Grand Cayman Snorkeling HELP !!!

[dirvin0500]

My Wife is taking me on our second cruise for my 50th birthday in May. We want to do a two or three stop snorkeling tour but don't want to stand on a sand bar. I understand that you can swim in 12-18 feet of water with rays on some tours and then would like to add either the Barrier Reef or Coral Gardens. Does anyone have a recommendation. I've looked at Soto's, Nativeway, and others and they all say the Stingray City "Sandbar" and we don't really want that.

HELP :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Stevesan]

My Wife is taking me on our second cruise for my 50th birthday in May. We want to do a two or three stop snorkeling tour but don't want to stand on a sand bar. I understand that you can swim in 12-18 feet of water with rays on some tours and then would like to add either the Barrier Reef or Coral Gardens. Does anyone have a recommendation. I've looked at Soto's, Nativeway, and others and they all say the Stingray City "Sandbar" and we don't really want that.

HELP :confused: :confused: :confused:

 

Virtually all the trips visit Stingray City. Capt Marvin offers a three stop tour including Coral Gardens and Barrier Reef. Just stay on the boat at the Stingray sand bar.

http://www.captainmarvins.com/

[Wspinelli]

My Wife is taking me on our second cruise for my 50th birthday in May. We want to do a two or three stop snorkeling tour but don't want to stand on a sand bar. I understand that you can swim in 12-18 feet of water with rays on some tours and then would like to add either the Barrier Reef or Coral Gardens. Does anyone have a recommendation. I've looked at Soto's, Nativeway, and others and they all say the Stingray City "Sandbar" and we don't really want that.

HELP :confused: :confused: :confused:

I've got to say, you will love Stingray City. Yes, it is a sandbar, no there is no reef, no there are no other fish. Short of scuba diving it's the best trip on the island. I have done interactions in pools and in the open water and this one is a riot. You can't get this close to a Ray in the open water and it is a lot of fun. Go with an open mind and you will love it. There is always a reef snorkel tagged on also so you will get the best of both experiences. Enjoy!

[caryatid]

I went on a two stop snokeling trip in Grand Cayman that stopped at Cheesburger Reef and a shallow shipwreck. THe tour was offered through NCL but it was a Nativeways tour. The snokeling was pretty decent, better at the reef than at the shipwreck (and early 20th c. rice hauler if I remember correctly), but it was neat to see the shipreck. There was a lot of disorganization on thier part, which lead to us leaving late and missing some time in the wate, but it wasn't a bad tour.

[Denise&Paul STL]

We used http://www.mobydicktours.com/ for our stingray city and reef tour. This tour was awesome for us in that there were fewer people, staff that was helpful, courteous, and informative, and less expensive than other operators. We very much enjoyed this tour.

 

I understand that divers go in deeper water to swim with the stingrays and you might try asking the various tour operators about swimming rather than standing with the rays.