stingray excursion

[cgdmom]

What is the best stingray city vendor? We did captain marvin's last july ---very nice but the snorkle part of the trip was not very good---I am not sure where we stopped but their were hardly any fish. I would be happy to do captain marvin's again- but -would love ideas for a new company. has anyone heard anything about the buccaneer trip(captain bryan-I think) any suggestions? thanks so much---Jill

 

[traycie2201]

we've booked with nativewaywatersports, not sure if it's the best but looking at the web it fit all of our requirements. it goes to the stingray sandbar for 45 mins then snorkelling over coral garden for 45 mins and was a fraction of the price of dcl's own .

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

How many stops did your Captain Marvin trip make? We did the three hour trip when we where there on our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. They did three stops with one being Stingray City.

We are going to book directly through them for our December cruise--cannot wait for our children to experience this as they always watch the video we purchased.

 

[toot2]

We were on the 1/2 day excursion. 2 stops to snorkel and then 1 stop to see the stingrays.

We saw plenty of fish at the snorkel stops, even saw some rays and an eel.

Maybe it was just an 'off' day when you were there.

Good luck!

Sue

 

[Grendel]

We did the Rum Point Beach and Stingray City Excursion. I wouldnt recommend this as we only got to stay about 15 - 20 minutes at the site...it was great and we fed the squid and such and we got to see lots of stingrays and hold them..but way to short...id defintely do my homework and have someone here recommend somone they liked as there were tons of other tours there that looked like they got alot more time.

 

[absame]

Another idea if you've got a big group -- we have 8 people in our group who want to see the stingrays, so we called captain marvins and chartered out own boat. About the same price with a group that size and you go where you want when you want and avoid the crowds. Even if you're in a small group, i'll bet with this board you could partner up. Their smallest boat holds 14 people and costs $400 for the half day. $28 per person if you fill the boat.

 

[iluvtink]

Do you have to snorkel to see sting rays? And what is the youngest age someone can go on this excursion? Thanks!

 

[toot2]

There was a little girl in our group. I'd say she was 2 or 3yrs. She had her own goggles and child size life vest and she just 'piggy-backed' her mom who was snorkeling. She was having a great time. I'm assuming this was not her first time doing this because she seemed very comfortable in the water.

We were on Capt Marvins, you'll may want to check their website to be sure about any age restrictions.

Sue

 

[Wonderwoman1982]

We are ALSO booked with www.nativewaywatersports.com , and hopefully that will turn out a good time. We are going VERY soon (only about 2 weeks to go..!) so I will let you know if the trip was enjoyable or not. I'll be curious if the snorkeling part of it is good. But, overall, I'm not too worried. The trip is priced GREAT and if snorkeling part is a let down, then it won't hurt as much!

 

[traycie2201]

My thoughts exactly it was a fantastic price, let me know how it goes. Traycie

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

We just did the Bucaneer Catamaran with Capt. Bryans. It was very nice. Best thing about it was the catamaran, rather than being on a motorboat. plenty of room to lay out in the sun, walk around, etc. They also has a cash bar on board which we loved. The Cold Beer was absolutey refreshing after snorkeling in the salt water.

We stopped at 3 different places to snorkle. Two were at the barrier reef near Stingray city. We snorkeled at one spot for about 1/2 hour, reboarded the cat, moved to another spot about 5oo yards down on the same reef, snorkeled there for another 1/2 hour, then went to SC. When we got there, it was shallower that time/day than it has ever been in the past. It was only up to our ankles in spots and many families/kids were kind of just using the area as a "playground" chasing each other around, etc. (I wasn't real happy about this, it only stirred up the water and scared away the rays) We still got to do the usual, feed, hold, take photos, and feel plenty of the rays. It just wasn't as crystal clear as other times.

After the SC stop (which was about 45 min.) we boarded and sailed to coral gardens which is just a little ways away as well. There were only about 5 of us out of the 30 on the cat that decided to go and were we glad we did! it was the best snorkeling that we did that day. Were there for about 1/2 hour. Then sailed back with cold beer in hand. The cost was $35.00 adults, $25.00 children. Well worth it. We had a great time and were glad to be on the catamaran rather than the motorboat. We lounged around on the way back in the sun and took some great "sailing" photos!

mrsfuzzmo