wanted to find out if you can take pictures since it goes out at night?? Thinking of doing this excursion in Feb. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Claudia:)

[sailandcruise]

For those of you who have done the BioBay kayaking, do you have to have any kayaking experience or can you just pick it up enough?? Also wanted to find out if you can take pictures since it goes out at night?? Thinking of doing this excursion in Feb. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Claudia:)

 

You don't need any previous kayaking experience. They teach you, it's easy to learn, you only paddle a short distance on a not verychallenging route, and there are many guides available to assist.

 

Pictures taken with an inexpensive waterproof camera won't come out well. The outfitter I used, Yokahu, had a photographer along who used (I think) a professional waterproof camera with a heavy-duty flash. They post all the pictures on Facebook for free. And because someone else is taking the pictures, you can be in them. (see http://www.yokahukayaks.com/ )

[Nole0202]

You will need a newer large sensor camera capable of shooting at very high ISO, like 3200.

[sippican]

You don't need any previous kayaking experience. They teach you, it's easy to learn, you only paddle a short distance on a not verychallenging route, and there are many guides available to assist.

 

I recommend that anyone considering this tour read reviews posted on the Tripadvisor site - the good and the not so good

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g612474-d1634272-Reviews-Bioluminescent_Bay-Fajardo_Puerto_Rico.html#REVIEWS

I always read the reviews with a grain of salt, and the excellent reviews certainly outnumber the average and below, but those anxious about llearning to kayak may be a bit freaked out by the darkness and crowded conditions. Experiences seem to vary greatly and I'm sure they are dependents on the number of guests, the quality of the guides, currents, lights on kayaks, etc.

We are very experienced kayakers and I don't think I would want to learn here. We want to visit the BioBay but after reading some of the reviews about getting stuck in the mangroves, paddles in the face, battling the current, etc., we may look into the electric boat options.

[sippican]

Apparently 10 of these companies have permits to run tours Monday-Saturday. 2 have Sunday contracts. I'm waiting to hear which ones those are.

 

Any updates on the companies that operate on Sunday?

I understood that the area was closed on Sunday to allow it to "rest", but I'd certainly be interested in going on that day if possible.

[Virginia Flyer]

East Wind Cats operates on Sundays.

[sippican]

East Wind Cats operates on Sundays.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. Are you sure the BioBay tour goes out on Sundays?

[sailandcruise]

Thank you for the suggestion. Are you sure the BioBay tour goes out on Sundays?

 

The Sunday tour on East Wind Cats is to the Vieques biobay, not to the biobay in Fajardo. See posts 5 & 6, above.