Snorkeling Tours

[Don527]

Hi All

 

Can anyone recommend a snorkeling tour in Roatan ?

 

Thx don

[BelRik]

We did the Sightseeing & Two Reef Snorkel Fun excursion in Roatan and were very happy. Compared with snorkeling in Cozumel it was definitely worth it as well. The reef is different but very exciting, a lot to see, safe and enjoyable.

[2Okies]

Don527 - We were in Roatan in January and were on the Carnival Magic. We took the ship excursion to Maya Key. No need for a "snorkeling excursion" if you go here! The snorkeling was awesome!

Maya Key is a small island just a few minutes from port, and they take you there by boat. The island was gorgeous, their food was delicious (free w/the excursion) and the snorkeling was out of this world! They have a long dock that takes you right out on top of the reef. They have a gazebo at the end of the dock to sit and put your gear on. You climb down a ladder into about 4-5' water. Then they have markers underwater to show you the best way to swim out to the reef. Once there - it was 100% beautiful reef w/100's if not 1000's of beautiful fish. We could have stayed there for hours, but....we had to get back on the ship eventually. :( They also have a shark enclosure, and you can snorkel with the sharks for an extra $30.

There are also a few animals on the island to see.

I have pictures in my signature line below.

 

We are getting ready to go back to Roatan in September. This time we are flying down there and going to stay a week so we can do some snorkeling at our leisure. The snorkeling from shore is the best you'll ever see. We are staying on West Bay - a popular spot for tourists, and they say the snorkeling is excellent there as well.

 

The reefs are all so shallow around the island, that snorkeling from the shore is very simple. You can take boats out to snorkel, but you don't have to go to that expense, if you don't want to, and still see some beautiful reef and fish.

[Guest 2000]

Without the tour ~ This thread has everything you ever wanted to know about snorkeling West Bay.

 

With the tour ~ Free Radical is a catamaran which does snorkel stops.

 

Upachaya also gets a fair amount of good press for both their kayak snorkel and the motor boat snorkel.

 

While there are some places about the island one need not a boat.. most places, unless one is a very strong swimmer, the reef is to far out, one would need either a boat or a kayak to access.

 

Maya Key, West Bay and Half Moon Bay are all easy reef access from shore. Fantasy Island as well..if you are comfortable swimming a bit of a deep channel to get to CocoView's, "front yard".. Much like Maya Key there are a fair number of piers in Sandy Bay to get one closer to the reef.

 

Google Earth is offers wonderful views of the reef system.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Guest 2000

[malastep13]

Upachaya looks like what we want, but I have emailed them twice with no response. It this the norm for them?

[Guest 2000]

Inconsistency is fair normal on an island off the coast of a third world country, between power and internet outages. :)

 

There is a US phone number listed on their contact page.

[BarleyBear]

I booked with Upachaya for my cruise next month. They were prompt when replying to me.

[malastep13]

Thanks