Kayak, Hike and Snorkel of Cas Cay Excursion

[DisneySunPrincess]

Just wondering if anyone has taken this excursion in St. Thomas. If so, did you like it? Good and bad about it? Also, a couple direct questions. How long and difficult was the hike? Do you have to carry the kayak with you? Is it relatively flat and did you spend most of your time kayaking and snorkeling? TIA!

 

[adamki]

We really enjoyed this excursion. It is run by Virgin Islands Eco Tours (viecotours.com, at least when we did it) and the guides were excellent. The hike is completely flat, you do not carry the kayak, there is one small section where the trail is a little rocky right before you get to the 'blowhole'.

This was our itinerary:

- Leisurely kayak through mangroves into the lagoon and out to Cas Cay
- Beach the kayaks and visit the hermit crab colony
- Snorkel: the guides brought up sea urchins, sea cucumber, conch and pointed out other fish and coral features.
- "Hike"/walk to the blowhole for photo-op and see more sea urchins
- Return to kayaks and row back to the dock.

Here's a photo that shows the rocky portion of the trail, we walked to the tall rocks on the right:

...and here's one of the guide bringing up an urchin. She was so confident that she got my usually shy 8 year-old to hold the urchin without a problem. You can also see the kayaks beached in the background.

 

[adamki]

I also went through the photos to get a better idea of the timing. Looks like I got the hermit crab visit mixed up, we did that right ofter snorkeling and before the hike:

10:30 - Arrive at VI EcoTours
11:05 - Board Kayaks
11:10 - Begin Kayaking
11:45 - Begin Snorkel
12:25 - End Snorkel
12:30 - Hermit Crabs
12:40 - Hike
12:50 - Arrive Blowhole
1:05 - Depart Blowhole
1:15 - Back on the Kayaks
1:40 - Return to dock

Looking at the photos, I was reminded of the only issue I have ever had with a DCL excursion. There was a mix-up with our return transportation and we were not picked up until about 2:50pm. During the hour that we waited, DCL instructed the tour company to give us free run of the snacks and drinks that the tour operator was selling. Back on the ship, we visited guest services and they refunded the tickets that we had for the Sky Ride to Paradise Point (we wanted to get something to eat and didn't have time to go back out to Paradise Point) and they gave us a stateroom credit (I think it was 20% of the kayak tour price).

We were fine with the outcome and the tour was great.

 

[DisneySunPrincess]

I also went through the photos to get a better idea of the timing. Looks like I got the hermit crab visit mixed up, we did that right ofter snorkeling and before the hike:

10:30 - Arrive at VI EcoTours
11:05 - Board Kayaks
11:10 - Begin Kayaking
11:45 - Begin Snorkel
12:25 - End Snorkel
12:30 - Hermit Crabs
12:40 - Hike
12:50 - Arrive Blowhole
1:05 - Depart Blowhole
1:15 - Back on the Kayaks
1:40 - Return to dock

Looking at the photos, I was reminded of the only issue I have ever had with a DCL excursion. There was a mix-up with our return transportation and we were not picked up until about 2:50pm. During the hour that we waited, DCL instructed the tour company to give us free run of the snacks and drinks that the tour operator was selling. Back on the ship, we visited guest services and they refunded the tickets that we had for the Sky Ride to Paradise Point (we wanted to get something to eat and didn't have time to go back out to Paradise Point) and they gave us a stateroom credit (I think it was 20% of the kayak tour price).

We were fine with the outcome and the tour was great.

Thank you so much for all of the information! My DH and DS have decided that they definitely want to do it now. Really appreciate your detailed review.

 

[DisneySunPrincess]

I also went through the photos to get a better idea of the timing. Looks like I got the hermit crab visit mixed up, we did that right ofter snorkeling and before the hike:

10:30 - Arrive at VI EcoTours
11:05 - Board Kayaks
11:10 - Begin Kayaking
11:45 - Begin Snorkel
12:25 - End Snorkel
12:30 - Hermit Crabs
12:40 - Hike
12:50 - Arrive Blowhole
1:05 - Depart Blowhole
1:15 - Back on the Kayaks
1:40 - Return to dock

Looking at the photos, I was reminded of the only issue I have ever had with a DCL excursion. There was a mix-up with our return transportation and we were not picked up until about 2:50pm. During the hour that we waited, DCL instructed the tour company to give us free run of the snacks and drinks that the tour operator was selling. Back on the ship, we visited guest services and they refunded the tickets that we had for the Sky Ride to Paradise Point (we wanted to get something to eat and didn't have time to go back out to Paradise Point) and they gave us a stateroom credit (I think it was 20% of the kayak tour price).

We were fine with the outcome and the tour was great.

Also, did you have a photographer on your tour? I know I read that some of the tours have a photographer along and that you can buy a photo CD for $45. I would love for them to be able to get that.

 

[adamki]

Also, did you have a photographer on your tour? I know I read that some of the tours have a photographer along and that you can buy a photo CD for $45. I would love for them to be able to get that.

Yes, there were two guides plus one more was designated as the phtographer. All three were happy to take photos with our own cameras as well.