Best place and company to snorkel with?

[mickev99]

I have read so many threads on here, plus trip advisor, and I am even more confused than before!

 

We will be a party of 11, ranging in age from 11 years old to 53. We want to snorkel the reef, but don't have any interest in going to Shark Ray Alley. We did the stingrays in Grand Cayman, and really don't have any interest in doing it again.

 

I have looked up a lot of different companies, but want to get ideas from people who have used a company that they absolutely loved. The less people on the boat, the better. Private vendor, not a ship sponsored excursion.

 

Ambergris Caye, Goff's Caye, Caye Caulker, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Coral Gardens, Starfish Island (Bannister Island), etc...SO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM!!

 

Help, please!!

[pambud96]

Following.

I don't want to do a ship excursion either.

[melinda0222]

Also following, as we have a similar situation. Hoping that we will get some answers as I bump it up.

Thanks

[just_4_fun]

Following for the update!

[mickev99]

Following for the update!

 

I got back on Sunday and am in the middle of writing a full review, but I'll update on this. I didn't get a lot of information on my question, but ended up searching old threads and booked an excursion to Goff's Caye with Island Marketing (which uses Ecological Tours, but was cheaper booking it through Island Marketing).

 

The operator was great, the island was great. We just didn't have a great time because of other reasons....tendering was a total nightmare because the water was so choppy, we didn't even get off the ship until 10:30 (even though hubby was in line to get tender tickets before the 8am time listed), so our 9:00 excursion didn't start until 11:15. The water was so choppy that the snorkeling was really stressful since I have 3 kids that I was concerned about. We all wished that we had just skipped the snorkel tour and stayed on the island and snorkeled from there. Because of the time constraints, we really didn't get the relaxing beach break.

 

However, none of this was the fault of Island Marketing, they were great about the tender issues and were very nice.

 

Goff's Caye was beautiful and I really wish we would have been able to get off the ship at a decent time to enjoy it more. There were 4 ships in port, and even though it is a small island, it didn't feel overly crowded.

Edited December 30, 2015 by mickev99

[scuddles]

Goff's Caye looks amazing. Can I ask how long it took to get there?

Thank you for leaving a review. It seems as if Belize is a hard one to figure out if you don't want to use the Cruise line.

[bplazo]

I just had a friend drown this week while snorkeling in Belize.

[mickev99]

Goff's Caye looks amazing. Can I ask how long it took to get there?

 

Thank you for leaving a review. It seems as if Belize is a hard one to figure out if you don't want to use the Cruise line.

 

 

Sorry, I just noticed this question. I would say it was about 30 minutes. You went back out past the ship to get to the island.

[j&amom]

How horrific! Wasn't expecting that comment while looking for places to visit!

[pambud96]

I wanted to come back and report on my time snorkeling in Belize.

We did not pre book anything, we thought we would get off and just wing it. So glad we did, Met Bernie from Exotic Eco on the pier and he was selling tours and we decided to do the goff's Caye. The snorkeling was great and the island was small but did not seem like it. Bernie was with us the whole time and he was so great. If you book try to get Bernie and Kareem. Kareem went back and got my camera when I dropped it in the water while snorkeling. Awesome customer service. Will be booking with them again. Probably not for first time snorkelers though as the water was a little rough but they were very conscious of where everyone was. My husband and friend stayed on the beach and had plenty of rum punch that was free.

[summergirlinWI]

Hi Pam. Your post is helpful. Goff's Caye looks nice and being able to shore snorkel will be great as I will be in the water constantly but my friend may want to just hang on the beach more. Can you tell me roughly how much it cost and if they took US cash or credit cards?

 

Thanks,

Susan

 

I wanted to come back and report on my time snorkeling in Belize.

We did not pre book anything, we thought we would get off and just wing it. So glad we did, Met Bernie from Exotic Eco on the pier and he was selling tours and we decided to do the goff's Caye. The snorkeling was great and the island was small but did not seem like it. Bernie was with us the whole time and he was so great. If you book try to get Bernie and Kareem. Kareem went back and got my camera when I dropped it in the water while snorkeling. Awesome customer service. Will be booking with them again. Probably not for first time snorkelers though as the water was a little rough but they were very conscious of where everyone was. My husband and friend stayed on the beach and had plenty of rum punch that was free.

[pambud96]

They do take US Cash. We didn't prebook so we paid 50pp. But you can go to their website and pre book and it is 45$ If you decide to wait till you get off the boat be sure and look up Bernie, everyone knows him. He will take you to the office and get you signed in and there is a small indoor flea market where you can wait till all parties get there. We waited 30 minutes but it gave us time to shop and use the rest room before we went out. And the vendors will bargain with you at the flea market.

[wildtky101]

Following as well.

[cruisesurf99]

Did anybody book an excursion to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and/or Shark Ray alley? Based on reviews found on tripadvisor it looks worthwhile but it seems very expensive to book this so I'm wondering if anybody can share some thoughts if it's worthwhile to pay extra for this.

Tx!