How hard IS the kayaking for Biobay Tour?

[KAWS]

The Princess site says for those in great physical condition - how "great" is great? I'm willing to have my arms practically fall off and take a down day the next day for it but just want to check.......anyone that's gone, can you help me out here?

 

Kim

[Laurab23]

It really depends on how stong the current is going in or out. When we went,kayaking in was a piece of cake(we're in our 50's)but coming back out after dark there was a very strong current going against us.The guide said it was alot stronger than normal and it made it very diffecult for us. Our guide ended up attaching a rope to our kayak and towing us out.A little embarrasing but seeing it was so incredible I wouldn't have missed it for the world.So glad we did it!!

 

Laura

[#1TravelMom]

Do NOT miss the Bio Bay tour - it is AMAZING! I am definately not in great physical condition and we do Bio Bay every time we are in PR. I've never found it hard to paddle. We've taken many people and no one has ever been lost at sea-LOL!

[OCruisers]

Thanks for these great replies! We've wondered about this!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Silvara7]

I was wondering about that today. Thanks for the info.

 

How many of you booked through the ship or did it on your own? We only have the sail day in SJ, so don't have many options.

[polodad]

Probably not a good example, but we are 0 for 2 on the Bio Bay. 3 years ago booked it thru Celebrity for the Century, the ship was 2 hrs late getting to San Juan & the excursion was cancelled. A week ago we were on RCL AOS and booked Ecoaction Tours on our own for the Bio Bay at Fajardo. Ecoaction cancelled with no notice and cost us a hotel night & vacation day. Maybe next year...

[very cold canuck]

Biobay is a DO NOT MISS excursion! This was the most amazing thing I have experienced. Myself and two daughters went (14 & 12) and we all did fine kayaking although my arms were a bit sore the next day. I just spent more time in the hot tub than normal :)

[sunsetme]

Is it very buggy?

[#1TravelMom]

We always rent a car and go on our own. We call Island Kayaking in advance to reserve space for us. We always have a GREAT time with them-MUCH less expensive than a ship excursion.

[canovanas]

Probably not a good example, but we are 0 for 2 on the Bio Bay. 3 years ago booked it thru Celebrity for the Century, the ship was 2 hrs late getting to San Juan & the excursion was cancelled. A week ago we were on RCL AOS and booked Ecoaction Tours on our own for the Bio Bay at Fajardo. Ecoaction cancelled with no notice and cost us a hotel night & vacation day. Maybe next year...

 

 

Hey polodad just wanted to let you and everyone else know that Eco Action was not given a permit to provide the biobay tours anymore so maybe thats why they canceled on you. Just as an FYI

[dale594]

It will not be anywhere near a full moon, in fact almost the opposite when we are in San Juan. Anyone done bio bay in these conditions? Is it still worth it? Thanks!

[jimbug]

FYI, coming from an avid kayaker...

 

If you are paddling 'correctly', your arms won't hurt--promise! :) I am pretty much dead out of shape and overweight, but started paddling kayaks with my husband this spring...we can paddle 5-20 miles a stretch and the only thing that's sore is my butt from it falling asleep! :)

 

Just don't grip the paddle too tight (you'll get blisters, been there/done that), and use a stroke that doesn't make your upper arms ache. You'll know what I mean once you get going. Have fun!

[feistytigger]

physical fitness: i am a super wimp and i made the whole trip! it was amazing.

 

bugs: the whole trip is RIDICULOUS with mosquitoes. i got eaten alive, and i'm fairly allergic to bites (get big red welts). it was worth it. oh, and you're not supposed to wear bug spray because it's bad for the little creatures that glow. our guides asked us not to wear anything but lent me some kind of spray that was supposed to not be too bad when i explained my allergies. didn't help. like i said, totally worth it.

 

moon: you want a new moon situation for best viewing. as in - as little moon as possible.

 

possible problem: i've read in a few places that they stopped allowing people to swim in the lagoon (laguna grande, fajardo) in april 2007. anyone have more info on that? i just emailed our tour guide (las tortugas) to find out more info. that's going to be sooo sad for me if it's true!

[feistytigger]

just got the answer to my question: definitely no swimming in the lagoon at fajardo until an environmental impact study has been completed.

[kbahamas7]

There is no swimming in the bio bay and that is one of the primary ways that you can see the glow!! I had planned this tour for 8 months and was severely dissapointed in the tour because of the no swimming.

[KAWS]

There is no swimming in the bio bay and that is one of the primary ways that you can see the glow!! I had planned this tour for 8 months and was severely dissapointed in the tour because of the no swimming.

 

That's what I was afraid of. Honestly I don't want to spend $90 pp and then not be able to see an awesome glow from it. We have no choice but to book with the cruise line because of sail off time, but now I'm wondering if we should just bail on the whole thing. I'm sure I could find a much better use for the $$ if the excursion is not going to be worth it.

[Esmerelda]

How do I contact "island kayaking" prior to going on our cruise? I have googled this and am not coming up with anything.

 

thanks!!

Esmerelda :)

[KAWS]

How do I contact "island kayaking" prior to going on our cruise? I have googled this and am not coming up with anything.

 

thanks!!

Esmerelda :)

 

Is this the website you're looking for?

 

http://www.geocities.com/islandkayakingpr/

[Esmerelda]

Thanks Kim but when I go to that page and click on anything...it says this site is not available? Are these folks still doing business? I would love to to do this on my upcoming cruise. Thanks for all your help.

 

Esmerelda :)

[KAWS]

Thanks Kim but when I go to that page and click on anything...it says this site is not available? Are these folks still doing business? I would love to to do this on my upcoming cruise. Thanks for all your help.

 

Esmerelda :)

 

Strange. It comes up for me. Here's the contact info from their webpage:

 

Making A Reservation

For availability and reservations use one of the convenient contact methods below.

 

Phone

787-462-7204

787-462-7206

787-444-0059

Email

ikatours@hotmail.com

 

Hope this helps you.