snorkel tour

[gartam]

Has anyone taken the thenford grey multi beach snorkel tour? http://www.thenfordgreytours.com/multi-beach-snorkel-trip.html

We love to snorkel, so this sounds perfect, but would love to get some feedback before booking. Thanks in advance!

[Flafun888]

I wish I could shed some light...unfortunately I asked the same question on here last month when I was first researching it :D. We'll be there at the end of next month. I think it's a fairly new tour of his - that's why so little feedback. But I did find one trip advisor review on it - just look up his name there and you'll find it. They were pleased. And the company has such a good track record with their other tours, so I figured what the heck - took the gamble and booked it. I like that it's not out on a boat...all from shore.

[gartam]

I wish I could shed some light...unfortunately I asked the same question on here last month when I was first researching it :D. We'll be there at the end of next month. I think it's a fairly new tour of his - that's why so little feedback. But I did find one trip advisor review on it - just look up his name there and you'll find it. They were pleased. And the company has such a good track record with their other tours, so I figured what the heck - took the gamble and booked it. I like that it's not out on a boat...all from shore.

When you get back, please update on how the tour went! Thanks! I think I'm going to go ahead and book it--we're going in June.

[CS-RN]

I'd also love to hear a review of this tour!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[OCruisers]

Please! Would love to hear your report back as well.

Normally, snorkeling from a boat is better. Wondering how from the beach went for you?

[shellsd]

I went on this tour last week and thought I would give a review since there is so little out there.

 

we were on the cruise with 8 people. 4 adults between 41 and 45 and 4 kids (2 7 year old kids, a 10 year old, and an 11 year old). So we were up late at Red Frog the night before the tour. We were studying the paper which said the tour started at 10:30 Atlantic Standard Time. We did the conversion and went to bed. We woke up and headed to the gangway and started questioning our logic after a full day of Cheers. Well, we were wrong so we were half an hour late. They still got us on the tour though! I was so thankful and felt so stupid!

 

So our driver was Henry and he was wonderful. Our snorkel guide was Tate who was also wonderful. Henry drove us through town and gave us history and information and answered all of our questions. We stopped at a few places with a great view for pictures as well. It was the perfect mix for me as we had time to enjoy and take a picture but I didn't feel like we were wasting a bunch of time. The van was comfortable and air conditioned and Henry was a good driver.

 

We stopped at the first place and it was just us and a group of kayakers. We swam to two ship wrecks. The first was a really old wooden ship that there was not much left of. The second was a newer metal ship that did have more remnants though it did not look like a whole boat or anything. It was a pretty decent swim to the second boat and I was not sure how the littles (as we call the seven year old kids) would do but they both did great. The snorkel vest and fins made a huge difference. My son is very athletic but he is not a good swimmer but he was having such a blast and following Tate and was the first one to the far wreck. Tate was very good at finding things and pointing them out. He would also take our camera and dive down to take good pictures. He would also bring things up so that the kids could see them up close and touch them. He did this with urchins and sea cucumbers. The kids thought it was awesome. He also found a beautiful conch shell that looked like the gift shop ones and gave it to the kids to keep.

 

Once done with this stop, we went back to the beach for some water. We brought a zillion snacks and shared with everyone on the tour. Tate was taking the group down the beach a bit to a new snorkel spot. My son was a little tired from the long swim so we opted to sit this one out. The other 7 year old did go. All reports from that stop were very good as well. We spent the time in the van chatting with Henry and it was time well spent. I really enjoyed getting to know him.

 

After everyone got back, we took a short drive to another beach. This was a more populated/touristy type beach with sunbathers and a bar. Some people on our tour said they had enough so they got some lunch and drinks in the bar while we went out. Some people on our tour were on a different boat that left earlier than us so we did not have too long at this stop. We saw some great stuff at this stop as well and I think Tate propelled the other 7 year old the whole time and kept her happy even though she was tired and worn out.

 

The snorkeling: So, I have snorkeled in a lot of places and have snorkeled in the Cayman's several times. This snorkeling was not like that but no other snorkeling has been. What I loved is that we were close enough to the bottom and coral to see everything but no so close that I was worried about getting pushed into coral. I have been on some trips that I just did not enjoy because the coral was too close and I am scared of hurting it (or me). We did see a variety of fish including parrot fish, sea turtles, a sting ray, puffer fish, a Caribbean reef squid which was very interesting (looked like a cuttlefish). Tate was excellent at finding things and pointing it out to us. He tried to catch a sea turtle for us to look at but those buggers were fast!

 

Note that we started the tour at 11:00AM ship time and they dropped us off at the ship at 5:00. We never did get lunch anywhere. They had a cooler with water and that was all. Luckily we had a huge bag of snacks with us.

 

Overall, I was very happy with this tour. Henry and Tate were fantastic and this was the highlight of the trip for all 4 kids. I really enjoyed it as well. I feel the price was very fair. I would recommend this trip and if we find ourselves back in St Kitts, I would not hesitate to do it again.

2 thumbs up for sure! Recommend.

[gartam]

I went on this tour last week and thought I would give a review since there is so little out there.

 

we were on the cruise with 8 people. 4 adults between 41 and 45 and 4 kids (2 7 year old kids, a 10 year old, and an 11 year old). So we were up late at Red Frog the night before the tour. We were studying the paper which said the tour started at 10:30 Atlantic Standard Time. We did the conversion and went to bed. We woke up and headed to the gangway and started questioning our logic after a full day of Cheers. Well, we were wrong so we were half an hour late. They still got us on the tour though! I was so thankful and felt so stupid!

 

So our driver was Henry and he was wonderful. Our snorkel guide was Tate who was also wonderful. Henry drove us through town and gave us history and information and answered all of our questions. We stopped at a few places with a great view for pictures as well. It was the perfect mix for me as we had time to enjoy and take a picture but I didn't feel like we were wasting a bunch of time. The van was comfortable and air conditioned and Henry was a good driver.

 

We stopped at the first place and it was just us and a group of kayakers. We swam to two ship wrecks. The first was a really old wooden ship that there was not much left of. The second was a newer metal ship that did have more remnants though it did not look like a whole boat or anything. It was a pretty decent swim to the second boat and I was not sure how the littles (as we call the seven year old kids) would do but they both did great. The snorkel vest and fins made a huge difference. My son is very athletic but he is not a good swimmer but he was having such a blast and following Tate and was the first one to the far wreck. Tate was very good at finding things and pointing them out. He would also take our camera and dive down to take good pictures. He would also bring things up so that the kids could see them up close and touch them. He did this with urchins and sea cucumbers. The kids thought it was awesome. He also found a beautiful conch shell that looked like the gift shop ones and gave it to the kids to keep.

 

Once done with this stop, we went back to the beach for some water. We brought a zillion snacks and shared with everyone on the tour. Tate was taking the group down the beach a bit to a new snorkel spot. My son was a little tired from the long swim so we opted to sit this one out. The other 7 year old did go. All reports from that stop were very good as well. We spent the time in the van chatting with Henry and it was time well spent. I really enjoyed getting to know him.

 

After everyone got back, we took a short drive to another beach. This was a more populated/touristy type beach with sunbathers and a bar. Some people on our tour said they had enough so they got some lunch and drinks in the bar while we went out. Some people on our tour were on a different boat that left earlier than us so we did not have too long at this stop. We saw some great stuff at this stop as well and I think Tate propelled the other 7 year old the whole time and kept her happy even though she was tired and worn out.

 

The snorkeling: So, I have snorkeled in a lot of places and have snorkeled in the Cayman's several times. This snorkeling was not like that but no other snorkeling has been. What I loved is that we were close enough to the bottom and coral to see everything but no so close that I was worried about getting pushed into coral. I have been on some trips that I just did not enjoy because the coral was too close and I am scared of hurting it (or me). We did see a variety of fish including parrot fish, sea turtles, a sting ray, puffer fish, a Caribbean reef squid which was very interesting (looked like a cuttlefish). Tate was excellent at finding things and pointing it out to us. He tried to catch a sea turtle for us to look at but those buggers were fast!

 

Note that we started the tour at 11:00AM ship time and they dropped us off at the ship at 5:00. We never did get lunch anywhere. They had a cooler with water and that was all. Luckily we had a huge bag of snacks with us.

 

Overall, I was very happy with this tour. Henry and Tate were fantastic and this was the highlight of the trip for all 4 kids. I really enjoyed it as well. I feel the price was very fair. I would recommend this trip and if we find ourselves back in St Kitts, I would not hesitate to do it again.

2 thumbs up for sure! Recommend.

 

 

Thanks for the review! I'm glad to hear that you would recommend this tour! We are booked for June, and are really looking forward to it. Our family can't get enough snorkelling, so it sounds perfect. I guess lunch is at the bar at the beach if you want it.

[Flafun888]

Hi shellsd - great review....we were on the tour with you guys! I was the gal with the mysteriously disappearing snorkel when we did that 2nd swim out (the one at 1st location). I was sooo bummed my snorkle fell off and I had to swim back early. Missed seeing the turtle - my #1 favorite sea critter. :(

 

I thought the kids in your group did great - the currents were fairly strong and those weren't easy swims for adults, much less little ones, so kudos to them. I was impressed!

 

After doing that long swim back against the current without a snorkel at the 1st location, the bar at the 2nd stop looked too inviting, so I was one of the ones who skipped it! But my DH and I both had a wonderful time that day. I agree - good value for the money - would recommend these guys.

 

Loved the Timothy Hill stop especially- one of the main reasons I booked this tour was that we got the best of both worlds: a little St. Kitts tour/history and snorkeling in one. Timothy Hill views were gorgeous.

 

You all were fun tour companions: we had a good group. (But you still owe us that drink for coming back to get you!) :D

 

For anyone else reading, go for it: you'll have a great time. (Just doublecheck before you go in the water that you don't get the snorkel set I did. The snorkel kept detaching from mask and sinking to the bottom! There must have been something wrong w/it, as no one else in the group had the issue and I never experienced that when snorkeling before.)

 

shellsd: this is a bit off topic, but since you mentioned your snorkeling experience and that it was good in the Caymans, can you recommend a tour company you liked? Anything off the beach like we did in St. Kitts or do you have to go by boat?

[shellsd]

Hiya Flafun888! I was actually hoping for the chance to buy a round but I didn't want to miss the third stop where there was a bar since I missed the second one. Thanks again for being so gracious with us :)

 

As for snorkeling in the Caymans, we stayed a week at Coral Sands Resort and snorkeled right from the beach there and it was wonderful. I have also taken Captain Marvin's stingray city and snorkel tour a couple times and that has always been great. Marvin did pass away last year but he has not been the ones leading my tours anyway so hopefully no change in quality.

 

Sorry about your snorkel!

[Flafun888]

I was actually hoping for the chance to buy a round but I didn't want to miss the third stop where there was a bar since I missed the second one.

 

LOL - was just kidding - absolutely no need to buy any rounds - you were a great group and I'm glad you didn't miss the trip. You were smart to take advantage of that 3rd snorkeling swim - I wish I didn't fade out so fast and could have joined you. But it just wasn't gonna happen. (Oh well- gives me a good excuse to start planning the next snorkeling excursion!)

 

Thanks for the Cayman info - I will look both places up - we booked onboard for W. Caribbean in 2017 with a stop in George Town.

 

Hope the rest of your cruise was wonderful!:)