Grand Cayman snorkeling ideas for gal who loves snorkeling bt afraid of stingrays?

[kew852000]

I absolutely love snorkeling and definitely want to book an excursion when in Grand Cayman but I am afraid of stingrays. I know stingray city is highly recommended but are there any great tours with more regular snorkeling? I know.. I am probably being silly.

[TurtleTagger]

There are a few tours via boat or jet ski/wave runner that will head out to some snorkeling sites by the barrier reef towards Rum Point, not all may stop at Sting Ray City. Your best bet is probably a private charter or to snorkel from shore.

 

I really would urge you to try Sting Ray City as part of a snorkel tour. It is a once in a lifetime experience. If you go to the Sand Bar location you do not even need to swim or snorkel, just wade around. My advice would be to stay in the boat and watch while everyone else is having an incredible time. You will soon get over any trepidation you have and hop off to join in the fun.

[TurtleTagger]

There are a few tours via boat or jet ski/wave runner that will head out to some snorkeling sites by the barrier reef towards Rum Point, not all may stop at Sting Ray City. Your best bet is probably a private charter or to snorkel from shore.

 

I really would urge you to try Sting Ray City as part of a snorkel tour. It is a once in a lifetime experience. If you go to the Sand Bar location you do not even need to swim or snorkel, just wade around. My advice would be to stay in the boat and watch while everyone else is having an incredible time. You will soon get over any trepidation you have and hop off to join in the fun.

 

Ocean Frontiers does offer an excellent snorkel only tour, but it is a 45 drive from the cruise terminals and usually offered only one day a week.

[sunandsnow]

You can do it yourself from the shore. We went to Eden Rock Dive Center in March and had a great time snorkeling. It is about a 10 min. walk from the tender pier. After we walked in the opposite direction and snorkeled at the Wreck of the Cali at Divers Down. Cheeseburger Reef by Burger King is also supposed to be good - 5 min. walk from Divers Down. If you need equipment you can rent from Eden Rock Dive Center.

[flvol77]

I absolutely love snorkeling and definitely want to book an excursion when in Grand Cayman but I am afraid of stingrays. I know stingray city is highly recommended but are there any great tours with more regular snorkeling? I know.. I am probably being silly.

 

You aren't being silly at all, its a personal perference and totally understandable.

 

there is some great wrecks and reefs in GC that you can access via the shore.

 

Look up shore snorkeling in GC and you find tons of websites, Edens Rock and the Wreck of Cali are both walking distance from the shore.

[Fourseventeen]

You sound like my wife. She loves to snorkel and never wanted to see a stingray in the water with her. She planned to stay on the boat for the tour we took with Capt Marvins (took us to stingray city and to a coral snorkel spot. So she intended to stay on the boat...that last 5 mins. She ended up in the water and b4 we left she actually even held a stingray for a photo. Shes now all pumped up waiting till we go back again in Oct. You may overcome the fear once your there. It really is a beautiful and spectacular site to see. Its something you will NEVER forget and you will always tell stories about that experience.

[BRIFRO]

We did a walkup excursion purchase at the Cruise Dock with Soto Cruises to Stingray City for $40 each. They were very professional and they treated us like family friends. This was really all the excursion we could have possibly wanted. The Soto Family simply pioneered the water sport- diving here in 1956 and we enjoyed our conversations with the son. The CD of our experience was a wonderful souvenir for us to bring home.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

We have been to GC twice, the first time my DW was exactly like you, she was definitely not going to stingray city. We elected to a boat and snorkel tour and had a great time. The second time we went, she wanted to do the stingrays and also had a great time (still talks about it all the time in fact).

 

So definitely do what you are comfortable with. There is some very good snorkeling right at the pier. In fact, when we came back we stopped for lunch at a restaraunt that offered steps down into the water, there are several like this in the area. There are also 'ship wreck' excursions that do this same area. If you look in the pictures below, you will see an orange bouys and people in the water, this is one of the local wrecks.

 

This shows how close we were.

 

 

And more pictures in my signature, caribbean section.

[kew852000]

Thanks for all the tips... I will have to think about it a little more. I hate to miss out on something really great and I do love to snorkel but if I don't think I can do the stingrays I might try snorkeling off the port. Do they give all the safety tips and all that on the stingray excursions?

[maggieworkman]

When we went on the Rays, Coral Gardens Snorkle and Starfish city tour (not quite the name, but close enough) with NativeWay, my mom stayed on the boat at the StingRay city (so did a few other ladies). The guides were really good with them and even brought a stingray close to the boat so they could see it. A few touched it too while they were still on the boat. They also brought up a starfish for them to hold and look at. So my mom had a good time even though she didn' want to get in the water with the stingrays.

 

Maggie

[InternetAgeTraveler]

Thanks for all the tips... I will have to think about it a little more. I hate to miss out on something really great and I do love to snorkel but if I don't think I can do the stingrays I might try snorkeling off the port. Do they give all the safety tips and all that on the stingray excursions?

 

Here are some pictures you might find interesting from my photostream (

)....

 

Their are not too scary...

 

 

And this is an example of the safety briefing on our tour. They made the whole trip a lot of fun (that's a stuffed sting ray).

 

[broberts]

Most cruise lines offer a two stop snorkel tour that visits a reef and a wreck in the harbor area - no rays.

[trim2gofast]

I absolutely love snorkeling and definitely want to book an excursion when in Grand Cayman but I am afraid of stingrays. I know stingray city is highly recommended but are there any great tours with more regular snorkeling? I know.. I am probably being silly.

 

I totally agree with you. Although I have been there several times, I have dove with the stingrays enough. They kind of creep meout. If you snorkel anywhere else on the island, you may see an occasional stingray, but not like at stingray city. If you ignore them, they ignore you. Just be careful because they often sit quietly on the sandy bottom and can be easy to miss if the sand is covering them. There are so many great snorkel sites all over the island and within easy reach of the pier.