Recomended turtle tours?

[Bickford Sailors]

We'll be in port in March on Carnival Victory. Can anyone recommend a good "turtle" tour? tks

[chrissysue]

We were on Serenade of the Seas Nov. 15 and booked with Shasa catamarans .His catamaran only holds 12 so we had the advantage of getting close to turtles w/o crowds . He arranged the tour so we would beat the other larger catamarans and swim by ourselves for a short time .He and his wife were very nice and accommodating .

[waterbugohio]

We were on the Serenade the same week as chrissy. We did Silvermoon, which also has a catamaran that only holds 12, we loved it and would definetely recommend them.

[letmetellya]

Boatyard has a wonderfull catameran that takes you to swim with the sea turtles and a couple more stops , also you get a great lunch buffet and open bar all day . we did it before , and are doing it again on YNE , this year.

[jane02]

I am also interested in the catamaran tour from the "Boatyard". Did you take the 5hr tour? If so, what did you do afterwards? Did you see many turtles? How many people does the catamaran take? I received a very prompt reply from them so will probably choose this tour. The other option is with the cruise tour and that is only for 3 hrs.

You obviously enjoyed it if you are planning to do it again. Our kids are 18,20 & 21. Is it something that age group would enjoy?

Thanks for answeing my many questions.

Kellie

PS I get very seasick but take medication. Was the sea rough when you sailed?

[Bonbonn]

I too also sometimes get seasick, so

i was wondering about the speed boat trip that is offered for the turtle on Barbados (princess cruises)

 

Is the boardyard Barbados or is that Antiqua?

 

Thank you

Bonnie

[Me&R]

Did you all book the Silvermoon and/or Boatyard excursions ahead of time or did you just "walk up" once the ship docked?

 

Thanks!

 

X

 

Links from my research:

Boatyard is Heatwave Tour

Silvermoon - No prices on site

Shasa Catamaran - very thourough descriptions and pricing

[ragincajuncruisers]

http://www.shasacatamarancruises.com/ Jason is the best. We did the lunch cruise the food was excellent and we actually swan with and 'petted' the sea turtles. Very relaxing and wonderful day.

[letmetellya]

I am also interested in the catamaran tour from the "Boatyard". Did you take the 5hr tour? If so, what did you do afterwards? Did you see many turtles? How many people does the catamaran take? I received a very prompt reply from them so will probably choose this tour. The other option is with the cruise tour and that is only for 3 hrs.

You obviously enjoyed it if you are planning to do it again. Our kids are 18,20 & 21. Is it something that age group would enjoy?

Thanks for answeing my many questions.

Kellie

PS I get very seasick but take medication. Was the sea rough when you sailed?

 

we had 12 people on our cruise . it holds many more then that , they like to keep it small , you will love it .

i dont see any reason to worry about seasickness

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Last year we did the turtle snorkeling with Stephen from Thriller Ocean Tours. We had a great time! The staff was excellent and they do small groups. I think 14 or 16 max. There were two stops for snorkeling and then a beach stop. If he is still doing 2 trips a day, I would recommend the morning tour as there are not as many other boats at the turtle site. His contact is below.

 

thriller-ocean-tours@caribsurf.com

[hahnfld]

We just returned from Barbados on the Queen Mary 2 in December. My girlfriend and I had heard that there were good inexpensive turtle tours available at Folkstone Marine Park, so we took a Yellow/Blue bus (very convenient and cheap way to travel on Barbados, BTW) to the park and took a tour with "Westwater Adventures Barbados" on the boat "Shamon Too".

 

Folkstone Park itself was beautiful and relaxing and there were only a few other people there. There are also nice free changing rooms, an outside shower, and no charge for admission.

 

After we entered the park, a park employee/lifeguard immediately came up to us and asked us if we needed anything. We told him we were looking for a good turtle tour, and he proceeded to call the operator of Westwater Adventures for us. We negotiated a price of $35 per person, although we heard later that the regular price is around $40. About 5 minutes later, the "Shamon Too" came up to the beach just south of the park, and we boarded the boat.

 

We were surprised to find out that we were the only ones on the tour, and we had a glass bottom boat all to ourselves. Our guide was extremely friendly, explaining the safety and design of the boat, and inviting us to ask any questions we had, and to go on the top deck of the boat if we wanted even more privacy. He talked about some of the different hotels and beaches in the area, and explained how once we got to the turtles we should avoid touching them, following them from the back, and wearing fins (which could hurt the turtles). He also had a bag of small fish to feed the turtles.

 

The best part of the tour was when we were swimming with the turtles. Other boats pulled up containing 100+ passengers, but our guide anchored away from many of the other boats. We jumped in and saw turtles immediately. Every time I stuck my head above water, our guide was pointing out other turtles or telling me where to find my girlfriend (who was also swimming around). Some people had swum out from the beach, and he also helped them find turtles -- politely mentioning that next time they should really take a tour... The turtles were huge and spectacular, and one swam right up on my chest to get air. Everyone else was laughing, and I was just stunned. :)

 

The tour wasn't over yet... We proceeded to snorkel at a reef closer to Folkstone. Our guide pointed out a lot of nice brain coral and fish though the bottom of the boat. He also showed us fire coral and reminded us to avoid touching it (or ANY coral). When he found out we were experienced snorkelers, he told us he would go park the boat over the shipwreck (where all the other haords of people were swimming) and that we could swim, at our own pace, from the reef to the shipwreck. The reef was stunningly beatuiful, and we enjoyed being able to snorkel away from everyone else. When we neared the shipwreck, the water became crowded with people and fish. The huge schools of fish above the shipwreck were fun to swim around, but as our guide also said, the reef was really much nicer.

 

About an hour and a half after departure, we were dropped off near Folkstone, and thanked for our business.

 

Overall, we were EXTREMELY SATISFIED with this tour. Our guide was spectacular, and obviously had a tremendous amount of knowledge about the area. We were continually impressed by his attentiveness and concern about the well-being of the turtles and coral.

 

We found out after we got back that the tour company does have a web site. Search for "westwater adventures barbados".

 

Matt

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Matt, thanks for sharing your experience. Wow, you got 3 tours in one...good for you!! While I truly enjoyed the turtle tour I did, I didn't get to see the island itself...only the downtown area, which was not very pretty (IMO).

 

Carole

[oc323]

Did you all book the Silvermoon and/or Boatyard excursions ahead of time or did you just "walk up" once the ship docked?

 

Thanks!

 

X

 

Links from my research:

Boatyard is Heatwave Tour

Silvermoon - No prices on site

Shasa Catamaran - very thourough descriptions and pricing

I booked Silvermoon in advance and they require a deposit via credit card. The rest neeeds to be paid by cash or travlers check

[jschafer6161]

Matt: Please tell me how you took the bus to Folkestone.

[smoothsailor]

Matt:

 

Could you also tell us where you caught your bus to the park.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Travelin'Hokies]

Obviously the turtles are the popular activity in Barbados. Is there mainly 1 location on the island to see them, meaning tons of people will be there, or can turtles be found in multiple swimming spots?

 

Thanks!

[hahnfld]

To get to Folkstone by bus:

 

Walk out of the cruise terminal. You'll walk through a vehicle gate along the waterfront, in the direction of downtown. Then you'll walk past a roundabout and a few blocks through a nice park, still along the waterfront. Across the street, you'll see a big touristy complex called Pelican Arts Center.

 

Anyway, when you get to the end of the park, look across the street again. You'll see a couple of little snack trailers (I think one said "coca cola" and one said "carib") and behind them is the bus terminal. Jump on one of the yellow busses with a blue stripe and a sign that says "S'town" or "Speightstown", and you'll be on your way.

 

The cost of the bus is $0.75 US or $1.50 BDS. You pay the conductor before you get off. Folkstone has a sign near the highway, but you need to watch for it. It will be in an area of a lot of big nice hotels and estates with walls around them. When you see the sign, just bang on the side of the bus or ring the bell, and the driver will stop and let you off. If you tell them you want to go to Folkstone, they'll probably help you out, too.

 

When you're ready to come back, flag down a Bridgetown (B'Town) bus outside of the park. They run about every 5 minutes, so it's not a problem. When you get back to Bridgetown, just stay on the bus until you get back to the bus terminal. They'll call "last stop" downtown, but you don't need to get off downtown unless you want a long walk back to the cruise terminal -- just stay on the bus and it will go where you want to go.

 

It's very easy and convenient, not to mention CHEAP! Enjoy!

 

Matt

[smoothsailor]

Thanks ever-so-much Matt! Your explanation is perfect.

 

Diane

[TheVegasMan]

We went with TIAMI http://www.funbarbados.com/Tours/tiami.cfm it's a large catamaran and I'm guessing there was at least 40 people on our boat. The turtle stop was maybe 30 minutes long. In addition to the turtles I also saw a Flying Gurnard AKA Batfish and puffer fish. Turltes and batfish are pictured below.

[mafig]

How was your experience with Tiami? Did you feel crowded?

 

Did you do the 5-hour lunch tour? How was lunch? Drinks?

[vacation fool]

When u get into the water with the turtles, is the water over your head? Do u have to be able to snorkel to see and interact with them? Would love to do this but am not an experienced snorkler. Any info is appreciated. :)

[explorer1]

I am sorry if this topic has been covered but I cannot find an answer anywhere. From reading all of the threads the turtles appear to be swimming freely, but I do not want to swim with the turtles at all if they are in captivity. I would love to see the turtles but I need clarification before I plan anything. If anyone who has swam with them can fill me in it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

[TheVegasMan]

How was your experience with Tiami? We loved it, as soon as we set sail the crew came around to offer different fruit juices, water and fresh baked goodies.

 

Did you feel crowded? No, it's a big boat and can handle I'm guessing 60+ people, there was about 40 the day we went. The only time I was crowded was in the water when the turtles were around. I tried to get photos and video with just the turtles, didn't want people or their limbs in my shots, I was able to get a few, but most have people in the shots.

 

Did you do the 5-hour lunch tour? Yes.

 

How was lunch? Lunch was very good, fried flying fish, chicken, salads and rolls.

 

Drinks? All you can drink beer and rum drinks. Not top shelf, but tastey.

[Snorkel_Girl]

Explorer1: The turtles are NOT in captivity.

 

Snorkel_Girl

[TheVegasMan]

Vacation Fool,

 

I would guess where we were the water was 15 feet deep. They provide inflatable vests for those that are not swimmers. They water was very smooth when we were there in December. You don't have to be an experienced snorkler to enjoy the tour. You can see the turtles while on the boat.

 

TheVegasMan