swim with turtles recommendations?

[jw01]

What specific companies or tours do you recommend for swimming with the turtles? I don't mind doing other stuff while ont he tour, but this is the main point of going for me. Also please let me know any pricing if you have it.

 

Thanks!

[Sheffie]

Last year we went on a sailing/snorkel excursion on the Silver Moon I and had a fabulous time. We enjoyed it so much that we have booked them again for this upcoming cruise. If you check out this board, you will see that there are a LOT of us who use this operator. If you check out the photos in my signature, you can get an idea of the fun we had.

 

The Silver Moon I is $110 - $110 pp for adults, and the II is a little cheaper since there are more people on the boat. It is well worth the $$ !!

[Don M]

We were on the Silver Moon II last week and had an absolute blast. There were probably 6 or 7 turtles to snorkel with, plus another snorkeling area and an area to swim from the catamaran. Lunch of flying fish, chicken, salads etc. and an open bar. The tour lasted about 5 hours. The crew was fantastic. It was $87.50 US for the Silver Moon II which holds up to 24. We were about 14 and everyone would do it again. Enjoy.

[sunandfunatsea]

Here is a less expensive option:

 

http://barbadosahoy.com/whynot.htm

 

Here is an email I got from another CC'er about sailing with Captian Ron...

By the way you can talk to him in person to set it up and can even do a

private charter. The more the people the cheaper.. You can do a charter for a reasonable price also... We sail with him in 2 weeks ..YIPEE!!

 

***from fellow CC'r*****

 

Jim,

I saw you are booked through Captain Ron. A group of 6 of us took the sail in March of 2004. It was a blast, in fact we are sailing with him again in 4 days! He sails the same as the other catamarans, going to swim with the turtles and stop at the sunken ship, complimentary drinks, (beer and rum punch) and lunch. Bring your underwater camera. I can let you know how it goes this time when we return. There will be 8 of us neighbors and 4 others from the Carnival Destiny aboard.

Bon Voyage

Pam

 

**********

 

Jim

[Rigger]

What specific companies or tours do you recommend for swimming with the turtles? I don't mind doing other stuff while ont he tour, but this is the main point of going for me. Also please let me know any pricing if you have it.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,

 

We just got back from the Carnival Destiny and we had a fantastic day on Barbados - it was the highlite of our trip. We booked with Shasa Catamaran and it was fantastic. Jason used to Captain with Silver Moon but he has branched out on his own and he puts on a great tour. We opted to snorkel with the turtles, snorkel on the reef and wrecks and then to have some lunch and do some swimming. We were picked up from the dock (9:30) in a very nice van and taken to meet Jason on the beach. We spent from about 10:00 to 3:00 on board, snorkeling, eating, drinking, swimming talking and so on. This was fantastic! the kids loved avery minute of it and so did my wife and I. Jason put on a great tour both in and out of the water and he offered a great spread of food and drinks (actually, I need to get in touch with him for two recipes).

 

In all this was a great tour with a personal touch that was actually considerably less expensive than many of the other catamaran tours. You should be able to find him on the internet (I believe he is at www.shasacatamaran.com).

 

If you have any questions about the tour, let me know!

 

Rigger

[Rigger]

Sorry, the website should be www.shasacatamarancruises.com .

 

Rigger

[Lefty888]

I went on a catamaran/snorkel with turtles tour in Barbados a few years ago, don't remember the company. I do remember it was about $75. It was nice....BUT unless you are a good swimmer, I wouldn't recommend going. The catamaran was nice, the guys were great...free rum drinks...fabulous view of the mansions along the shore.. but the guys running the excursion didn't really caution anyone. I got in the water...bobbed a little bit, looking down to get my goggles on and when I looked up I was about 25 feet from the catamaran!!! The current was STRONG and we got sucked right out. It really freaked me out. They said it was about 20 feet deep, but to me it seemed much deeper. The tour guide jumped in with some bait of some sort and the turtles appeared. We only saw about 2 or 3 and they were near the ocean floor. That was very cool though.

 

That lasted about an hour and we swam back to the catamaran (in what felt to me like a riptide).:o We stopped for an hour at a private beach and the guys helped us off. Most of us got knocked over stepping off the boat stairs because of the current. You couldn't stand even knee deep without getting knocked over. The beach had about 1 ft. drop-offs that you couldn't really see. If you do go, bring some sort of "water shoes" that you can wear if you get off at the beach. It is very rocky and that makes it harder to stay on your feet !! Ow!!

 

All in all, it was worth the view of the ride...the water and shore line's beautiful!! I also went in the month of November--don't know if that makes a difference..!!

[Sheffie]

When we went last April there was no current at all. (At least none that I noticed.) Maybe what Lefty experienced was unusual since I haven't read of anyone else having this experience.

 

Lefty, you need to go in less than 2 weeks with us! You need something to compare your experience with! ;)

[TypeAGal]

Another option we loved was the Thriller Turtle Snorkle tour - 3 stops...spent the most time with the turtles and was one of my favorite life experiences. Beat out the stingrays and the dolphin experiences I have done.

 

I loved Capt. Stephan and Matthew (who got in the water with us and broughts lots of FOOD so for soem time, we had a majority of the turtles with us. Was pretty cool.

 

This tour is speedboat as oppose to catamaran - I have heard great things about SilverMoon as well.

 

Check out my pics on the other thread below...I'll bump it to the top for you.

 

you will really enjoy - have fun!!

 

leslie

[sunandfunatsea]

Captain Ron and his staff.. James and Sean made our day !!!

 

The weather wasnt the best but we were smiling...drinking..dancing ;)

 

The turtles are awesome..but they are fast....He has a big boat and maxes it out at 24 - We paid 65$ per person. Which is half price of the Silvermoon and we still had a great day ...

 

I would highly recommend using Captian Ron

 

http://barbadosahoy.com/whynot.htm

 

You can actually call and talk to him !! try his cell ;)

 

Any questions feel free to email me...

 

jmagnuss@yahoo.com

 

tell him Jim from California said hi ;)

[BAFIT1]

I was with sunandfunatsea on that same trip!!! Had a great time dancing, sailing and the kids had fun swimming with the turtles. I would also recommend the trip with Captn Ron and crew. Tell him that Amy from Chicago also said hi!!!

[teach21566]

Are the kids a reduced fare??

[Painter]

Last year we went on a sailing/snorkel excursion on the Silver Moon I and had a fabulous time. We enjoyed it so much that we have booked them again for this upcoming cruise. If you check out this board, you will see that there are a LOT of us who use this operator. If you check out the photos in my signature, you can get an idea of the fun we had.

 

The Silver Moon I is $110 - $110 pp for adults, and the II is a little cheaper since there are more people on the boat. It is well worth the $$ !!

 

 

Are the prices Barbados dollars or USA dollars?

[sunandfunatsea]

Captain Ron - Kids under 12 i think are half price.. in US$ 65 for adults..

 

well worth it... !!!

[hawt1]

What kind of lunch do eahc of these provide. If we are bringing our kids with us, they can be picky eaters and when they are hungry, they are grumpy. It can make or break a trip for us and those with us.

 

Anyone able to comment on the variety and quality of food on the trips you have taken?

[sunandfunatsea]

there where 3 kids in our group and 5 in the other group..heard no complaints...

 

chicken... rice... version of mac and chesse.. salad... cole slaw..

fish...

[vinceking7]

What specific companies or tours do you recommend for swimming with the turtles? I don't mind doing other stuff while ont he tour, but this is the main point of going for me. Also please let me know any pricing if you have it.

 

Thanks!

 

http://www.barbadosallstartour.com/

[snorklinbarb]

Is there a beach from which we can swim out to the turtles? DH is not keen on getting on "another boat" after the ship, especially in winter. Was wondering if we can take a cab somewhere since we'd have our own snorkeling equipment with us? If so, about how much would it cost?

 

Thanks!:D

[Kubanita]

Hey there!!

Just wanted to share that I had the time of my life on the SILVER MOON CATAMARAN this past couple weeks. I just finished writting a review on that with lots of pics and in fo about the whole trip. If youd ask me..Id say this was the highlight of my cruise :) Hope it helps !!! =)

 

Review below.. I wish you a great trip!!

[aimodels]

Is there a beach from which we can swim out to the turtles? DH is not keen on getting on "another boat" after the ship' date=' especially in winter. Was wondering if we can take a cab somewhere since we'd have our own snorkeling equipment with us? If so, about how much would it cost?[/quote']

 

Rockley, Paynes or Carlisle are your best bets.

 

Carlisle is closest to the cruise ship port. At Carlisle and Paynes, you have to swim out a few hundred yards to get to them. At Rockley, there's a small reef about 150 yards out from the Side Shore Bar. We would see turtles most mornings there also.

 

Cheers, P:)

[Cruisin KLS]

Wanted to tell you of our experiences with Calabaza. http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com/

 

We first booked with Gina in February 2011. She is easy to contact and very quick to respond. Easy to book with and answered the millions of questions that I had with ease. This was easily the best catamaran excursion that we have been on in our 10 cruises.

 

Pick up at the cruise port is easy and a short ride to the Calabaza through town is all it takes before you are off on your day to be spoiled. The food is delicious! Coffee/tea and banana bread in the morning. Various offerings for lunch...chicken, fish, cole slaw, plantains, macaroni salad, tomato pie...everything is amazing and abundant. Rum punch is the best I have ever had and flows all day. Water and soda and other drinks are available.

 

Gina and Chad cater to you all day while Danny sails the Calabaza. You snorkel at two spots, once with the turtles and once at a reef. Anchor out from the beach for lunch and have plenty of time to eat and swim.

 

January 2013 will be our 3rd time out with Calabaza and I can't wait. I think the price now is $110pp and it is worth every penny. They only book 12 people on each trip and it is not at all crowded. When we returned home, you receive an email with recipes from your day with Calabaza. This past year, Chad took pictures all day and you are emailed the link with all of the pictures so if you don't have an underwater camera, you can still have pics of the turtles.

 

Definitely take the time to explore all options with the tours. They are similiar but each one is different in it's own way. - Kristi

[Loving My Life]

Wanted to tell you of our experiences with Calabaza. http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com/

 

We first booked with Gina in February 2011. She is easy to contact and very quick to respond. Easy to book with and answered the millions of questions that I had with ease. This was easily the best catamaran excursion that we have been on in our 10 cruises.

 

Pick up at the cruise port is easy and a short ride to the Calabaza through town is all it takes before you are off on your day to be spoiled. The food is delicious! Coffee/tea and banana bread in the morning. Various offerings for lunch...chicken' date=' fish, cole slaw, plantains, macaroni salad, tomato pie...everything is amazing and abundant. Rum punch is the best I have ever had and flows all day. Water and soda and other drinks are available.

 

Gina and Chad cater to you all day while Danny sails the Calabaza. You snorkel at two spots, once with the turtles and once at a reef. Anchor out from the beach for lunch and have plenty of time to eat and swim.

 

January 2013 will be our 3rd time out with Calabaza and I can't wait. I think the price now is $110pp and it is worth every penny. They only book 12 people on each trip and it is not at all crowded. When we returned home, you receive an email with recipes from your day with Calabaza. This past year, Chad took pictures all day and you are emailed the link with all of the pictures so if you don't have an underwater camera, you can still have pics of the turtles.

 

Definitely take the time to explore all options with the tours. They are similiar but each one is different in it's own way. - Kristi[/quote']

 

Thanks for the review Kristi. I recently booked with Calabaza for our cruise in January and can't wait!

[barbels]

We went with Calabazza and it was great. We're going with them again next january.

[alvin moondust]

Another vote for SilverMoon catamaran from us.

 

We Arrived in Barbados on the Friday afternoon and did the Silvermoon tour on Saturday morning before Ventura departed.

It was a great experience, and well worth paying a little more for as there was loads of room on board with just twelve guests.

 

here is a link to the video I made on the day.

 

 

Steve

[ciera123]

We also went with Calabza and had a WONDERFUL time. We all agree that this was the best excursion for us to date. So much attention to detail, you're treated like royality, great food and drinks and I can't wait to sail with Calabaza again!!!