What is the difference?

[sacir11]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between the Stingray city tour and the stingray sandbar? Also, do you recommend one over the other?

[johnlcruise]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between the Stingray city tour and the stingray sandbar? Also, do you recommend one over the other?

 

They are the samething. People just call them by both names.

Stingray City is on the sandbar that you sail out too.

Be sure to do this tour it is really fun.

[rosemail]

No, no, no! This subject comes up again and again. I wish the moderator would do a "Sticky" to explain the difference. Stingray City and Stingray Sandbar are miles apart and quite different, except for the rays. Stingray City is the original, essentially a 12 -15ft Scuba dive site, though more experienced snorkelers can enjoy it also. It is on the western side of the huge shallow bay known as North Sound. It has a fairly flat bottom, with scattered coral heads, a few soft corals etc.

 

Stingray Sandbar is on the eastern side of the bay. It is what it's name suggests, a sandbar, depending on the tide, extremely shallow (wading depth) at the highest point and gradualy sloping into deeper water. It is all white sand, no coral heads, no soft corals, and it changes in size, depth and shape as the sand migrates. It is much more suitable for large groups of snorkelers with varying levels of experience such as cruise ship excursions, but one is not inherently superior to the other.

 

If you want to call Stingray Sandbar "Stingray City", fine. A name is just a name, but you will not be using the names that locals go by.

[nanfromatlanta]

No, no, no! This subject comes up again and again. I wish the moderator would do a "Sticky" to explain the difference. Stingray City and Stingray Sandbar are miles apart and quite different, except for the rays. Stingray City is the original, essentially a 12 -15ft Scuba dive site, though more experienced snorkelers can enjoy it also. It is on the western side of the huge shallow bay known as North Sound. It has a fairly flat bottom, with scattered coral heads, a few soft corals etc.

 

Stingray Sandbar is on the eastern side of the bay. It is what it's name suggests, a sandbar, depending on the tide, extremely shallow (wading depth) at the highest point and gradualy sloping into deeper water. It is all white sand, no coral heads, no soft corals, and it changes in size, depth and shape as the sand migrates. It is much more suitable for large groups of snorkelers with varying levels of experience such as cruise ship excursions, but one is not inherently superior to the other.

 

If you want to call Stingray Sandbar "Stingray City", fine. A name is just a name, but you will not be using the names that locals go by.

You are correct. By the way, you do not have to be a swimmer to do the sandbar.

[twinkletoes4445]

Captain Marvin's calls it Stingray City Sandbar. If you have any questions, you could email the charter company. We've done the tour twice with CM's.

 

Soto's uses the same terminology. At the top of their website, it says visit Stingray City...and right below it talks about the sandbar.

 

They may be different places, but I've never read here (on CC) where someone ended up at the deeper area (10-15 feet). If you scuba, you have to be certified.

[rosemail]

Hi Twinkletoes, you are right, the various commercial operators do nothing to correct the confusion between the original Stingray City and Sandbar (Stingray Sandbar is also just a marketing name; in Cayman it is simply Sandbar). Quite the opposite. Stingray City has the worldwide recognition and they use the name for marketing purposes. If there was something inferior about Sandbar, then that would be underhanded, but there isn't, they are just not the same place. The OP asked a direct question and I felt obliged to give a straight answer, and correct the misinformation already provided.

[twinkletoes4445]

I know they are two different places, however, if you look at the tour websties, they call it Stingray City Sandbar. I was confused the first time we were booking. I thought they were the same place.

 

I never said that the Sandbar was inferior. I simply replied to the OP's question telling her/him that the tour operators there in GC call the Sandbar, the Stingray City Sandbar. It may not be accurate, but that's what they call it. So it is confusing...especially to a first-time visitor. This might be something that the local operators consider changing the wording on.

 

Like I said, we were confused the first time. I emailed CM's to make sure we were going to the sandbar...and found out we were...even though they called it the Stingray City Sandbar. :)

[drew sailbum]

The confusion continues, and I know I've written the clarification on many prior posts.

 

There are two seperate sites, seperated by a few miles, for interacting with stingrays.

 

One site is a reasonably uniform depth of about 12 ft deep. Scuba divers go there. I can think of at least two tour operators taking snorkelers there too. This site is known as Stingray City. However the name Stingray City is often used to refer to the other site as well, so this deeper site is sometimes clarified as the Original Stingray City.

 

The other site is around a sandbar. As sandbars are prone to shifting slightly and the depth varies with tide and as you move toward the edges, the depths range from 2ft to 12 ft. Scuba divers go there. Many snorkelers go there, and most snorkel tours to the stingrays visit this site. Thie site is called many things from the Sandbar, the Stingray City Sandbar, the Stingray Sandbar, or even Stingray City.

 

Since both sites are often called Stingray City in marketing material, that name has little value in determining which site you will visit. You might ask specifically if your tour is to the Sandbar or to the Original Stingray City.

[rosemail]

And I never meant to suggest you did infer that Twinkletoes:)

 

Many times "marketspeak" is used to "fool" people into accepting an inferior product. That is not the case here. As I previously mentioned, Sandbar is the right choice for the vast majority of visitors. It just isn't the original Stingray City, as so well explained by Drewsailbum.

[twinkletoes4445]

And I never meant to suggest you did infer that Twinkletoes:)

 

Many times "marketspeak" is used to "fool" people into accepting an inferior product. That is not the case here. As I previously mentioned, Sandbar is the right choice for the vast majority of visitors. It just isn't the original Stingray City, as so well explained by Drewsailbum.

 

Sorry, my mistake. :)

 

 

The sandbar is what probably 99% of the people who post here are looking for (maybe even more). It's a bit confusing, but the tour guide we used clarified the location we'd be visiting.

 

I've been around for years, and I don't recall ever reading one post where somone was taken to the deeper area, when they thought they were going to the sandbar. If someone does try to fool someone into an inferior product, you'd see it here...and it would travel fast. Most of us, myself included, chose tour operators that had positive reviews.

 

For the reasons you mentioned, I'd not use anyone that hadn't had a postive review here on CC.