Eli's Tour or Miguel's Prickly Pear?

[xtrmegee]

Has anyone done both? Which do you recommend over the other?

 

Eli Tour: Where are the stops? Is it crowded? Is the snorkeling great? Our priority is beach/snorkel time.

 

Miguel's Prickly Pear: Do you get bored quickly there?

We rather go on an intimate trip with a few people rather than 10+ people.

 

Thanks so much in advance!

[flcruzer]

We went last march, 4 of us, Miquel or son? had transportation waiting at pier took 30 minutes to get to island, had lunch, drinks, snorkeled, laid out for alittle while and by 3pm it was time to go, would recommend it again, some locals do stop by there so don't get nervous.

[cnj1019]

We did Eli's eco tour last week. His people met us at the location by pier when he said he would. We hopped on the boat and took off. There were about 28 people on this trip, not crowded at all. They did a tour around the island for 1 1/2 hours or so, very interesting. The guides were very informative and seemed to enjoy what they do. We had lunch at bird island. You could take the island tour or snorkel . We chose to snorkle. We seen some fish and very large hermit crabs and snails. Not excellent but not real bad either. We stayed there for around an hour.

Then we went to hells gate. You could climb or just snorkle. The water was a little choppy so we opted for the climb. It looks harder than it was. You have to jump into the water and swim to the island,fun. The climb was excellent, i would highly reccommend it. We are not in great shape and we made it no problem. Then they took us snorkling out in the reef. It was a little choppy and not like secret harbor but it was ok. I would go on their tour again in a minute.. They took great care of us..

[erniesband]

Has anyone done both? Which do you recommend over the other?

 

Eli Tour: Where are the stops? Is it crowded? Is the snorkeling great? Our priority is beach/snorkel time.

 

Miguel's Prickly Pear: Do you get bored quickly there?

We rather go on an intimate trip with a few people rather than 10+ people.

 

Thanks so much in advance!

 

We've never done Miguel's, but we've done the Eco-Tour 4 times, so we obviously enjoy it :D. It's definitely not a beach day, but if a day on a boat would be as good, this would be great for you. The "stops" include a tour of the mangrove area, the offshore islands, a reef snorkeling stop, Bird Island, where there is a beach, and some snorkeling (shallow) available, a hike (light hike - more like a walk) to the top of the island and lunch, and Hell's Gate, where you can either climb Hell's Gate (well worth it), relax in the "jacuzzi" area at the bottom, snorkel, or stay on the boat and relax. So you definitely get snorkeling opportunities. And it's definitely not crowded! Plenty of room to spread out, to sit, to mingle and talk with people, to relax, and to enjoy.

 

Jodi