Stingray City with a 3yo and 6yo

[BethCarp]

Anyone done this? I know we'd have to keep them with us and not let them wander to terrorize the stingrays--LOL. And I understand that they might be afraid of them. I'm sure my 6yo will be fine, but you never know with a 3yo. I figure if anything one of us can just swim with the 3yo away from the rays.

[MamaParrotHead]

As the mom of a 3 YO and a 7 YO, given the fact that the water is 4'-5' deep (from the pictures I've seen and accounts I've read), trying to keep the kiddos safe from water and close eye on stingrays would be less than enjoyable for me, personally.

 

Good luck!

[acromom]

The stingrays are huge!!!! My husband took my daughter and son with him a few years back. My son was 12 and she was 9 at the time. I chose not to go with my 3 year old. My 9 year old got hysterical and had to be taken out of the water. She and another girl her age refused to go in the water. They watched from the boat. Keep in mind the size of the animals. They are much bigger than the kids and it can be very scary for them. Personally, I would not take a 3 and 6 year old on this tour.

[jlfros1]

I loved the stingrays but the water came up to my chest and when the waves came they were over my head at times. I have a 5 year old and I dont think I would take her. Plus when I first arrived there I debated on staying on the boat to be quite honest I was afraid,but I am so glad I got into the water it was the coolest thing I have ever done.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We took kids 5,5,4 & 3 on Captain Marvin's snorkeling and Stingray tour. They all tried snorkeling, but only stayed in the water a short while, as the ocean was a little choppy. With a calmer sea they might have at least enjoyed the ocean, though I doubt any of them could have snorkeled very successfully. (We hadn't practiced beforehand.) We had their own life jackets along.

 

None of the four would get into the water with the stingrays, though one of the 5-year-olds did finally go in as long as her Dad held her. So she at least got to touch them. The other kids watched from the boat. We were luck yenough to have 8 adults along, so we took turns staying on the boat with the kids. If there are just the two of you, you still could take turns staying on board, if the kids won't get in the water. With Capt. Marvin, I think they would have been fine on board with the crew and the passengers who stayed aboard, but we felt more comfortable having one of us with them.

 

The water was about waist deep or a little higher both times I've been to Stingray City. I'm 5'4''. But I think it varies somewhat with the tides and sea conditions. Most little kids couldn't stand; I'd bring life jackets or check that the tour has them. I assume the tours do, but since we didn't need them, I didn't notice.

 

BTW, our little kids are all very comfortable in the water, since we live by a lake, and the slight chop still intimidated them. They did have a wonderful time on the boat though, enjoyed the trip out to the sand bars, just experiencing the boat and especially the free fruit punch! We have several pictures of kids with red-ringed mouths!

[CeleBrat]

We visited the Stingray Sandbar last year with our (then) 3-year old daughter and (then) 5 year old son. It was very shallow where we were, and there was no concern about choppy waves. Actually--they could both stand, but chose not to becuase they were a little freaked out. We carried them around. But--they both touched the stingrays and now have fond "brave" memories of swimming with the stingrays.

 

You're the judge though--as you best know your kids.

 

Have fun!

 

CeleBrat

[odaisydukeo]

Hi, I went last week-- most kids stayed on the boat. There are hundreds of people there at the same time, the Stingrays are huge and nudge up against you, and the water is quite deep, and you are not supposed to jump up or around in case you land on one of the rays.

[swiftmodel]

I just got back from Grand Cayman. We did the stingray tour. my son is 7 and he is not a good swimmer at all. he wore his life jacket.(he could just barely touch the bottom) at times the water was a little rough) at first he did not want to touch the stingray but he touched one and then thought it was cool. we stayed out in the water just about the whole time you were allowed and honestly only about 3 stingrays ever got really close to us and one of those was the one that we had our pic made with. but really only you know how your child would react to things of that nature so it should be your judgement call. if my son had not had his life jacket on i believe he would have been a scared at times of the water when it got a rough. it really is a neat experience though.:)

[Kjazzman]

We just got back from Cayman and this was a blast! Our 2 year old LOVED it and petted the rays and tried to feed them holding the squid and all! He insisted on a toy plastic stingray when we saw it later in a souvenir store! We also had a 6, 8 and 10 year old....they all loved it and petted and fed the rays!! We went with a small tour...Soto's...they were AWESOME...and would recommend them since they were so great with our kids! They went out of their way to make it a great experience for them!

http://www.sotoscruises.com/ :D

[GuitarPlayer]

We were in Cayman on March 21, 2007. We took our 5DD's, including the youngest two at 8 and 6 years old. Also along was my sister and mother. DW and I had been out to Stingray Sandbar before in 2004, so we weren't afraid of what was out there. However, due to the winds, the sea was very rough. Me, trying to hold each of them up (one at a time of course), and keep my balance, and not step on the stingrays proved to be too much and the two little ones seemed to sense that. They decided to watch from the boat.

 

However, had the sea been calm that day, as it was in 2004 when we first went out there, I believe their experience would have been completely different.

 

That said, it really depends upon the sea conditions as much as anything. Our 11, 14 and 16 yo's had no problems and stayed out as long as they could. I got back on the boat with the two little ones while DW played with the oldest three. All in all, they had a good time, but I believe they could have had a better time, had the sea conditions cooperated.

 

We used Nativeway and they were much more accomodating than the Carnival excursion in 2004, and cheaper, too.

 

GP

[davidson5]

We visited Stingray City on Mar 15th with kids ranging from 16 to 6. All 5 of them were screaming to get back in the boat. We happened to be videotaping this so it will be played every Christmas and when 5 of the 6 (boys)are grown to show their girlfriends.

[bookbabe]

The only one who can decide if Stingray City is a good trip for your children is you. :D

 

Do they like new experiences?

Are they comfortable in water?

Would possible choppy waves scare them?

Are they comfortable around animals?

Would the stingrays' sudden and/or random movements scare them?

 

If your kids are comfortable in and enjoy a "petting zoo" type of environment, where the animals are all loose and can make sudden movements or get close unexpectedly, and they are good swimmers (or at least comfortable in the waves and willing to wear a lifejacket) then there's a good chance that they'll love Stingray City.

 

If that's not an experience they would enjoy, then they'll probably end up staying in the boat or not having a very good time.

[Moeve]

We got to GC on the 22 March 2007 and also headed out with Nativeway.... Unfortunately the winds and choppy seas had not gotten better. It was still a spectacular experience but I am not sure if the small children would have really enjoyed this trip since I am not sure they would have been able to deal with the waves that did get worse while we were there. Unfortunately one cannot know what the weather and the seas are going to do until you get there.

 

But if you do decide to take this excursion DO IT with one of the small private outfits like Nativeway or Capt. Bryant etc. since they only have small groups of up to 25 passengers with 2 crew and a photographer in the water with you. They can look out for you much better than those with larger groups.

[iamgolden]

I took my 10 & 11 year old boys there, they got off the boat for about 5 mins and then sat for the rest of the time. There were so many people and stingrays I think they were overwhelmed, they are good swimmers.

[asaintsfan1]

Do not miss this chance ! Wonderfull experince! As far as your children, The boat is allways boardable in case things do not work out as planned and it is litterally 5 feet from you so you would not have much too lose. I would think they would be though. The water is beautiful!

[Shiiilo]

We just got back and I will say that most of the kids did go in the water with the rays however I did feel very bad for the parents of the kids who paid $45 for their kids to be completely terrified. I would think that I would chose an excursion that included the snorkelling for my kids so if they didn't like the stingrays then they would still have fun for the snorkelling part. It is a lot more intimidating that I thought it would be just due to the sheer size of the rays. The kids are safe on the boat while you do it so I guess the main decision to make is whether or not you are willing to pay the cash and be cool with the fact that the kids may not actually ever enter the water.