Would like opinions on Buck Island tours

[abitjaded]

Got a great park service publication from the library on the AVI. Buck Island sounds like a wonder, the maps around it suggest the reefs are HUGE! Has anyone taken the Catamaran tour or the six person boat tours to Buck? How long did the tours last? Do you leave from Charlotte Amalie? How long is the water portion of the trip? How long did you get to snorkel around the island? Was there also time to spend on the beach? Food, Drinks????

[jjgarv]

We took the catamaran. Great trip. Some of the best snorkeling I have ever done, and Ive done quite a bit. Nice boat and crew ( St. Christopher) relaxing ride. We did the 12:10 pm excursion which allowed us to tour downtown in the morning before it got packed. Th water is crystal clear with a lots of rok ledges so there is a great deal of fish and creatures to see. Highly recommend it!

[prymsu]

I have to agree with jjgarv, it was some of the best snorkeling i have ever done. No beach time, though. We left from the end of the pier, and i would say it was almost a four hour excursion.

Crew was very helpful. they also fed the fish, and that was terrific for attracting the fish.

[abitjaded]

Sue or jjgarv, how much time did you spend coming and going? How much time was spent snorkeling the reefs?

Carla

[jjgarv]

Its roughly an hour trip each way. It leaves you an hour and a half to swim, by the time you get off the ship, loaded on to the cat, get your snorkel gear, get back on the cat, etc. You do spend a good amount of time, sitting or waiting. The amount of time to snorkel seemed more than adequate to us, in fact we were getting kind of tired and got back on the cat with about 15 minutes left to swim. More than enough swim time!